REVAMPED GUIDE FOOTBALL2022FOOTBALL
Megan Thompson
published
2021 The Daily Orange Corporation Presentation Director Morgan Sample Digital Design Editor Megan Thompson Photo Editor Meghan Hendricks Photo Editor Micaela Warren Business Manager Chris Nucerino Advertising Manager Chloe Powell I.T. Manager Mark Nash Business Asst. Tim Bennett Sports Editor Anish Vasudevan Asst. Sports Editor Henry O’Brien Asst. Sports Editor Cole Bambini Asst. Digital Editor Spencer Goldstein Asst. Digital Editor Tyler Schiff Asst. Copy Editor Connor Pignatello Asst. Copy Editor Wyatt Miller Richard Perrins EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Maggie Hicks MANAGING EDITOR Siron Thomas DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Photos
SU Athletics Graphics and illustrations
2 football guide 2022
ADVERTISING 315-443-9794 BUSINESS 315-443-2315 EDITORIAL 315-443-9798 GENERAL FAX 315-443-3689 about
The Daily Orange is an independent, nonprofit newspaper published in Syracuse, New York. The editorial content of the paper — which started in 1903 and went independent in 1971 — is entirely run by Syracuse UniversityThestudents.D.O., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is editorially and financially independent from SU, and the paper receives no funding from the university. Instead, The D.O. relies on advertising revenue and donations to sustainThisoperations.spring,the paper will be published Monday and Thursday when SU classes are in session. Special inserts are published on Thursdays before home football and basketball games. The D.O.’s online coverage is 24/7, including while SU is on break. To show your support to The D.O.’s independent journalism, please visit dailyorange.com/donate. Donations are tax deductible. Design@dailyorange.comDigital@dailyorange.comSports@dailyorange.comCulture@dailyorange.comOpinion@dailyorange.comNews@dailyorange.comEditor@dailyorange.com The D.O. is weekdays during the Syracuse University academic year by The Daily Orange Corp., 230 Euclid Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210. All contents Copyright 2021 by The Daily Orange Corp. and may not be reprinted without the expressed written permission of the editor-inchief. The Daily Orange is in no way a subsidy or associated with Syracuse University. All contents © by by
Dear readers,
Before the 2020 season, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said he’s not as bad as 4-8 or as good as 10-3. Instead, he placed himself somewhere in between. Days away from the Orange’s 2022 season opener, Babers said he wasn’t worried about the numbers, saying that this season’s ready to see “where this thing ends up.” Babers enters the year with preseason All-American Sean Tucker back in the backfield. Garrett Shrader spent the o season improving his arm, ready for a new o ense designed by former Virginia coaches Robert Anae and Jason Beck. And Duce Chestnut welcomed his former high school teammate Alijah Clark into the secondary. As Syracuse heads Saturday’s matchup against Louisville, The Daily Orange’s 2022 Football Guide previews the mix between new and old. Thanks for reading, anish vasudevan SPORTS EDITOR
football guide 2022 3
Defensive presence
4 football guide 2022
hot commodity After his career at Calvert Hall College High School, Sean Tucker was one of the most highly touted players from Maryland source: cuse.com
Sean Tucker played on the other side of the ball when he was 11 years old. His impressive reps at defensive back helped him find his way onto NFL mock draft boards in high school.
“The past was not as intended. It ended up being this way,” Steve said. “When I see stu like that happen, I leave it alone. It has always served us well.” anthonyalandt29@yahoo.com @anthonyalandt
“We didn’t have to rely on passing every single play. We can be balanced and let him touch the ball. He could take the ball for 80 yards and score,” Jenkins said. Tucker still goes to Owings Mills High School to work out 30 minutes away from home with his former head coach who had him work as a defensive back. Daniel Harper Sr., Tucker’s former JV coach, varsity running backs coach and track coach, most recently worked on Tucker’s flying 20 and 40-yard times. Harper Sr. is the one who convinced Tucker to do track, a “necessary evil” that helped Tucker become a more agile football player.
Playing defensive back against top talent across the country helped Sean Tucker craft himself into the running back he is today
Donald said he needed Tucker “full time” at running back. Amir Jenkins, the Cardinals’ former starting quarterback, said Tucker took pressure off the offense. Tucker rushed for 1,204 yards and 14 touchdowns in his senior year, ranking as ESPN’s No. 14 recruit from Maryland.
