In the Huddle: Clemson

IN THE IN THE HUDDLE HUDDLE

SEPT. 28, 2023

SYRACUSEVS . CLEMSON

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SMOOTH OPERATOR OPERATOR

Anthony Alandt senior staff writer

Donovan Brown is the last guy Makhi Walker wanted in front of a camera. He’s goofy, with an o -the-cu sense of humor, and can’t help but say everything that comes to his mind. So, when a local reporter requested a postgame interview with a player at Quince Orchard (Md.) High School, Walker shook his head and laughed.

Quince Orchard entered its contest against Northwest, a team that starred many of Brown’s childhood friends, as underdogs. That summer, Brown said he and the Northwest players started talking back and forth about the upcoming matchup. Brown even posted a Madden score against one of his friends from Northwest on Instagram and said “I just beat one of my friends in Madden, and he’d never beat me in real life in football.”

Brown, a Syracuse commit by then, kickstarted the scoring against Northwest with a 41-yard rushing touchdown. He broke through the middle, shook one man, stiff-armed another and took o , looking at the crowd while yelling “we back.” Quince Orchard pulled o an unfathomably comfortable 31-0 victory. After the win, Brown snatched the microphone and leaned into the camera.

“Y’all forgot. It’s Q.O., stop trippin,” Brown said.

Syracuse’s second-year wide receiver is one of the most energetic players wherever he goes. At Quince Orchard, Brown helped lead the Cougars to a 14-0 season and a MPSSAA 4A State Championship. As a track athlete, his state championship junior season attracted recruiters, leading him to sign with Syracuse. His quick-wit and light-hearted approach to sports

stood out among his teammates. Now, on an SU team scrambling for a standout receiver after losing Oronde Gadsden II, Brown is primed to take over.

Brown loves to dance. He dances during warmups and breaks out new moves for each song. Matthieu Longa, a former receiver and linebacker at Quince Orchard, said Brown’s favorite move was the “Walk ‘Em Down,” created by Memphis-based rapper NLE Choppa. Brown calls it “the work.” He slings his arms and drops down when the beat drops or pretends to swing a towel over his head.

Toward the end of workouts and during walkthroughs before games, Brown would break out the moves and get as many teammates into it with him as he could.

“I wake up happy,” Brown said prior to the start of Syracuse’s season. “It’s like an adrenaline rush.”

Longa and Walker said Brown’s outgoing personality came out at Quince Orchard. Brown was in charge of choosing the teams’ music before games. He always played Baby Fifty, No Savage, J Mo, Skrilla and Simba. The track’s mixes of hard-hitting lyrics and orchestral background allowed him to relax.

“You couldn’t be mad about Donovan or sad about Donovan,” Walker said. “It was hard to. He always made you feel good about what was going on.”

When adversity hit, Brown was the guy Quince Orchard’s players looked to. He was the one to pull aside a coach during practice if a play wasn’t working well. He’d tell the coaches to speak “English” if he could tell the rest of the team wasn’t understanding something they were saying.

Brown arrived at Quince Orchard following his sophomore year. But, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Maryland’s high school football season. He was forced to train on his own, putting together a training regiment that he learned from head coach John Kelly and the coaching sta .

Kelly worked with Brown on strengthening his route running ability. They added new variations to the existing routes Brown knew. Walker said he picked Brown’s brain each practice. The tandem worked on staying low through routes and improving their quick-twitch skills. When Brown wasn’t running routes in practice, he usually ran small sprints, went through cutting drills on the sideline and caught short passes.

Brown took a couple plays under center as a senior, but Kelly mainly used him as an outside receiver on go routes down the field. “He could blow by anybody. His long speed was really good,” Kelly said.

Brown also lined up in the slot at times — much like he does with the Orange — to provide the quarterback

with a larger miss radius. After a strong track season in 2021 that saw him win the 4A state championship in the 200-meter and 400-meter races, college coaches started circling for Brown. Still, only Vanderbilt and Syracuse extended o ers.

“His fi lm was very limited, like limited to none,” Kelly said. “But I knew just watching him he was a Power Five player.”

Brown said receiving little attention from colleges hurt. He was jealous of his other teammates who continued to get o ers. Once the pandemic hit and canceled his junior season, Brown made a decision. Even if he had to go to junior college, he was going to “rock out” until something happened.

