4 observations from Syracuse Football's 3/25 practice
On a crisp, sunny Monday morning, Syracuse held its third spring practice of the year.
Here are four observations from the practice.
The front lines
After warm-ups, Syracuse's offensive line began work right away on an ability drill. They had motivation pumped through a megaphone by none other than head coach Fran Brown himself.
After one rep, Brown focused on not just the rep itself but everything after. He implored his players to jog back because “this is why y’all will be the best O-line in the country, because of the work you put in.”
After some agility drills, they moved on to 1-on-1 blocking. Some notable battles included J’Onre Reed, Joe More, Trevion Mack and Joe Cruz.
Tight ends show off their explosiveness
The tight ends showed off their hands as they worked on catching drills.
Dan Villari and Oronde Gadsden II were noteworthy for making good cuts and catches.
Gadsden showed no signs of the Lisfranc injury that had him sidelined for most of last season, with explosive cuts at full speed.
The leader in the pocket
Former Ohio State Buckeye Kyle McCord threw for just over 3,000 yards, 27 touchdowns, and a QBR of 83.7 in 2023, making him one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal.
While Syracuse pursued him for his on-the-field performance, what can't be seen on the field is his leadership in the locker room.
“He’s really a great leader," Georgia transfer wide receiver Yazeed Haynes said of McCord. "He’s always talking to us, making sure to help us get to the right spot, right position, helping us off the field to be the best players we can be."
The man with the playbook
New offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon is ready to lead the Orange offense.
After coaching star running back Saquon Barkley with the NFL's New York Giants, he is poised to lead Syracuse's offense into a new era. When asked about his offensive philosophy, he emphasized balance.
Nixon said he wanted to be able to throw or run the football 50 times in any given game.
“We want to be balanced," Nixon said. "You win a lot of games by holding onto the football and, playing fundamentally sound, and then getting explosive plays in both the run and the pass game."
Syracuse will put on the pads again this Wednesday for their fourth practice of the season.
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