In the Huddle: Holy Cross

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sept. 28, 2019

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The Urban Sports Hall of Fame of Syracuse, NY is pleased to announce its’ Class of 2019 Hall of Fame Inductees!

Congratulations to the following inductees:

t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k

Haley Robertson

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Catherine Leffert

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Patrina Thomas (track and field, Nottingham High School and Syracuse University; U.S. Olympics).

Paul J. Weatherup (certified football official, officer, and Big East/SU football clock operator)

Marty Clanton (Roosevelt Jr. High football, Bishop Ludden H.S. football, semi-pro football player, local youth football coach)

Mark and Karla Hall (Kirk Park Colts Pop Warner Officers)

Chris Sease (Nottingham H.S. and SU basketball)

The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, November 9, 2019, 10:00 am-12:00 noon, at Huntington PK8 School, 400 Sunnycrest Road, Syracuse, NY 13206.

Tickets are $20 each, prior to the event or at the door. Proceeds from this event go towards the cost of the event as well as to support Urban Sports Hall of Fame initiatives. More information is available at www.urbansportsofsyracuse.com, e-mail ushof.syr.ny@twcny.rr.com, or call 315-403-5299 to purchase tickets.

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Cover photo and spread photos by Max Freund Staff photographer

inside Taking the ball Syracuse has a turnover in 18 straight games, the third-longest streak in the FBS. It’s “really impressive,” Dino Babers said.

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Battling back Domenic Cozier has battled back from seasonending injuries and limited playing time to become a featured back for Holy Cross.

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POCKET PRESSURE Syracuse’s defensive line looks for other ways to disrupt quarterbacks besides sacks

By Andrew Graham senior staff writer

A

lton Robinson burst from his crouched stance and propelled his upper body into Western Michigan’s Jaylon Moore, bullying the right tackle backward in his stance.

Two seconds later, Robinson had driven Moore parallel to WMU quarterback Jon Wassink in the pocket.

While fending off his blocker with his left hand, Robinson knocked the ball from Wassink with his right, earning a sack in the process.

“And you get the ball back,” said defensive tackle Josh Black. “You just have to poke the ball out.”

Syracuse (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) wants to predicate its defense on an effective pass rush – like it did in 2018 — and that doesn’t always require sacking the quarterback. NFL pass rushers are focusing more

on fumbles and SU’s defensive line is following that trend, prioritizing disruption over everything else.

In lieu of consistent four-man pressures, the Orange have turned to more blitzes and emphasized ways to effect plays without getting sacks on the defensive line.

Instead, they focus on batting down passes, moving the quarterback from his spot and forcing fumbles.

“You kind of have to work with what you’ve got,” Black said.

SU generated 43 sacks in 2018, more than the previous two seasons combined, and Kendall Coleman and Robinson had 10 sacks each. Through four games this season, SU is on pace for seven fewer sacks than last year and just 13.5 combined from Coleman and Robinson.

With smaller, speedier interior linemen playing in the middle now, SU cannot get consistent pressure like see d-line page 7

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The Orange’s defense has forced a turnover in 18 straight games, the third-longest streak in the FBS. Through its four games, Syracuse has forced 11 turnovers, which is tied for first in the NCAA. max freund staff photographer

By Josh Schafer

senior staff writer

The Syracuse secondary has a friendly wager amongst itself this year. With a $100 buy-in from each defensive back, the unit is out to see who will be the most disruptive in 2019.

They’re awarded points based on various defensive stats including turnovers. Forced fumbles, interceptions and scoring touchdowns bring in the most points while pass break-ups count for less.

It’s one sign that this year’s team is not only thinking about turnovers but producing them.

In 2017, Syracuse finished tied for 115th out of Division I FBS 129 teams with 12 forced turnovers in 12 games played. The Orange’s shift to an influx of turnover production started the next season when SU tied for third in the country with 31 takeaways. Through four games, Syracuse (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) has caused 11 turnovers, tied for first in the nation, and has forced a turnover in 18 straight games, the thirdlongest active streak in the FBS. “From a guy that’s on the offensive side of the football,” said Syracuse head coach Dino Babers, “to have a streak like that is really impressive.”