Palermo likes to see how kids operate during conditioning practices. Palermo said Tucker was like a “rocket ship” since he felt it was his job to finish first on each sprint.
“That was my selling point of why you should come to Calvert Hall, that you’re gonna play in a game that you can never play again, ever again, in your whole entire life,” Palermo said. “Other people aren’t going to be able to play again in their life.” Sean Ketchen heard about Tucker through whispers of a “spectacular athlete” on the JV team. They were in the same gym class, taught by head football coach Donald Davis. The class ran the FitnessGram Pacer Test, and Tucker bolted past everyone. Tucker played both defensive back and running back in his JV year until Donald approached Calvert Hall’s defensive backs coach, DaQuan Davis, one day at practice.
Tucker was bigger than most kids in eighth grade and had already developed a vision for finding the open holes. While playing defense, he trained his eyes to recognize when holes opened up for the opposing running back, keying in on what the o ensive lineman did to actually open the gap. “If we can get Sean to the second level untouched, nobody’s tackling him, not even going to touch him,” Void said. In a scout game, Tucker ran right on an inside zone and scored a touchdown. The only thing Void remembers from that game is that Tucker’s first three carries ended with a touchdown.FrankPalermo, the former Director of Football Operations for Calvert Hall, remembers attending a Tigers’ conditioning practice.
“That was like an immediate attractor because anybody who has that kind of work ethic and does that type of stu , even if they are subpar or poor, they’re going to become good, great, greatest,” Palermo said. Palermo remembered a game against Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Maryland) during Tucker’s eighth grade year, a team that had future South Carolina Gamecock MarShawn Lloyd at running back.
Lloyd scored 30 points alone in the first half, forcing Tucker to move to linebacker to lockdown Lloyd. Lloyd hardly gained a first down throughout the entire second half.
“I just seen his athletic ability and how explosive he was, how quick he was getting in and out of those starts,” Void said. Tucker tried out for the team alongside other eventual Division I athletes like Penn State’s Curtis Jacobs, Clemson’s Bryan Bresee and LSU’s Greg Penn III. He made the team, but as a slot receiver and defensive back. In the second to last game of the playo s, Hamilton’s starting running back, Nigel Carr, went down with an injury. Tucker had seen sporadic chances at running back, but Void opted to move him into the starting role.
Amir jenkins former calvert hall quarterback “
He could take the ball for 80 yards and score.
football guide 2022 5 UNEXPECTED
By Anthony Alandt senior staff writer S yracuse was never in Sean Tucker’s sights. He didn’t anticipate becoming an All-American running back and a member of the track team for SU. At 11, he wasn’t even in the backfield. He positioned himself on the other side of the field. Tucker played for the Columbia Ravens in the Mid-Maryland League. About an hour and 45 minutes before the team’s scheduled practices, Tucker practiced with the head coach and his son, who was one of the top receivers in the league. The two trained three times a week, not too far from the team’s home field. Then, Tucker’s coach asked if the running back would turn around and play defensive back “to give his son competition.” Tucker learned the position’s techniques, which he implemented with the rest of the defense during regular practice. He nabbed his first interception in his debut with the Ravens. “Everybody was excited about it, because he really stood out,” Steve Tucker said. “I give that credit to this guy, because (we) learned a lot about being a DB.” Thus began the dual threat, iron man era of Tucker’s high school career at Calvert Hall College High School (Maryland). Playing defensive back has helped Tucker, who holds the Syracuse record for most rushing yards in a single season, find his way onto NFL mock draft boards. Be it a private high school league or an indoor league for 11 year olds, Tucker honed his skills against players who now compete at Power Five programs. Steve gave up on charting the path for his son after a conversation with Kevin Void at the Parisi Speed School in Pikesville, Maryland. A year prior, Steve saw the school’s 30-yard track, where high school kids learned the different mechanics of running, and immediately bought Tucker a year of training. Void recalled the then-seventh grader as quick—“like a rubberVoidband.”found Steve and asked where Tucker was playing football in the spring. Steve was preparing to coach with a new team in The Grassroots League, an eighth grade spring football prep league. Despite Parisi Speed being geared toward high school kids, Tucker acted “old enough,” so he wasn’t new to that type of facility. Void wanted Tucker on his team, the Hamilton Tigers, and told Steve to take Tucker to a weight lifting session.
