Two weeks separate us from Syracuse v. Colgate, and with that we continue our Polling The Fizz series to get you ready. Last week, we took a look at what the ACC as a whole will look like, today we’ll start to dive deeper into this year’s Orange squad. We start today with the offensive side of the football.
BREAKOUT PLAYER
Isaiah Jones- 3 votes
Kendall Long- 1 vote
Dan Villari- 1 vote
Adam: There’s so much talk of who will be the number two receiving option for Garrett Shrader. All the focus is on the WR depth. But why not take a look at the other tight ends behind Oronde Gadsden. Dan Villari is an incredible athlete who spent last year transitioning from Quarterback to Tight End. Now that he has experience, we’ll start to see Villaris athleticism and football IQ. He breaks out to be one of the teams best receivers.
DISAPPOINTMENT
Damien Alford- 3 votes
Tyler: Damien Alford has all the tools to be a phenomenal wide receiver. He’s listed at 6’6”, flashes solid speed, and has shown a knack for making big plays. However, Alford has never been consistent. His career high of 429 yards is less than impressive, and he’s never caught more than four passes in a game. Alford will likely make a nice touchdown grab or two over the course of this year. However, don’t be surprised if this time next year, SU fans are asking “Is this going to be Damien Alford’s breakout season?” for the third time.
LeQuint Allen- 1 vote
Ethan: The expectations and comparisons to Sean Tucker will be too much for Allen to accomplish in his first year as the starting running back. Combine that with the controversy he endured over the entirety of the Spring and Summer, and he’s bound for some sort of a letdown. At the least, he will not match Tucker’s production, which Syracuse fans have come to expect over the past couple of seasons.
Garrett Shrader- 1 vote
MVP
Oronde Gadsden- 2 votes
Francesco: Gadsden is the man who this offense runs through. He’s the most talented player on the team and also the most important. Obviously, there’s his skill set that almost got him to 1,000 yards last year. However, maybe just as importantly, he takes attention away from everyone else. Having to double him means the likes of Isaiah Jones, Damien Alford and D’Marcus Adams get to face single coverage. Plus, he makes it harder to stack the box, allowing Garrett Shrader and LeQuint Allen more room as runners.
Garrett Shrader- 2 votes
LeQuint Allen- 1 vote
WILL GADSDEN SURPASS 1,000 RECEIVING YARDS?
Yes- 5 votes
WILL SHRADER SURPASS 3,000 PASSING YARDS?
No- 3 votes
Yes- 2 votes
Liam: Shrader and Gadsden reaching these accolades go hand-in-hand. QB1 is not going to get to 3,000 yards without 1,000 of them coming from his undisputed top target. There shouldn’t be any doubt that the latter will happen, but Shrader will need to rely on contributions from the likes of Damien Alford, LeQuint Allen, and Isaiah Jones among others to reach 3,000. None of them need to light the world on fire like Gadsden did, they just need to be targetable. If, and this is a big if, Shrader stays healthy, the 3,000 yard marker is very attainable.