Before his state-championship-winning track season, Brown and some of his Quince Orchard teammates went to a 7-on-7 camp at Penn State. It was one of numerous camps that Kelly said he got Brown into so he could be seen. Walker and Longa were both confused by the lack of offers coming Brown’s way, but hardly saw it affect the budding receiver. Syracuse’s then-tight ends coach Reno Ferri was at the camp and stood near Brown before he took off for a route.

Brown turned to Ferri, who he didn’t know was a coach at SU. “Hey coach, watch this,” he said. Longa said Brown took o and caught “the meanest fade ball” that wowed the coaches, including Ferri.

The throw was long, but Brown managed to extend his arms and catch the pass with four fingers. In his celebration, he acted like the ball was glued to his hands, kicking it out of his gloves.

“He doesn’t take everything seriously. With him, when he’s too, too serious, it might mess him up a little bit,” Walker said. When he has that personality, it keeps him relaxed, keeps him calm.”

anthonyalandt29@yahoo.com

@anthonyalandt

This season, Brown’s raked in 15 catches, averaging 59.75 yards per reception. His 239 total receiving yards rank second-best on the team, only behind Damien Alford.

DONOVAN BROWN has recorded 15 receptions for one touchdown and 239 yards through four games. Brown led Quince Orchard High School (Maryland) to a 14-0 season and state title in 2021. aiden groeling contributing photographer

Donovan Brown is known for his outgoing, jokester personality. It has led him to break into SU’s starting lineup as a redshirt freshman.

TAMING THE TIGERS

In 2017, SU pulled o one of its biggest Dome. The Orange will look to defeat

TIGERS

biggest upsets ever, taking down then-No. 2 ranked Clemson 27-24 in the defeat the Tigers after losing their last two bouts by a combined nine points.

MADE WITH LOVE

KNOCKOUT CORNER

Isaiah Johnson made his first start against Clemson in 2022, setting a season-high

His tackling ability separates

By Wyatt Miller Senior Staff Writer

Isaiah Johnson loves making big hits. To him, tackling is “the purest form of football.”

In his fi rst start for Syracuse, he sought contact immediately.

When Clemson’s Joseph Ngata caught a pass on a post route, Johnson looped around his backside. After Ngata slipped a few tackles, Johnson lifted the 6-foot-3, 215-lb receiver o his feet and slammed him to the ground.

Minutes earlier, Johnson combined with Caleb Okechukwu to stick running back Will Shipley short of the first down marker and bring up third down. Johnson thrusted his shoulder into the running back’s stomach to halt his progress. After two brutal open-field tackles, Clemson stopped running the ball his way.

“I like to say I’m a pure football player at the end of the day,” Johnson said. “(It’s) about being more physical, making sure I set the tone every time I get a chance to hit a person with the ball, making sure he feels that.”

Johnson finished with seasonhighs in solo tackles (six) and total tackles (nine) in the six-point loss to No. 5 Clemson. He only started that game because Garrett Williams went down the previous weekend.

On Saturday, Johnson faces the Tigers again. But now, he’s Syracuse’s No. 1 cornerback.

brought the linebacker/safety type mentality when he did tackle,” said Dan MacLean, Johnson’s high school coach at Detroit Country Day.

Johnson transferred to Detroit Country Day for his sophomore year. He had to sit out for the whole season because of a rule banning transfers from playing right away, MacLean said.

As a self-described “late bloomer” who was trying to get recruited, sitting on the sidelines was hard for him.

Johnson used the time away from action to perfect his craft and improve his body. He practiced incessantly until he was allowed back on the field as a junior. Once he did, the impact was immediate. Johnson said Detroit Country Day is where he found his style.

“(Tackling) was always something he was fundamentally sound at and he just kind of added more aggressiveness to it,” MacLean said. “He just comes in and not just lowers the boom, but there’s no question the (opponent’s) not going any further.”

Johnson wasn’t rated by 247Sports while being recruited but he was determined to play at the Division I level. He ended up at Dartmouth.

With the Big Green, Johnson said he learned how to slow the game down. Having exhausted the fundamentals of the position, he turned to the tape. He’d do extra, voluntary film sessions with former secondary coach Sammy McCorkle.

Before each game, he’d pour over clips and try to recognize tendencies that could make the o ense vulnerable. Johnson also leaned heavily on the older players when he first arrived, peppering them with questions.

He always had the skill and physicality of an elite tackler, but with anticipation, he became a corner that opposing teams had to locate on every play, McCorkle said.

