There’s been quite the interesting coincidence in the last 24 hours.
Not only did the post-spring football depth chart come out, but Doug Marrone also mysteriously made seven players disappear from the roster! (props to Donnie Webb at the P-S.)
Chaz Cervino, Nick Chestnut(whose mom will unfortunately no longer have the chance to cheer her son in Orange),¬†Mike Mele, Darnell Pratt (say it ain’t so Nottingham High school!),Frank Satterfield and Austin Wallis are all gone.
Some of the losses seemed predictable; kicker Wallis was more or less the sacrificial lamb of the Groobers recruiting era, as Doug Marrone was on his tail publicly all spring.
But Mike Mele started last season and Nick Chestnut was a potential first-stringer.
You’d think the roster was an automaker’s index line.
The running Fizz-Cast theory is that all of the departures are Marrone-sparked in an attempt to remaking the roster into something that looks D-1 respectable.
However, this can have a stressful impact on recruiting.
S.U. has a small recruiting class coming in, which makes the loss of 15 scholarship players and numerous walks on even more noticeable.
Coach Marrone must believe he has his recruiting ducks in a row, which should be a good sign for the Orange faithful.
As for precedent,¬†Lane Kiffin has had a similar wave of departures over at Tennessee as well (although Kiffin being a precursor is like following Mussolini’s lead).
Getting back to that depth chart, there’s a couple of interesting things to note:
Andrew Robinson, the former QB, is last on the depth chart at tight end.
Max Suter and Mike Holmes make a very experienced safety duo (Suter strong, Holmes at free.)
Due to the loss of Wallis, Shane Raupers is the lone placekicker on the depth chart.
Fans can only hope that S.U. football can emerge from Chapter Robinson bankruptcy in a reasonable amount of time.