Last year, cornerback Chris Fredrick partially credited the uptick in takeaways to what he dubbed “turnover tape.” Defensive coordinator Brian Ward showed the defense a compilation of dropped interceptions, forced fumbles that weren’t scooped up and failed attempts to strip the ball.

This past year, the missed opportunities were less prominent and it has started with the turnover circuit the Orange visit in practice. Normally broken into four stations — each filled by a different position group on the defense — the drills consist of scoop and score fumble recovery drills, a strip sack simulation and punching the football out of the ball carriers hand.

The final drill listed, where one defender wraps up the offensive player while a second player smacks the ball, played out in Syracuse’s first game just as the team had seen in practice.

Trill Williams, known as one of the best fumble forcers on the team, chased a running back from behind. With one swing of his left arm, the clos-

TURNING OVER

Syracuse defenders break down their turnover success

Western Michigan lost three fumbles and threw a pick against Syracuse. max freund staff photographer

est chance Liberty had to a touchdown was over and the ball lay on a Syracuse player’s chest on the ground.

“It’s really engraved in our minds to get turnovers,” cornerback Scoop Bradshaw said. “You know to get the ball, try to get a pick, don’t big play hunt but instead go for it. Next man in on strips — it’s engraved in our heads.”

In the Orange’s most recent game against Western Michigan, defensive end Alton Robinson displayed the ball seeking pass rush from practice. As Robinson pushed his blocker toward the WMU quarterback, he clubbed the ball with his right arm, opting for a shot at a fumble rather than the player’s body. “[Defensive tackles] Coach [Vinson] Reynolds really preaches if you have a chance to hit the quarterback, go for the ball,” defensive tackle Josh Black said, “because if you hit the ball out it counts as a sack and a strip.”

Black noted that the objective of rushing the passer is to first secure the tackle with the inside arm then swat with the outside arm.

Last year, that led to five forced fumbles from defensive linemen.

Fredrick, a redshirt senior, said one of the bigger differences in pass coverage between when he first started with Syracuse five seasons ago is how the players use each other. For example, in zone coverage, defenders now do a better job blocking off entry into their isolated zone and forcing receivers into more crowded parts of the defense where other members of the secondary can make a play on the ball.

This scenario played out in Andre Cisco’s interception against Liberty. As Fredrick played the outside portion of his receiver, he left the inside open, knowing Cisco had help in that direction.

When LU quarterback Stephen Calvert threw to what thought was an open receiver escaping from Fredrick, Cisco barreled into the throwing lane for an interception.

“It kind of just comes with learning the overall scheme of defense more,” Fredrick said.

“Making sure you know where the weak points are and kind of trying to keep guys out of spots.”

— Senior staff writer Andrew Graham contributed reporting to this story. jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44

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football

Domenic Cozier transformed into star for Holy Cross

By Eli Jarjour staff writer

After a breakout junior season in high school, Domenic Cozier’s chances of playing for a Division I FBS school were higher than ever before. Teams had interest and Cozier planned to visit schools, but just needed his senior year to cement his status.

In the opening half of the first year in his final season at Milton (Massachusetts) Academy, Cozier fell to the ground. Torn ligaments in his elbow would put an end to his high school career and his recruitment by Syracuse, among other FBS schools.

He transferred to Milton to focus on football his sophomore year of high school, and before his injury, Cozier rushed 90 times for 1,445 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior. He was going to be a player for a Power 5 school, but none of that mattered anymore. The injury left Holy Cross as one of two remaining schools asking for him.

“It was a big setback and obviously it changed recruiting for a lot of schools,” Cozier said. “Holy Cross was always there for me, throughout the process, especially when I was hurt.”

Following surgery and rehabilitation on his elbow for the remainder of his time at Milton, Cozier headed to Holy Cross not as the running back he is today, but as a wide receiver.

Standing at 5-foot-9, Holy Cross expected Cozier to be a more natural fit for the team as a wideout. He accepted that role.

Through six games, Cozier had minimal impact in a predominantly special teams role.