Steve said he wanted Tucker to attend St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, a national football powerhouse. The year prior, they’d gone 10-2 and 6-0 in the Class MIAA A division, the same one Calvert Hall played in. But Steve didn’t like the idea of Tucker going to a “startup team”, since a crop of coaches had recently taken over at St. Frances. While Calvert Hall was a private school, it didn’t have the type of established program Steve wanted. Palermo knew Calvert Hall had the 100th iteration of the Turkey Bowl coming up. He’d been pitching it to all potential recruits. If Tucker committed, he’d play in the centennial game his senior year. “That was very attractive, because it’s the only game on that day that is televised, and it’s played at a collegiate stadium,” Steve said. “Everybody knows about that. That’s like one of the big games throughout Maryland.” For the last century, Calvert Hall has played Loyola in a Thanksgiving Day game televised across Maryland.
“I think it’s more that we know who our starting quarterback is,” Babers said of Villari playing receiver on Aug. 22. “He’s a fantastic athlete and we’re trying to get all of the athletes out there.”
“It’s gonna be a lot of the same and the same way,” Shrader said on Aug. 17. “But we’re going overhaulorange
The Orange want to improve from 2021, where they ended up with the fewest passing yards in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Over the oseason, they brought in Anae and Beck, whose Virginia o ense finished fourth in points per game (34.6) and first in passing yards per game (392.6) last year. The hire of Anae and Beck opens up the o ense’s playbook going into head coach Dino Babers’ seventh season with Syracuse. From rub routes and more hal ack screens to incorporating an otherwise unused tight end room, Anae and Beck have quickly transformed the makeup of the Orange’s o ense. All-American running back Sean Tucker will still be mixed into a plethora of run plays. But SU is looking to test Shrader’s arm, something that he hasn’t done yet with the Orange. “Ultimately, the goal is to have less carries and the same amount of yards,” quarterback Garrett Shrader said on Aug. 3. “We’ve got a lot of play makers though … that I’m happy running around with.” Opening up the playbook has allowed receivers like Oronde Gadsden II to emerge as reliable options for Shrader, especially when the Orange have conducted 11-on-11 two-minute drills chock-full of deep passes. On Aug. 16, Devaughn Cooper took o from the right slot position and broke left into a slant route. Shrader waited too long to hit Cooper, and safety Rob Hanna broke up the pass. While jogging back to the line of scrimmage, Shrader quickly snapped his arm to the left and motioned Gadsden to line up as the X receiver. As the ball was snapped, Gadsden flew across the left hash mark and cut across the middle of the field for a post route. Despite obvious double coverage, Shrader lofted a 30-yard pass to Gadsden, who leapt over Rob Hanna and Alijah Clark to bring the ball down for the reception. “I think this o ense really fits some of (Gadsden’s) skill sets,” Babers said. “It’ll give him more value than he had in the past for us. It’s the versatility of how many di erent things you can do.” Anae and Beck began their coaching careers as graduate assistants with the University of Hawaii under the late head coach Dick Tomey. Anae was at Hawaii two years after Babers’ arrival as a graduate assistant in 1984 and now stands as the fourth o ensive coordinator to work under Babers since he was hired at SU.
“I gotta be honest, I’m not too happy about that hesitation Carlos,” Beck said. Moments before, the transfer’s heave was intercepted by safety Bralyn Oliver. Damien Alford was open, but Del Rio-Wilson had waited too long after his cut to throw the ball. Oliver creeped up and stole the pass away from Alford. The Orange continued to dial up long passes on Aug. 9 to execute new o ensive coordinator Robert Anae’s more balanced approach.