“I feel like Dartmouth really taught me how to watch the game and learn and build my football IQ,” Johnson said. “Once I got done with Dartmouth, I felt like I had learned everything I could learn there. I still had a little more growth to go before I try to chase my dreams of going to the NFL.”

Tackling has always been Johnson’s fi rst priority. It’s a skill cornerbacks often take for granted, and Johnson said excelling as a tackler is a source of pride for him. Through four games in 2023, he has the 15th-best tackling grade in the nation for a cornerback (85.9), according to Pro Football Focus.

When Johnson was young, he and his siblings ran 1-on-1 tackling drills in their backyard in Beverly Hills, Michigan. Being the youngest of seven children, Faith Banks, his girlfriend and childhood friend, said they competed over everything. To be the best, he needed to be complete. That meant putting extra emphasis on tackling.

“Usually, your corners aren’t the most physical guys, but he definitely

Johnson was the 29th-ranked cornerback in the 2022 transfer portal, according to 247Sports. His goal was to land somewhere that develops NFL talent. Johnson said former Syracuse cornerbacks coach Chip West was a big factor in his decision. West helped Johnson unlock his untapped physicality.

Current SU cornerbacks coach Travis Fisher is a nine-year NFL veteran, so Johnson said he’s been absorbing everything he has to offer about being a professional.

Williams, who Johnson replaced last season, was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. His injury gave Johnson a starting role last season, and his departure opened up space at the top of the depth chart.

Johnson has wanted to play in the NFL since he was 5 years old, Banks said, when he drew a picture of his life’s goal for a school project. Now, as a redshirt senior, Johnson could realize his dream by next April. Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said that his ability to tackle could help him get to the league. More importantly, it could help him stay there.

“If you’re a cover corner who has the ability to tackle, that could

extend your career,” Babers said.

“Anybody that’s 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 that starts at corner, when they lose a step in the NFL, they have a tendency to move them to safety if they have the ability to tackle. So

(Johnson) having that ability and avoiding injuries will give him an elongated career.”

wbmiller@syr.edu @wymill07

in solo and total tackles.

him from other corners.

I like to say I’m a pure football player at the end of the day. (It’s) about being more physical, making sure I set the tone every time I get a chance to hit a person with the ball, making sure he feels that.

Isaiah Johnson SYRACUSE CORNERBACK

ISAIAH JOHNSON used his elite tackling skills last season to turn into SU’s No. 1 corner. aiden groeling contributing photographer

By Henry O’Brien senior staff writer

Brady Denaburg, and Merritt Island High School (Florida), had run out of options.

In the 2021 Florida High School State semifi nal game, Merritt Island trailed 10-9 with just over three minutes left in the game. A failed trick play led to a seemingly impossible 4thand-11. On the do-or-die play, Denaburg rolled right and hit his receiver down the sideline to move the chains.

Three plays later, he lobbed up a pass to set up the game-winning field goal. Unlike most quarterbacks, however, Denaburg stayed on the field. After lining himself up, he nailed the 43-yard kick. Dan Denaburg, Denaburg’s father and Merrill Islands’ video coordinator, caught the entire drive on tape.

“This is what coach (Bob Ligashesky) saw in Brady,” Dan said. “Brady's not your normal kicker. He doesn't just kick, he leads.”

While a quarterback-kicker hybrid may be rare, his brother, Mason, previously filled the same position for Merritt Island. Denaburg has always been defined by his family. They’ve helped him become SU’s special teams captain and starting kicker in just his sophomore year. Yet, the achievement is nothing to be surprised about. The Denaburg’s are a decorated athletic family.

Mason is a pitcher in the Washington Nationals’ minor league system. His older sister Lexy is a beach volleyball player at UCLA.

Karly, his oldest sibling, played college soccer at Division-II North Greenville University. His mother Connie is a Hall of Fame volleyball coach in Florida. While not as involved in athletics, Dan still does well for himself. He builds rockets for Blue Origin, an aerospace company owned by Je Bezos.

Mason remembered he and Denaburg started kicking when they were 11 or 12 years old. The pair’s shared interest stemmed from soccer, as all four kids played, and because extra points were worth two instead of one in Pop Warner football.

Though Denaburg grew up following what his older brother picked up — the two shared the same positions and sports — Mason believes Denaburg did things his own way.

“I think he just kind of did it, too,” Mason said. “I wouldn't say (he was) following my footsteps because he kind of went his own way and I went my own way.”

