Big East Football Preview: Syracuse Orangemen

Returning 8 offensive starters, 10 defensive, kicker, punter, and both return men While the Orange return 18 starters, they will be forced to replace quarterback Greg Paulus. Sophomore Ryan Nassib doesn’t have much experience, but is the heavy favorite to beat out redshirt freshman Charley Loeb for the starting job. Running back is a major strength for the offense though as senior Delone Carter is quietly an extremely productive back. Behind Carter will be junior Antwon Bailey and sophomores Averin Collier and Mike Jones. The Orange do have junior Marcus Sales back at receiver, and are hoping he can help ease Nassib’s transition into the starting job. Junior Van Chew and sophomore Alec Lemon are others at receiver who will need to contribute. At tight end juniors Nick Provo and Cody Catalina will try to fight off sophomore Carl Cutler for the starting job. The other strength of the offense is the return of the entire starting line along with a pair of key reserves who each made a handful of starts, and that should help Nassib and the passing game.
The defense returns ten starters, but the bigger news may be having to replace star Arthur Jones, who was one of the top defensive tackles in the country. Senior tackle Andrew Lewis is back and spot left open by Jones may end up going to senior Bud Tribbey, junior Oliver Haney, or sophomore Jarel Lowery. At end, sophomore Chandler Jones is back. Jones is the brother of Arthur Jones, and despite low sack numbers he made a huge impact as a redshirt freshman by racking up quarterback hurries. Junior Mikhail Marinovich and senior Jared Kimmel are also back and both have significant starting experience. At linebacker, senior Derrell Smith is back in the middle with senior Doug Hogue, who is comming off a strong season, and sophomore EJ Carter on the outside. Sophomores Shane Kimmel, Ryan Gillim, David Stevens, and Dan Vaughan will compete for backup jobs. At corner junior Kevyn Scott and senior Da’Mon Merkerson are both back and senior Nico Scott made a bunch of starts as the third corner. Senior Mike Holmes is back at free safety with a strong hold on his job, while senior strong safety Max Suter is back as is sophomore Shamarko Thomas, who did make a few starts last year. Senior Randy McKinnon and sophomore Dorian Graham add depth at safety.
The Orange will have the benefit of a very strong special teams group led by sophomore kicker Ryan Lichtenstein and star senior punter Rob Long. Junior Mike Jones made an impact at kick returner, while Donte Davis is back at punt returner and the Orange also bring back Max Suter who has had success as a return man on this level.
Three biggest issues:
1.)Quarterback
2.)Receiver
3.)Defensive tackle
Quarterback is the biggest issue because not only do they have to replace Greg Paulus, who was solid last year, but the only legit option to replace him has almost no experience. Receiver is an issue because not only does Mike Williams need to be replaced, but the unit will be breaking in a new quarterback. Replacing Arthur Jones at defensive tackle will be tough, but none of the options to take his spot are very strong options, meaning this could be the weakest link in the defense.
This Orange team will be the best Syracuse team in the last few years with all the starters back. They could finish last, but I project them ahead of Louisville. I fully expect another losing record, but they do have the potential to end up 6-6, finish in the top six in the league, and end up in a bowl depending on how well the question at quarterback is answered.