The plan at the beginning of the spring season was to hear out Anae and Beck’s ideas. Babers trusted the new tandem to install their updated o ense. Now, Babers said the new o ense is a “blend” of their respective coaching styles. Anae and Beck have experience coaching mobile quarterbacks like Shrader, including Taysom Hill at BYU and Bryce Perkins and Brennan Armstrong at Virginia. Throughout training camp, quarterbacks worked with running backs on ball security drills. Shrader, followed by Del Rio-Wilson, Dan Villari and Jacobian Morgan, held the ball in the running back’s chest for two seconds. A whistle blew, prompting Shrader to tuck the ball and run through a gauntlet of two coaches attacking Shrader with orange pads. “The biggest thing with this o ense is it may not be perfect, each tape how we want it, but if we’re on the same page, we make it happen, that’s all that matters,” Shrader said. Beck has worked on Shrader’s vision downfield throughout camp, ensuring that he’s “not trying to be so robotic” with his passing motion. Tucker and multiple o ensive linemen said they know Shrader is talented in the run game and allows the o ense to open up without passing. But Shrader also garnered almost 1,200 passing yards as a true freshman with Mississippi State. To help Shrader’s passing, Syracuse brought in receivers like Cooper and D’Marcus Adams to bolster an unproven unit. While Damien Alford and Courtney Jackson are at the top of the wide receiver depth chart, the rest of the unit hasn’t made a serious impact in previous years. Anthony Queeley and Isaiah Jones are returning, but both are working back from injuries. CJ Hayes has been behind Alford and Jackson. Umari Hatcher has also been working with the first team. As training camp came to a close, Michigan transfer quarterback Dan Villari was seen working as a wide receiver. With Del Rio-Wilson working solely as the second string quarterback and the new o ense hoping to open plays up, Babers wanted Villari on the field.
The Orange ranked last in the ACC in passing last season with 153 yards per game source: cuse.com
Syracuse hired Robert Anae and Jason Beck over the offseason after they led Virginia to the ACC’s best passing offense in 2021 passing fail
By Anthony Alandt senior staff writer J ason Beck walked over to his five quarterbacks all sitting in a circle on the sideline. Following an 11-on11 set, Garrett Shrader stretched his quad muscle and backup Carlos Del Rio-Wilson squirted water into his mouth. Shrader, who is the confirmed starting quarterback for Syracuse, watched from the sidelines as Del Rio-Wilson took snaps with the first team o ense. Beck put his hands on his hips and looked down at the second stringer.
The biggest threat, be it on the ground or in the air, in a new style or Anae’s schemes, is still Tucker. After racking up preseason awards following a school record-breaking 1,496-yard rushing season, Tucker can now show NFL scouts that he’s a passing threat, Babers said. Tucker has liked running back options since his time at Calvert Hall College High School (Maryland). He loves spinning around after catching the ball and having an ample amount of space. Shrader just needs to be accurate, something he and Beck continue to harp on during fi lm sessions and practice. During an 11-on-11 set on Aug. 19, Caleb Okechukwu pressured Shrader from his blind side, forcing the quarterback to scramble out right and force a pass to Tucker on a flat route. He had a man across the middle, but the pressure skewed his vision.
6 football guide 2022
A few minutes later, Tucker leaked out for a mesh route to the right side. Alford ran a deep route, pulling the 3-3-5 defense away from the line and allowing Tucker to have that space to work with. He collected the throw at the line of scrimmage and bolted past one defender before being pushed out by another for a gain of seven yards and a first down.
Now equipped with a more pass-centric o ense, Syracuse’s new sta looks to flip the script on last year’s lopsided yard gain totals
ALEX CIRINO NOT QUITE, BUT GETTING THERE RECORD: 5-7 MVP: SEAN TUCKER X-FACTOR: DEFENSE CONNOR SMITH YETPROGRESS,DECLINE RECORD: 4-8 MVP: SEAN TUCKER X-FACTOR: PASSING GAME
O ensively, SU is already built around running back Sean Tucker, who finished the 2021 season with the sixthmost rushing yards in Division I. This gives it a reliable o ensive option should its pass-centric experiment fail. But defensively, the Orange are deeper than they’ve been in recent years and headlined by experience in Garrett Williams, who returns this season after nearly entering the NFL draft, as well as former high school teammates Duce Chestnut and transfer Alijah Clark.
anthonyalandt29@yahoo.com @anthonyalandt
In 2021, Syracuse finished with the fewest passing yards in the ACC with none of its top 5 receiving leaders eclipsing 400 yards. A rejuvenated SU o ense hopes to change that.
AIR AND GROUND fresh start yard shortage
Courtney Jackson’s 389 receiving yards in 2021 were the lowest amount of any Syracuse leading receiver during the Dino Babers era source: cuse.com and srcfb (sports reference college football source: cuse.com
football guide 2022 7
cirinoalex19@gmail.com @alexcirino19
A mixture of coaching changes, new systems and another challenging schedule will see the Orange finish with the same record as last season, but showing an important amount of promise.
