Syracuse is replacing its injured bear with a rhino. Defensive tackle McKinley Williams, often referred to as “bear” by Syracuse head coach Dino Babers, hasn’t played yet this season due to a foot injury.

Through four games, Syracuse had shifted multiple players to fill Williams’ production. On Saturday against Holy Cross, fullback Chris Elmore added his nickname, “Rhino,” to the list, playing several drives at defensive tackle along with his usual reps on offense. 

“It was fun you know,” Elmore said. “Being able to get back in my element.” 

Elmore played defensive tackle in high school and was recruited by some colleges at the position but in his first two seasons, he played strictly Syracuse’s (3-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) offense. The Orange’s 41-3 win over Holy Cross (1-3) at the Carrier Dome marked the first defensive snaps for Elmore in a collegiate game. The junior finished with one solo tackle and spent much of his time facing two blockers on the strong side of running plays. 

“He needs to play a complete game,” Babers said. “He’s the type of guy whether he’s on offense or defense if we find a way to play him 50-70 plays it’s normally in our favor.” 

This Tuesday, Elmore dove back into his defensive playbook for the first time since the spring of his freshman season, he said. Defensive tackle Josh Black, who often lined up beside Elmore on Saturday, helped Elmore read the defense signals. Black joked that Elmore’s hands were sometimes raised in confusion just moments before the ball was snapped. 

While Elmore also noted that understanding the calls and corresponding technique was the biggest adjustment, he’s physically built for the position, Black said. At 6-foot, 295 pounds, Elmore is shorter than most offensive linemen, which can be an advantage since the emphasis on the line is often to be lower than your opponent.

It’s a perfect fit for his job on the defense during run plays, which normally consists of swallowing a double-team so one of the linemen can’t reach a linebacker. 

“He’s almost like a wrestler,” Black said. “You can hear the pop right off the ball. He keeps the separation off of them…The way he keeps separation with his arms and the strength at the point of attack, he becomes unblockable at that point.”

Elmore’s lone tackle on Saturday came on a zone run play to his side of the defense. As the running back burst through the hole, Elmore threw his man aside and dove back into the hole to limit Holy Cross to a short gain. 

“We wanted to get him in there and have him get a feel for it,” Babers said, “just so we’ll see what happens at the end of the year whether we need some depth there.”

Elmore’s first action of the game was playing at wideout in the slot. He later played fullback as well, where he’s spent two years opening holes. SU coaches made it a point to balance Elmore’s workload, he said, noting that if he played a significant amount on either side of the ball he’d rest before going back in the game. 

So for one day in late September, Elmore returned to his “ironman” days of two-way football. He loves that aspect, but if he could only choose one, the answer’s obvious. 

“Even though I’ve been playing offense the last three years, I love defense,” Elmore said.” That will never go away. On Madden, I’m a defensive dude. Everybody knows that I’m getting turnovers, sacks, everything.”

Published on September 28, 2019 at 5:37 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44