In Week 7, due to injuries in the backfield, Cozier finally got a chance to start at tailback for the first time since he tore his elbow.

Against Harvard on Oct. 15, 2016, Cozier totaled 112 net yards on 16 carries.

“It slows down so much...after you have success in that first game,” said Cozier. “Ever since that I have been fine.”

Following the game versus Harvard, though, Cozier only earned three more starts in the backfield to end his freshman season.

In his second year, Cozier improved his yards per carry but still failed to make a season-long impact. Stuck behind other running backs on the team, he was deployed sparingly as a speed back, totaling just 39 carries for the season.

To establish himself as the feature back with the Crusaders, Cozier set out to change his body before his junior season. At just 164 pounds after the conclusion of his sophomore season, Cozier dedicated his summer to his physical development. He said he now sits around 180 pounds.

“He was never a scrawny kid growing up, but he was never as big and as strong as he is now,” said Anthony Mazzini, a close friend and SU alum. “It has helped him grow as a football player over the years, the numbers speak for themselves.”

Cozier had a breakout season after gaining weight in 2018 and was named second team AllPatriot League. He ranked 61st in the nation in rushing scores and 91st in yards, leading Holy Cross to wins in their last four Patriot League contests. Included in those games was a 56-0 rout of Lehigh in which Cozier ran for 208 yards and a touchdown, the eighth-highest single game rushing total in the college’s history.

“It was definitely my best game I have ever played,” said Cozier.

To start 2019, Cozier dealt with pneumonia and missed the season-opener at Navy, then barely played in the Crusaders’ subsequent win over New Hampshire. The offense has struggled to get going without him thus far, and with an uncertain situation at quarterback, Cozier will seek out a bigger role moving forward in his final season, now at full strength.

“I want to be first team All-Patriot League,” Cozier said. “But I also want to be an All-American.” efijarjou@syr.edu

DOMENIC COZIER gained more than 16 pounds of muscle over the last year and a half.

Quickly, he’s become a featured back. courtesy of holy cross athletics

football

Beat writers predict Syracuse to blow out Holy Cross on Saturday Syracuse (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) finally showed flashes of the team it was last season against Western Michigan last week, breaking out for 52 points and 545 yards of offense.

Tommy DeVito had the best performance of his Syracuse career thus far, beating WMU both through the air and on the ground.

The Orange are home again at noon on Saturday versus FCS opponent Holy Cross (1-2).

SU is currently a 38.5-point favorite over the Crusaders, who are coming off of a 23-10 loss to Yale last week.

Here’s what our beat writers predict will happen when Holy Cross visits the Carrier Dome on Saturday at 12 p.m.

There’s a legitimate chance that Holy Cross, which has scored 30 points through three games against Navy, New Hampshire and Yale, fails to score at all on Saturday. But I’ll give the Crusaders the benefit of the doubt and expect a touchdown from them, only because at some point the Orange will take their starters out and play their backups. Even then, though, SU will dominate. After a game in which Syracuse’s offense finally played up to its potential, who knows what it could do versus a team that’s allowing nearly 300 rushing yards per game.

I’ll be looking for DeVito to continue his success and more importantly play mistake-free football. Even though he didn’t turn the ball over last week there were still a couple of poor decisions he made that should’ve been picked off.

Eric Black (3-1)

Andrew Graham (3-1)

By The Daily Orange Sports Staff

Crushedaders Syracuse 55, Holy Cross 7

from page 3

d-line it did last season as Coleman and Robinson draw more attention and quarterbacks release the ball faster.

“Because if you know who the good guys are,” head coach Dino Babers said about opponents scheming to stop Robinson and Coleman, “you know who to put the extra protection to, get the extra blocker to — to keep those guys neutralized.”

Anecdotally, players and Babers concur that SU brings additional blitzers or creative fourman rushes more than it has before. Particularly early in games, in an effort to make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable from the start, SU has brought extra pressure. The Orange didn’t register a sack on Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence despite blitzing Lakiem Williams from his linebacker position, but forced Lawrence to make quicker decisions in the pocket.

