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Syracuse concluded its third week of spring practice with an hour-long scrimmage Saturday morning, the Orange’s offense going after the defense in front of an estimated 80 recruits and a select few media members inside the Ensley Athletic Center. 

While not considered an official scrimmage — like the one SU had last Saturday, and will have again next Saturday — it still provided a glimpse of 11-on-11 football that hadn’t been seen in practice portions open to the media so far this spring. Syracuse will play its spring game in the JMA Wireless Dome on April 21. 

The Orange went back-and-forth between “live” (full contact except on quarterbacks) and “thud” (no tackling) period, with backup quarterbacks Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Justin Lamson taking turns running the offense, which improved as the morning went on. 

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s scrimmage: 

Lamson, Del Rio-Wilson split work

Head coach Dino Babers said Lamson and Del Rio-Wilson both graded out the exact same in last weekend’s scrimmage, with each quarterback completing over 65% of their passes. Both have spent similar time working with the first and second-team offenses this spring, always in the shadow of two-year starter Garrett Shrader, who continues to recover from offseason surgery on his right arm but has constantly been coaching the offense during practices. 

On Saturday, Lamson had a much more efficient performance, completing nine of his first 10 passes, while Del Rio-Wilson finished with a completion percentage near 50%. Del Rio-Wilson opened the scrimmage from the two-yard line, but had a quick three-and-out after Caleb Okechukwu deflected a pass, the quarterback scrambled right for three yards and Alijah Clark broke up a deep pass down the left sideline intended for Isaiah Jones. 

Del Rio-Wilson did convert on some longer throws later, hitting a wide-open Oronde Gadsden II for a chunk play and then Damien Alford for arguably the most impressive play of the morning. The junior wide receiver was covered tightly by Justin Barron as he ran down the right sideline, but still stuck out his right arm out perfectly, allowing the ball to drop in perfectly for an eventual touchdown. 

Del Rio-Wilson also showed his running ability, scrambling for positive gains on multiple plays and ran off designed quarterbacks draws and sneaks, too. At the start of one possession that began just inside midfield, Del Rio-Wilson kept the ball up the middle and broke through the secondary for a touchdown. The quarterback griddied in the end zone as first-year coach Steve Farmer, pleased with his offensive line’s blocking, high-fived assistants on the sideline. 

Lamson, who said earlier in the week he feels 100% despite missing all of last season with a leg injury and is still wearing a brace on his right leg, also looked comfortable scrambling on multiple plays. The redshirt sophomore stepped up in the pocket and shoveled a pass to Donovan Brown, and kept a read option left for a first down two plays later. Later, Lamson drew a defender offside with a hand clap and then ran right for a touchdown. Shrader sprinted toward the end zone, with his hands signaling touchdown, to celebrate. 

Running back variety

LeQuint Allen is, barring injury, Syracuse’s starting running back going forward, but his backups, including Juwaun Price, Mario Escobar and Joshua Escobar all got touches on Saturday. In his first possession, Price had four carries over the seven plays, collecting roughly 15 yards. 

Del Rio-Wilson pitched to Mario on an option play that secured a nice gain to the right side, with defensive lineman Denis Jacquez Jr. caught in between the two. The redshirt sophomore, who played in 11 games last season but didn’t record any carries, spun by defenders on another play. 

Joshua, a redshirt freshman who didn’t play in any games last season, also checked in as SU’s offense tried to punch it in from inside the 10-yard line. Del Rio-Wilson set up in the shotgun with both Joshua and Trebor Pena in the backfield, keeping it on an option handoff before tossing it backwards to Pena, who dove past Clark for a touchdown. 

Caleb Okechukwu, defensive backs make plays 

Syracuse returned several contributors on the defensive line from last season, highlighted by Okechukwu, who notched a team-high seven sacks last season. Okechuwku made his presence felt quickly on Saturday, deflecting a Del Rio-Wilson pass on the scrimmage’s first play. The sixth-year senior also forced several would-be sacks, shooting through the A gap on one play to get in Del Rio-Wilson’s face seemingly just after he caught the snap. At times, Okechukwu looked unstoppable as he rushed into the backfield. 

The Orange’s defensive backs group, a unit that lost starters Duce Chestnut and Ja’Had Carter to the transfer portal, but also gained two transfers and returned several key notable names, was tested throughout the scrimmage. Barron rushed off the edge to bat down a pass, and sophomore Jeremiah Wilson popped Pena to blow up a bubble screen. Aman Greenwood bottled up Gadsden on one play, leading the receiver frustrated, calling for a holding penalty. 

Gadsden, young receivers targeted

Gadsden remains as Syracuse’s most-targeted wideout, by far, presenting him with a glimpse of what the fall could look like, when teams will likely double and triple-team him. Still, Gadsden slipped through the secondary multiple teams to haul in catches with no defensive backs near him. After one touchdown catch, Gadsden hopped on offensive lineman’s Josh Illaoa’s back to celebrate in the end zone.

The Orange also used the tight end as a blocking weapon outside. Syracuse sent Gadsden — or other players, like Brown — in motion out wide where they would help block, often for the speedy Pena. Syracuse also used Pena on jet sweeps and out of the backfield, trying to find more ways to get the junior return specialist the ball. 

Brown and Umari Hatcher, two young receivers who have impressed in recent practices, were also targeted with frequency Saturday. Wide receivers coach Michael Johnson was also impressed with redshirt sophomore Kendall Long. 

Yet, just as was the case last season, no No. 2 receiver has clearly stepped up with only two weeks remaining in spring practice.

Published on April 8, 2023 at 4:13 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_