But Karly and Connie didn’t think Denaburg had a chip on his shoulder as the youngest sibling. Rather, Karly said that Denaburg would challenge himself to play sports like his older siblings. “‘If they can do it, I can do it,’” Karly recalled him saying. Connie added that in a team-oriented sport like football, Denaburg couldn’t prove himself individually.

Denaburg always strived to be better than his siblings on the field. O of it, when he wasn’t watching “eight to 10 hours of opponent’s fi lm,” according to Dan, Denaburg needed to be doing something.

Connie jokingly said her family “doesn’t sleep” and Denaburg serves as a prime example.

In high school, he painted soccer fields and paved volleyball courts, making $1000 a month.

“I used to tell him to get ready for college, I'm like, ‘Brady, you got to learn how to take naps when you go to college,’” Connie said.

Ironically, Karly described Denaburg, the youngest of four, as an “old soul.” He enjoys activities like fishing. He often hangs out with his grandfather, who gave him a Pontiac LeMans. The car has become a source of arguments between Denaburg and Dan on how to fi x its engine.

But the “old soul” knew how to have fun. Every year, when Mason and Denaburg got new pads, they tried them on and lined up against each other. One year, with the two on opposite sides in crouching stances, Denaburg told Mason his side pad was out. The comment distracted Mason just enough, allowing Denaburg to lunge in for a tackle.

“I hit him while he was fi xing his pad,” Denaburg said with a smile on his face.

“I think that I really never thought about it too hard, it was just always another kick,” Denaburg said.

Under Szymt’s wing at Syracuse, Denaburg could finally dedicate his focus strictly on kicking. He implemented a routine to make sure he stays calm during every attempt.

As soon as he walks onto the field, Denaburg fi xates on the uprights. He’ll perform a practice swing and take a deep breath when he’s 10 yards away. Then, he’ll take three steps back, breathe again and take a couple of steps toward his left. After one more read, Denaburg will kick.

This season, despite the pressure of being named a regular starter, Denaburg has missed just one field goal and extra point try through four games.

At times, however, Denaburg does miss home. Karly said he often calls family members when he feels down. When he’s in Florida, Denaburg mows the lawn and grades the dirt for his parents. If he isn’t working, Denaburg is out on a boat fishing either by himself or with Mason. When most of the family is home, they compete outdoors on the volleyball court. Connie said that Lexy is the outside hitter, while Denaburg and Karly are setters.

While Denaburg didn’t attempt any field goals at the 2022 Pinstripe Bowl — as that was still Andre Szymt’s job — his family was in attendance. For such a large family, fi nding time to be together was always challenging. But, all six trekked from Denaburg’s hometown of Merritt Island to Yankee Stadium and watched their youngest compete for Syracuse.

“I mean, it's one of the funniest videos I think I have,” Mason said.

In high school, Denaburg didn’t have much time to think about his kicks. Before a field goal, he’d usually be leading his team downfield as quarterback, unable to practice on the sideline. Syracuse was the fi rst place where he actually practiced with a kicking net during games.

Connie said she misses the constant “go, go, go” mentality when all of her kids were at home. But, she treasures times like the upcoming weekend when her, Dan, Karly and Mason will head to the JMA Wireless Dome for when Syracuse takes on Clemson.

“For the next few years our family vacation is wherever Syracuse goes to a bowl game,” Connie said.

henrywobrien1123@gmail.com @realhenryobrien

The Denaburgs are a decorated athletic family. Their youngest, Brady, is coming into his own as Syracuse’s starting kicker.

This is what coach (Bob Ligashesky) saw in Brady. Brady’s not your normal kicker. He doesn’t just kick, he leads.

Dan Denaburg

BRADY DENABURG S FATHER

BRADY DENABURG’S sisters have played collegiate sports, while his brother is a pitcher in the Washington Nationals’ minor league system. His mother is a Hall of Fame volleyball coach and his father builds rockets. COURTESY OF CONNIE DENABURG

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. FAST-FIRE’D PERFECTION. NOW THAT’S LIT.

PREGAME PLAYBOOK PREGAME PLAYBOOK

points allowed per game

PLAYBOO

beat writer predictions

By Daily Orange Sports Staff

For the second straight season, Syracuse enters its matchup against Clemson with an undefeated record. Yet, the Tigers are coming into the Dome with a .500 record through four games. Going back to last season, they’ve lost four of their last seven.

Last year, these teams were both 6-0 when they met in Death Valley. This time around, Syracuse has the home crowd and momentum going into their biggest matchup of the season.