But there are two ways to get a sack, Babers

‘A very good Holy Cross team’ Syracuse 66, Holy Cross 13 said at his Monday press conference. One is by blitzing, the second is good coverage that gives a four-man rush enough time to get home.

“You give those guys, those defensive ends and tackles, a little bit more time to pass rush,” Babers said. “We put some games and some twists up front, you can get home that way as well. Very seldom is it that one guy just beats another guy.”

Outside of the Liberty game, when SU twice got a sack with a three-man rush, the Orange had limited success this way. While Chris Slayton drew double teams, creating one-on-ones for Robinson and Coleman outside last season, the paradigm has reversed this season. The interior linemen are working on one-on-ones inside. So far, SU’s struggled to get pressure when schemed against as such, and Babers even noted that “what [Syracuse] needs to do is get a little more push up the middle” to reset the pocket and move the quarterback.

It took Robinson two seconds to reach Wassink on his sack-fumble. When Maryland and Clemson, in particular, featured two-second-

Holy Cross is, statistically, one of the worst teams in Division I college football — FBS or FCS — giving up 289 rushing yards per game and getting blown out by Navy, the only FBS opponent on its schedule to date. Their other two games? A 13-10 squeaker win against New Hampshire and a 13-point loss at Yale.

I’ll put it this way: Syracuse scheduled a win this week. Dino Babers of course lauded his opponent at his weekly press conference. He said the fumbles that bounced SU’s way against Western Michigan could go the other way and, as is always true, an injury changes everything. But, we saw the Orange decimate Wagner last season and Holy Cross might be worse. SU should wipe the floor with Holy Cross, but Babers does make a good point. A banged up SU team should hope to leave this game with the same amount of healthy players it started with.

Josh Schafer (3-1)

or-fewer plays, and SU’s defensive line never had a chance to make a play. Against RPOs, it had to read the backfield while engaging with run-blocking offensive linemen, examining if the quarterback will pull the ball.

SU’s linemen are taught to mirror the quarterbacks’ throwing hand. If a pass rusher isn’t going to beat his block and sees the quarterback cocking back his arm to throw, Syracuse’s defensive linemen raise their opposite hand to block the throwing lane. This was effective against Clemson, when Williams blitzed, forcing Lawrence into a quick throw to his right that Robinson knocked down. SU’s front seven currently has four passes broken up, already half of what 2018’s front seven produced.

“We have a specific gap we’re supposed to be in,” Robinson said, “being in that gap and if we know we’re not going to get there, get our hands up. Try to deflect a pass.”

While batting passes helps, the most effective play SU’s defensive line can make is the sack fumble. It doesn’t actually require hitting the quarterback clean or even tack-

ling him — Robinson got his on Wassink with just one free arm.

Robinson, Coleman and Syracuse’s other linemen practice dispossessing the quarterback from behind with a drill in practice. A mock quarterback holds the ball while standing in a hula hoop. The ends run around the edge, leaning inward and reaching to knock the ball free. They don’t have to hit the quarterback, just be close enough to reach a hand out.

“As soon as the quarterback puts his arm up,” Black said, “we’re taught to secure the tackle with the inside hand and swat their outside to kind of force that out.”

SU’s pass rush keyed its immense defensive turnaround in 2018 on applying constant pressure. But with different personnel and facing different schemes, the Orange have had to adjust how they attack an offense up front.

The three-sack performance against Western Michigan is a realistic expectation going forward, but sacks don’t always have to come for it to be a success up front.

Holy point spread Syracuse 61 Holy Cross 10 The betting line for Syracuse has peaked with the Orange favored by 38.5 points as of Wednesday and it’s not a reach at all. The Orange just scored 52 points against Western Michigan while Holy Cross just scored 10 points against Yale. The Crusaders 289.3 yards allowed on the ground per game ranks 118th out of 124 teams in the FCS, a division lower than the FBS which Syracuse plays in. And don’t forget Holy Cross’ offense is ranked 111th in the FCS. The Crusaders aren’t even good in the FCS and it hasn’t changed in recent years in FBS matchups. Last year, they lost 62-14 against Boston College and Saturday’s result should be similar in favor of the Orange. sports@dailyorange.com

aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham

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