4 takeaways from Syracuse Football's 2024 Spring Game

Coach Fran Brown’s Syracuse football team made its public debut Saturday night as the White Team, led by returning running back LeQuint Allen and transfer quarterback Kyle McCord, claimed a 31-10 victory over the Blue Team.

While it was not a conventional game, the Orange showed enough as a whole to give the fans some things to turn over in their minds before late summer and the football season roll around.

Here are some things for the fanbase to think about…

LeQuint Allen is SU’s best player and there is probably very little debate about it. Allen ran for over 1,000 yards and scored ten touchdowns last season, then showed in the spring game that fans should expect more of the same this season.

The junior opened the evening’s scoring by bulling five yards for a touchdown, then added the last touchdown of the game, blowing untouched through his teammates (they were trying to touch him, I assure you) for a 40-yard burst. That combination of power and speed allowed Allen to turn a handful of touches into around 75 yards from scrimmage.

Allen will be spelled by freshman Yasin Willis. Brown called the duo “Thunder and Lightning” in his postgame remarks and Willis showed that he was the former, powering through defenders on many of his carries.

Willis got a handoff on the White Team’s third play and, by my record keeping, had over 100 yards on the ground, including six carries for ten or more yards. He did, however, have a significant blemish, as he was stripped on his final carry of the night.

When Oronde Gadsden II returns to full health, Syracuse could have a pretty impressive passing attack… and they might be capable of doing it without him. While the offense did not show much diversity in playcalling, formations, routes, or usage of pre-snap motion, the ball was focused on three different receivers.

(Brown keeping things close to the vest in postgame suggests this might be rooted more in not showing the team’s offensive hand than anything else.)

Georgia transfer wide receiver Zeed Haynes was targeted eight times in the first half by McCord and illustrated why he was named the offensive MVP of spring. Haynes had a touchdown among his half dozen catches, showing the ability to make plays on the deep ball and a nifty toe-tap on the sideline for a first down.

While McCord is the biggest name of the incoming offensive transfers, Haynes might have the biggest impact in unlocking the pass game.

Returnees Trebor Pena and Umari Hatcher also were big parts of the aerial attack. Pena’s four receptions were for 23, 25, 25, and 50 yards, including some work over the middle of the field.

Meanwhile, Hatcher spent the evening on the Blue Team, getting seven targets, but only being able to make two grabs in part due to some errant passes… and one drop that would have been nullified by an offensive pass interference flag. One of his grabs, however, was for a big gain of 56 yards.

With the Orange running an offense primarily showing three wide receivers, a tight end, and a running back, it is easy to imagine their base set including those four receivers.

Hatcher and Haynes would stretch the field on the outside, clearing space for Gadsden and Pena to work the shorter ranges from inside alignment and slot. Let’s also make a note to call Gadsden what he actually is – a large wide receiver who lines up in the slot to get positive matchups against opponent linebackers or safeties.

Even without Gadsden available, tight end Dan Villari took on a minor role in the Orange offense, drawing two targets. With these four receivers on the roster, it’s not hard to see Villari’s offensive involvement stepping back.

The game did not really show a lot of bells and whistles from the defense, but one name got called a lot more than was expected prior to the contest: Zyian Moultrie-Goddard. The redshirt freshman linebacker saw sparing action in the fall to preserve his redshirt, but got his name announced several times over the loudspeaker in the first half for tackles.

Other impact on the defensive side came from freshman KingJoseph Edwards, as he strip-sacked Carlos Del-Rio Wilson midway through the third quarter.

Redshirt freshman Ty Gordon recovered that fumble, then added another recovery in the fourth quarter when Willis had the ball stripped in a jumble of defensive players while fighting for more real estate.

Special teams plays did not involve any live fire for player safety reasons.

Reserve kicker Jadyn Oh had the most noteworthy special teams play, missing a 22-yard field goal late in the third quarter after connecting from 41 yards earlier in the game.

An interesting note in the kicking game that may mean something involved Brady Denaburg’s kickoffs. After notching 56 touchbacks on 62 kickoffs last season, Denaburg’s attempts were landing inside the five. It is possible that part of the special teams strategy is to avoid touchbacks and force opponents to return kicks.

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