Heading into Syracuse football’s week three matchup against Stanford, the Orange offense is surging. Quarterback Kyle McCord has thrown for career-highs in touchdowns and passing yards in back to back games. Wideout Trebor Pena has five touchdowns, and tight end Oronde Gadsden has four. While all of those stats are great, the SU offense could be getting another weapon back this week in the form of wide receiver Justin Ross-Simons.
Ross-Simons has yet to play a game for Syracuse after transferring from Colorado State this past season. Head coach Fran Brown is more than optimistic about the juniors progress.
“He’s practicing this week.. does that mean he’ll jump right back into all of it I don’t know, but hopefully we’ll get him back 100%.”
Last year with the Rams, Ross-Simons recorded 45 receptions with 724 yards and three touchdowns. The Rochester native finished the season tied for third on the team and ninth in the mountain west for yards per game with just over 60. Along with those stats, the wideout could also help make Syraucse’s run game more complex going forward.
Having Ross-Simons back in the lineup would make an already scary Syracuse offense even scarier. If the junior does play on Friday, McCord will have five high level healthy options to throw to out of the backfield. Those five being Ross-Simons, Gadsden, Pena, Zeed Haynes, and Jackson Meeks.
All of those elite players will seek to terrorize the Stanford defense on Friday. The Cardinal rank in the bottom twenty of teams in the nation for passing yards allowed.
That mark is not just a good sign for McCord, but it could also give Ross-Simmons a seamless transition into the SU offense in his first game since November of last year.
