Both Nykeim Johnson and Taj Harris praised do-it-all player Chris Elmore on Tuesday. Throughout Elmore’s career, he’s suited up at fullback, tight end and this season offensive line. And according to Harris, Elmore could play any position on the field. And when he said any position, he literally meant any.
‚ÄúRhino (Elmore) is an amazing football player,‚Äù Harris said. ‚ÄúSince I got here I watched him step into roles that not a lot of guys can step into, you know, whenever he’s asked to do anything, Rhino’s gonna get it done. Look if every quarterback goes down, guess who’s gonna be playing quarterback.‚Äù
Fellow wide receiver Johnson also praised Elmore’s versatility and willingness to switch to the offensive line this season. At this point, Elmore has played all across the offense.
So, would it be wrong to think of Elmore as the face of the team?
‚ÄúThat’s not a wrong statement to make at all,‚Äù Johnson said. ‚ÄúYou have to tip your hat off to a guy like that. He put (the) team first, he didn’t worry about himself.‚Äù
Biggest Improvement for Defense Next Season
Star defensive back Garrett Williams said that there’s one big difference that has held SU’s defense back this season against opponents:
Against NC State, six of the Orange’s 11 defensive starters were freshmen. Williams mentioned that many of the players on the defense are fairly new, and need the time to get into the weight room. Harris said that the younger guys made up the “underbelly” of the team.
A Learning Year
Johnson said that this season was a big learning season for the team. And while that could lead to the worst SU season since 2005, Johnson believes that the growth of young players could be a major factor next season.
‚ÄúWe got to go back to the drawing board and making sure we’re preparing the young guys and getting older guys or guys who didn’t play much in their previous years ready,‚Äù Johnson said. ‚ÄúSo we just took that year to get that stuff done. And I feel like we‚Äôll be great next year.‚Äù
