The linebacking unit features some top line players and a lot of opportunity for younger players to earn rotational play. While that young depth creates questions, one absolute lock is Marlowe Wax, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, the Butkus Award watch list for best collegiate linebacker, and to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, which is given to the top defensive player in college football.
Wax led last year’s Orange with 110 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles. The senior from Baltimore has played in all 49 games during his time on campus, including starting the last 38 games for SU. Wax has school records for tackles for loss and forced fumbles in a career, both held by Syracuse legend Dwight Freeney, in his sights.
An injury replacement in the starting lineup in 2022, Derek McDonald has not let go of that spot, answering the opening bell in the last 21 games. McDonald was third on the Orange last year with 67 tackles and paced the defense with five quarterback hurries. The redshirt junior from Atlanta set a career high with ten tackles against Florida State last year.
Anwar Sparrow has appeared in 27 games in his career, including 24 contests in the last two seasons. Mostly a rotational player in his time who earned three starting nods in 2022, Sparrow has logged 70 tackles in the last two seasons to go with three forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries and should have a significant role this season.
James Heard transferred into the Orange program after spending one season with West Virginia. The Camden, New Jersey native appeared in three games for the Mountaineers while redshirting and joins SU with three years of eligibility remaining. Heard was a three-star recruit as an edge rusher coming out of high school.
Scrapping for opportunities are a handful of young players. Zyian Moultrie-Goddard played in five games last year while redshirting last season, then made a couple big plays in the spring contest. Three-star recruits Caden Brown, Fatim Diggs (the younger brother of defensive end Fadil Diggs), and Jahide Lesaine Jr. all were part of the 2024 recruiting class.
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