Simply put, Syracuse’s schedule is tough. And that’s fine. It will be a test for a young Orange squad that may be finding their identity. They won’t necessarily rise above their disappointing performances from their last two seasons and overcome a majority of their ACC opponents, but having many returning players on both sides of the ball should give SU a chance in tough situations.
That does not mean they’re going to overwhelm enough teams and make enough progress to enter December with a record of .500 or better. The receiving unit is still relatively unproven aside from Damien Alford, and it’s going to take time for transfers like D’Marcus Adams and Devaughn Cooper to settle in and make a tangible di erence. The o ensive line got shaken up, though versatility might prove beneficial should someone go down injured.
The defense, especially the secondary, could and should garner national attention. I just don’t have enough faith in what the personnel has shown to believe SU will overcome many teams on its gauntlet of a schedule. Oh, and don’t worry about Babers’ job. He has $10 million stacked between him and any kind of hot seat.
Syracuse has a brutal schedule, headlined by five games (four of which will be played consecutively) against ranked teams, including preseason No. 4 Clemson and No. 5 Notre Dame. Louisville and Florida State have also proved to be tough opponents for the Orange since they joined the ACC in 2013. Virginia, Boston College and Purdue were all bowl eligible last year. Even with an improved coaching sta , o ense and numerous key starters returning, SU will still take a step back this season — at least record wise. There’s reason to be optimistic, though. Sean Tucker is back, and assuming he stays healthy, could put up another historic season. Garrett Williams and Mikel Jones spurned the NFL Draft to come back, and Syracuse gained three strong athletes through the transfer portal in Alijah Clark, Dan Villari and Carlos Del Rio-Wilson. Garrett Shrader’s passing, behind new coaches Robert Anae and Jason Beck, should take a big leap.
At the end of the day, a schedule this tough will produce the Orange’s fourth straight season without a bowl berth, and more questions about Dino Babers’ job status. csmith49@syr.edu @csmith17_ This season hinges on whether Shrader can take a huge leap as a passer, especially on deep balls. The book is out on Sean Tucker as one of the nation’s best pass rushers, and Syracuse will still rely on him as much as it can. But one man can’t change the tides of an entire o ense that struggled mightily last year and is in the fi rst year of installing Robert Anae’s playbook. Will the Orange show signs of progress on o ense throughout each game? Of course. It’s hard to get worse than last year, when they were one of the least productive o enses in the ACC.
ANTHONY ALANDT SOLD A BILL OF GOODS RECORD: 3-9 MVP: GARRETT WILLIAMS X-FACTOR: ROBERT ANAE
8 football guide 2022 legit pizza. blazin’ fast. NOW OPEN IN DEWITT GLUTEN-FREE DOUGH AND VEGAN CHEESE AVAILABLE. DeWitt - Marshalls Plaza 5743 Widewaters Parkway YOU NAME IT, WE BUILD IT. FRESH DOUGH, MADE FROM SCRATCH DAILY. REAL INGREDIENTS. NO NITRITES. NO KIDDING. 180 SECONDS IN OUR OPEN-FLAME OVEN. PERFECTION.FAST-FIRE’D NOW THAT’S LIT.
football guide 2022 9
“It wasn’t a very confident passing attack,” Boone said. But things have opened up this year, Shrader said, with SU incorporating more personnel and a wide variety of concepts. “It’s a lot more fun,” Shrader said. Teammates said the connection between Shrader and his receivers has increased significantly. Fullback Chris Elmore said the o ense is running smoother with the o ense all-in on Shrader. Wide receiver Courtney Jackson can now communicate with Shrader just by looking at him. Even Tucker has worked on becoming a bigger receiving threat, providing Shrader with another weapon. Still, there have been some kinks to work out — Shrader keeps working on his deep ball accuracy and Beck tells him to improve on connecting on windows over the middle of the field. But Babers said Shrader is throwing the ball better, and there’s been better timing on routes. Estep said Shrader will benefit from playing in a spread o ense, as he should see pressure and coverages more clearly. When Shrader played in a spread system in high school, he would take o and run more, Estep said. This o ense still gives him the ability to make plays on the ground like last year. Boone said Shrader’s never been so excited about an upcoming season. Estep said he’s never seen Shrader physically look better. After all the bumps in the road from years prior — the 46 and 63-yard passing games, the injuries, the o season workouts with Boone and Cam, the installation of the new o ense, the 9 p.m. bed times during summer camp — now, Garrett Shrader is ready to throw the ball every play. csmith49@syr.edu
Shrader has dealt with several injuries over the past 12 months. After absorbing a huge hit on his final pass against Virginia Tech in October, Shrader laid on the field for several moments, unable to get up, and wore a protective boot during postgame interviews. He missed SU’s spring game after a mild hamstring injury in a late-March practice. Shrader later told Christie that he should’ve drank more water beforehand.