Here’s what our beat writers predict will happen against Clemson on Saturday:

oh the persisting pessimism

Clemson 35, Syracuse 24

The stars are almost perfectly aligning for Syracuse to beat Clemson on Saturday. The Orange have an absurd +134 point di erential through a perfect 4-0 start. The Tigers are 2-2, fielding more questions about Dabo Swinney’s comments about the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals than on-field semantics. Syracuse’s defense is a turnover machine, and Garrett Shrader looks as good as any quarterback under head coach Dino Babers at SU.

points per game

The Orange rank first in the ACC in points per game with 44.3. After not allowing more than 20 points in a game through its first four, SU has the second fewest average points against in the ACC this season with 10.8.

Source: theACC.com

moving the chains

syracuse

50.9%

Source: Cuse.com

chasing perfection

32.3% opponents

But dig a little past the surface. Yes, Clemson looked terrible against Duke in its season-opening loss, but the Tigers had more total o ense, first downs, a better third-down conversion rate and a higher completion percentage. The Blue Devils capitalized on three costly turnovers, showing out in their biggest game in years. The loss to Florida State could have gone either way.

This is still a tremendously talented Clemson team that is going to test Syracuse more than it has been all season. At least when the Orange played in Death Valley last year, they had the experience of NC State, Purdue and Louisville under their belt. To make a co ee analogy, Clemson is the hot, dark, strong co ee that’s either going to jolt SU into a quality season or make it so jittery that they fold once again under the spotlight.

I just don’t see Syracuse being able to handle the move from easy nonconference teams to Clemson.

Wyatt

Miller (4-0)

a misguided narrative

Clemson 24, Syracuse 20

Clemson’s season-opening disaster against Duke gave people the impression that Clemson was a bad football team. Then, they dropped their second game of the season in an overtime heartbreak against Florida State last week. At 2-2, Clemson is hearing words like “purgatory” to describe the state of their program. They may not be a Trevor Lawrence-led powerhouse with future NFL stars on both sides, but saying this Clemson team is bad is laughable.

Based solely on size and physicality, Clemson dominates the Orange up front. Last season, they sacked Shrader five times while running 31 more plays than SU. Clemson also has the No. 1 defense in the ACC in terms of yards allowed while also being fourth in scoring. The Tigers may have lost four of their last seven games, but they’ve gotten the ball into scoring position. Their biggest failure over the past two years has been execution. In those losses, their total yards margin is +196. They’ve blown multiple double-digit leads, scoring just eight touchdowns on 17 red-zone trips.

Syracuse’s point di erential and lock-down defense at all three levels indicate the team’s legitimacy, but expectations should be tempered. Despite playing Clemson extremely close since joining the ACC, Syracuse is 2-9 against them all-time. To win, the Orange have to get going o ensively. Without two of their top receivers, that could be a tough task against Clemson’s physical secondary. This is a must-win game for the Tigers. Head coach Swinney has a history of winning those games, and I think he’ll do it again on Saturday.

pain

Clemson 31, Syracuse 28

— 29

— 27 extra points

field goals

— 7 — 6

In his first season as Syracuse’s placekicker, Brady Denaburg has been stellar thus far, making 27/29 attempts

Source: Cuse.com

In typical Babers fashion, he equated the physicality between the Orange and the Tigers to Clubber Lang’s quote in “Rocky III.” There’s going to be pain. And in terms of how the actual game will go, I’m expecting a painful ending for Syracuse. Clemson has gotten SU’s number in the final moments in both the 2021 matchup and the 2022 game in Death Valley.

The Orange defense will make Cade Klubnik’s life challenging as Rocky Long will draw up a number of creative blitzes and force Klubnik into a mediocre statline. But Syracuse will be unable to stop running back Will Shipley, who served as the di erence maker last season. I think Shipley will have another 100+ yard rushing performance against SU and give the Tigers a slim, late lead.

Lacking Oronde Gadsden II didn’t make too much of a di erence against Purdue or Army, but it will against Clemson. Similar to 2021 and 2022, the game will come down to another Shrader drive, looking for a tie. But the Orange will come up short, masking a solid ground game performance for Shrader and LeQuint Allen Jr. Maybe it will come down to a Brady Denaburg field goal, maybe a costly turnover. But as Mr. T once said, my prediction is pain.

Anthony Alandt (3-1)

Henry O’Brien (3-1)

The Orange’s 50.9% third down conversion rate is the 19th-best in Division I. SU’s opponents only convert 32.3% of its third downs.