Garrett Shrader’s passing improvements have him poised to lead Syracuse’s new offense through the air AIR IT just needs the chance. it’s OUT
Boone said Shrader wasn’t confident in SU’s pass game last season, feeling that plays weren’t called at the right time and featured the wrong concept and personnel.
I think respectedhe’sas a runner but I think he’s overlooked as a passer. anthony boone shrader’s quarterbacklong-timecoach “
SU’s repeatedly lost starting quarterbacks to serious injuries over the past few years. But its new o ense emphasizes passing over running and features a strong o ensive line. Christie said Shrader’s gotten better at getting out of bounds or sliding instead of potentially putting himself at risk.
Illustration by Megan Thompson arrett Shrader wants to throw the ball. In fact, he would throw the ball every play if he could. He knows he can throw. His receivers know. His coaches know. He So it’s a good thing that Syracuse hired Robert Anae, whose o ense is built around Shrader’s arm rather than Sterlin Gilbert’s rushing attack from 2021. After years of di erent systems, new coaches, a new team and run play after run play, Shrader will now have the opportunity to prove he’s a legitimate passing quarterback. “Garrett’s a tremendous passer,” said Anthony Boone, Shrader’s longtime quarterbacks coach. “He just hasn’t been in a system that fits his style of passing.” That’s why Shrader’s so excited about this season. He will lead a pass-centric o ense that has guided quarterbacks to record-breaking passing seasons with Sean Tucker, one of the country’s best running backs, to set up the pass game. When fused together, it gives Shrader the opportunity to be a legitimate aerial threat this year. Last season, Shrader struggled in the passing game. He threw the ball fine last year, but receivers couldn’t find space, he said in the spring. His completion percentage (52.6) was 15th in the league, which was last among qualified passers, and SU also ranked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing yards per game. Syracuse’s new coaching tandem of Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck previously led Virginia, which ranked first in passing yards per game last season. Anae arrived to SU and told his new o ense that his main focus was improving their weakness — throwing the ball. The new air raid attack gives Shrader the opportunity to throw the ball frequently, something he’s always wanted, his father Tracey said. Shrader spent hours with Boone in the oseason, making his throwing motion quicker and preparing him for frequent deep passes. After recovering from a few nagging injuries during and after last season, Shrader is healthy entering his first full year as Syracuse’s starter. Last year, Shrader felt restricted. But this year, everything will be di erent, he says. Shrader’s arm will play a large role in whether the Orange move the ball this season. And by season’s end, maybe he’ll be more than just a big quarterback who can run. He’ll be a legitimate dual-threat signal caller, Boone said. “I think he’s respected as a runner,” Boone said, “But I think he’s overlooked as a passer.” Shrader totaled over 1,300 rushing yards on 286 attempts from 2019-21 while throwing just 387 times. In high school, a young o ensive line forced Shrader to scramble more, his mother Christie said. Last year, Shrader played with an elite running back and an inexperienced wide receiving core, leading SU to adopt a run-first approach. But Shrader sees himself as a pass-fi rst quarterback. He came to Syracuse for the opportunity to play in an up-tempo, air-raid o ense. Not to be a receiver like he was at Mississippi State in 2020, not to play in a run-first system like last year or a “complicated” prostyle system like in 2019 with the Bulldogs. When Boone and Shrader reconvened after last season, they focused on improving mechanics and developing a faster throwing motion twice a week. Shrader’s high school coach, Jason Estep, said Shrader always had a longer motion due to his tall, lean frame. Estep’s son, Cam, who regularly trains with Shrader, pointed to a shoulder injury Shrader su ered in high school as an explanation for the slowness. Boone instilled in Shrader’s mind that he needs to get the ball out of his hands as fast as possible. They run a drill called “gun’s row,” where Boone will snap three balls as fast as he can while Shrader stands in shotgun. It helps arm and hand speed, Boone said, because right as Shrader releases a ball, the next one arrives in his hands.
He insists a lingering elbow injury isn’t a concern heading into the season, but it was a problem throughout last year. Shrader was shut down from throwing for a period of time in the spring, Boone said, so the two focused on footwork drills, drops and watching more film. Shrader told Cam that he trained when he shouldn’t have, and got back into the recovery process in April. The recovery appears to have gone smoothly, with Shrader missing zero practice this o season, feeling “a lot better” entering the season. For a hard-nosed quarterback like Shrader, injuries may be inevitable.
@csmith17_
“He obviously has tremendous arm strength, it’s just a matter of getting the ball out as quick as he can,” Estep said. Shrader struggled last year on deep balls, particularly in a three-game stretch against Boston College, Louisville and NC State when he averaged just 58 passing yards per game. He didn’t complete a pass over 25 yards, frequently underthrowing receivers. Boone, however, said Shrader just wasn’t asked to make deep throws last year. Instead of the curls and slants that Syracuse ran frequently last season, to prepare Shrader, Boone had him throw crosses 20-plus yards downfield, dig routes 15 yards over linebackers and safeties, deep shots against a single-high safety and posts versus two safeties — all from within the pocket. They’re all throws Shrader can make, Boone said. “People question his arm strength, but I’ve seen the kid since high school, arm strength is not an issue for him,” Boone said. Shrader does additional training with Cam, an Appalachian State commit. They’ve worked out regularly together for the last four years, throwing as many as three or four times a week for an hour. He’s emphasized Cam staying healthy, as Shrader had shoulder surgery in high school and wants to protect the younger QB’s shoulder. The pair spend 10 minutes before each workout doing arm care to ensure their elbows and shoulders are healthy before throwing.
Chekiha Rolen alijah clark’s mother “
10 football guide 2022
cirinoalex19@gmail.com @alexcirino19
Taylor remembers them battling over who would mark the opposing team’s star receiver. The fi rst to ask Taylor to do so would get the job. The two would sometimes play rock, paper, scissors on the field to determine who covered the top receiver during a game. Their versatility also carried over into Camden’s o ense. Chestnut was an option at quarterback — a position he played for the final five games of his junior season — and Clark’s speediness made him a reliable receiver. During their junior year playo run against Lincoln High School (NJ), the duo connected for a near 40-yard touchdown, one where Clark jumped over three players to score.
“You could see at Rutgers, Alijah friendwise was happy with his teammates there, but play-wise, he wasn’t happy,” Adrian said. “There were many conversations that I had with Alijah where he said he wanted to get out, he wanted to transfer.”
“When (Duce) does actually get a chance to get the ball, he usually makes something happen, he can take it to the house, things like that,” then-Camden head coach Dwayne Savage said. “Alijah, since he played quarterback and receiver, he kind of knows the routes so he’s able to jump routes and make plays.”
“Just seeing them both living out their dreams and their goals, we all were happy for them,” said Leslie Brown, Chestnut’s mother.
Still, their defensive talent earned them multiple D-I o ers, which was when speculation began that they would attend the same college.
“It was time for them to connect again,” Rolen said. It seemed like a decision that was planned out last September after Rutgers’ 17-7 win over SU. The two players met outside the Dome once the game was done. They embraced each other before conducting their secret handshake, clapping their hands back-and-forth on the sidewalk. Now they’ll be able to do it on the same field wearing the same uniform, carrying out their dreams together in Syracuse.
Clark and Chestnut became familiar with each other playing on opposite teams at a very young age. When they were around nine years old, they faced each other in little league before finally playing together on a local flag football team in middle school. They played alongside each other on the Next Level Greats (NLG) 7-on-7 team in eighth grade. The 7-on-7 style of football became the best way for Chestnut and Clark to apply what they learned from positional training in a more fastpaced environment, Marcus Hammond, their NLG coach, said. Since there’s no spring football in New Jersey, it allowed them to play yearround against some of the country’s top talent. In 2019, the two then-sophomores reunited at Camden High School (NJ) after spending freshman year at Gloucester Catholic High School (NJ). Adrian believed Gloucester Catholic wasn’t a good fit for him since it wasn’t one of the two “powerhouse” schools in the area. That same year, NLG also won the 2019 NFA National Championship. Chestnut and Clark split time between o ense and defense. But due to a roster full of DivisionI talent, they became more utilized on special teams during their defensive transition. Initially, they rotated through cornerback, nickel and safety, but their athleticism and size allowed them to excel mostly at defensive back, Camden’s defensive coordinator, Maurice Taylor, said. “(Duce’s) always been electrifying, especially with the ball in his hands,” Taylor said. “But Chestnut took the defensive back position a little bit more personal…When Alijah came in, and just his size alone, it was just like, this kid, he can be something special because not only did he have the size, he could run.” Taylor became the duo’s first defensive back coach, working with them on nearly a daily basis in the o season before their junior year. The two were interchangeable on defense, leading Camden to two consecutive state title games in their sophomore and junior seasons.
anythingBeyond
Duce Chestnut helped Alijah Clark find his love for football again when he was ready to stop playing Their connection is way beyondfootball,beyondit’swayanything.
Chestnut, a 3-star recruit, did not receive an o er from Rutgers, nor did he want to go, Brown said. It was the 4-star Clark that stayed close to home with the Scarlet Knights. Chestnut played a “major role” in Clark’s decision to join Syracuse once he entered the transfer portal, Rolen said. While Clark spent only eight days in the portal, joining Syracuse wasn’t automatically a done deal.
“When they’re on the same side of the field, you could tell they knew where each other was at without them talking,” Adrian said. “You could throw a jump ball and Alijah knew Duce was back there, or Duce knew Alijah was back there and they wouldn’t say anything.”
By alex cirino senior staff writer T he death of his grandmother was the last straw for Alijah “Cinco” Clark. Since the sixth grade, a continuous cycle of loss that included close friends, family members and the miscarriage of twins by his mother, Chekiha Rolen — which happened three weeks before his grandmother’s death — finally took the ultimate toll on Clark. But Clark, then a junior in high school, experienced the first loss of someone who “raised” him, his older brother Adrian said. All Clark wanted to do was sit in his room. He stopped talking, even eating, and uncharacteristically missed his football practices. This was when his longtime teammate and best friend, Darian “Duce” Chestnut stepped in. “The heartache and pain of loss, Alijah was battling that for a while, silently,” Rolen said. “He had decided that he didn’t want to play the gameAdriananymore.”satin the living room eating cereal and watching TV when he heard the front door open. It was Chestnut, who let himself in without knocking. When Adrian asked why he was there, Chestnut’s response was “I’m going upstairs.” He entered Clark’s room, fl icked the light on and literally dragged him outside. They went to the football field nearly every day until Clark “just felt happy.” “They do not just celebrate each other during their most amazing times, but they are together in their darkest days,” Rolen said. “Their connection is way beyond football, it’s way beyond anything.” After playing at di erent schools in their freshman campaign, their bond brought them back together at Syracuse. Clark, who played cornerback for Rutgers, transferred to Syracuse in late January, becoming Syracuse’s third 4-star prospect on its roster while joining Chestnut for the fourth time in six seasons. SU lists Clark as its starting free safety while Chestnut will start at cornerback again. The week leading up to Syracuse’s game against Rutgers was unique for Chestnut. Hearing his coaches create a game plan to combat his childhood friend in Clark during weekly fi lm sessions was “crazy” to him. Syracuse’s main focus on Clark was his aggressiveness, especially on kicko s. Clark and Chestnut’s families held a tailgate outside the Dome, all wearing custom T-shirts that Rolen and Brown made for the occasion, which said either “Rutgers mom” or “Syracuse mom” on the front with a photo of either Chestnut or Clark. On the back, it said either “Duce’s mom” or “Cinco’s mom” with their respective numbers. Chestnut said it was “a movie out there” when warmups began, especially when he saw Clark run to the crowd to sign autographs.
“It’s just definitely a family, we call each other brothers,” Chestnut said.
Clark received his first phone call within 15 minutes of his announcement, and the sevenschool race for Clark began. On the seventh day, he narrowed the choices down to Missouri and Syracuse. But the thought of going “back with (his) brother to link back up again” was simple.
football guide 2022 11
football guide 2022 12
