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With 3-star New Jersey running back Dontae Strickland committing to Syracuse over the weekend, the Orange now totals six offensive commitments. As it turns out, each player produces in the offensive backfield or along the offensive line. Building the run game seems like a top priority for Scott Shafer.
This doesn’t surprise many, considering SU currently has younger talent moving up the ranks quickly. That makes the RB position up for grabs a few years down the road. George McDonald’s main man in the backfield for 2014 out of the gate is undoubtedly Prince-Tyson Gulley, followed by George Morris II and Devante McFarlane. That does not mean Syracuse’s primary ball carrier has been predetermined, because we all know things can change over the course of a college football season.
Back in March, McDonald expressed his utmost confidence in Gulley following a spring practice and teased what the Orange is looking for: 
“Someone has to run the rock this year, so my idea for Gulley is one, try to keep him healthy, and two, let him run the ball. He’ll get the ball out of the backfield with the screen and stuff. Right now, we just have to figure out who is going to be that running back that Jerome was in terms of who is going to carry the load and who’s going to play off of him.”
What seems to be stirring in the Syracuse RB melting pot is whether PTG can actually perform with an increased role for an entire season. Gulley is nowhere close to Smith‚Äôs size and power, and we already know he‚Äôs injury-prone. The 5’9″, 195-pound speedster has completed a full season healthy only once in his four years here. Last year, an ankle injury disrupted the second half of his season.
Either way, he has just one year of eligibility remaining, which makes the 2015 RB and OL recruits that much more important. In terms of the attack, do Tyrone Perkins, Jordan Fredericks and Strickland satisfy this need? Dontae’s commitment has flashed some attention towards other high-end talent, but neither are running backs. All three players are listed around six feet and between 180-195 pounds. Jerome Smith is a big boy in comparison—so yes, he will be difficult to duplicate and replace in this offense.
Admittedly, a lot of pressure lies on Gulley to produce. But¬†McDonald‚Äôs focus seems to be just finding ‚Äúthe guy‚Äù over the next few seasons. Even he doesn‚Äôt seem entirely sure about what the current backs can do or what they will do. Remember the OC is still working with Doug Marrone’s players, not players McDonald recruited himself. He has the potential to develop a dynamic passing game this coming year with Terrel Hunt back under center and some young, explosive receiving threats on board.
McDonald and tight ends coach Bobby Acosta showed us over the weekend that they would like to bring in plenty of guys to compete against one another. The O-Line trio of Sam Clausman, Colin Byrne and Cody Conway prove Syracuse also has paid much attention to solidifying protection for these smaller running backs. 2014 pieces like Aaron Roberts and Denzel Ward add the raw talent, while those three  aforementioned big guys have raw size with a taste of some athleticism.
The bottom line: do not be shocked if Hunt’s pass attempts notably increase compared to last year. Syracuse has the talent and pieces to formulate a solid passing game. Right now it’s very questionable what it’s getting from the run game. Hopefully Syracuse fans soak in a solid, productive year from PTG, because if not, at least they know the 2015 theme is building a consistent run game.
Posted by: Brendan Glasheen
49 responses to “ID’ing the Run Game: SU Football‚Äôs 2015 Class Is Developing a Theme Early On”
@Brendan Glasheen
Your analysis of the 2014 season running game leaves me a little bewildered and leaves me to ask the question,are we talking about the same team,the Syracuse Orangemen?
I think your statements about PTG are point on. If he is used as a receiver out of the slot or getting one of those short dump passes out of the back field will lead to a wasted down and no yards gained. We need someone to carry the ball,right? I feel that George Morris II and Devante McFarlane will be sharing the RB duties pretty much this year. Look PTG is a SENIOR this year and everyone in the building including the opposing coaches are going to know who is going to get the ball when he’s in the game.
The two people that you haven’t mentioned in your article are Adonis Ameen-Moore or Clay Cleveland. If you ever needed someone to break through and punish the defensive front four it would be these two guys running the ball,if I were the coach. My point is PTG is injury prone and has had one good year. The decision to give one of the remaining four RB’s on the team the #1 starter shouldn’t be that hard to make. We have enough players on the team that is more than capable of doing the job.
GO CUSE
RON-PTG is a gamble at best. He always scares me when he’s got the ball-anytime!! He waves it around too much. I have always said he’ll break our hearts someday. It might not of happened yet, but it will in 2014!! I like our RB’s but still they have not shown that glow yet needed for stardom. Smith was a good hole finder/hitter, but always got caught from behind!! SU’s RB’s are the one reason for SU to finally hit that magic # of 7 wins before the bowl season!! Moore/Cleveland should be used for short yardage/goal line/pass protection situations. Cleveland really is not of great quality yet!!
DO NOT FORGET THE KIDS OF PSABUSEDU!! THE NCAA DID!!
AAM will have that long awaited break out year. PTG might have a quality game or two but his brittle body as always will put Morris and Devante on the field.Who knows how Ev Phillips will be used in the running game but as of now it looks like the slot will be is position on the field. If our new WRs can contribute enough the running game could benefit a great deal. The real question is whether Ishmael and KJ Williams will be allowed to see the field and whether Funderburke and Fleming will jack their game enough to help Hunt lead the team to a successful season.
There is a style I see that is consistent in the RB recruits this year and they remind me of one of our targets last year. The kid from Florida, Ish Witter stands out to me as a guy we pushed pretty hard for, and his running style seems similar to at least two of our RB verbals this year. There is a straight forward, sharp but subtle cut style with good acceleration and top end. The speed makes the cuts more subtle but the change in direction is no less effective. Their tapes make them look like they are almost running a straight north/south line with little hesitation once they get the ball. guys seem to just fall to the ground near them leading many to question the strength of the competition. This is a trend I see in our targets and may point to why there is so much scepticism around PTG getting the full load, as he is a guy who runs laterally a lot.
i’m really pumped about the ipf and the news about new jersey recruiting. were making some awefully big strides in our recruiting and feel were on the up and up. when the indoor practice facility being completed recruiting will only get better. i would like to see some de, dl commits here soon. oh and i have no problem with chicago- illinois kids neither. go orange..
Ok fella’s I promised you all an update on the new IPF. Here it goes.
I got home from visiting the construction site,where I found new heavy equipment has arrived and ground work that was getting done or had been started within the last 2 weeks. It looked promising to see 5 10 wheeler dump trucks on site carring debris away as the large track backhole machine dug where I think the new drainage trunk line will go.
New materials also arrived on site. Piles of #2 stone that will be used to lay the new 5′ diameter drainage trunk line.
Sections of 5′ diameter heavy ribbed plastic/rubber along with 3′ diameter piping made from the same type of materials stacked at both ends of the field for installation. It looks like the smaller pipes will be installed around different parts/sections of the construction site and then truncated/joined into the 5′ diameter piping to help drain the site when finished.
I know members of this website have been a little upset with the start of construction on the new IPF building getting delayed. But please remember that we had a member of this website tell us in great detail what the problems might be and for us to be patient. Well everyone as usual Malone was right on about everything.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW IPF BUILDING IS UNDERWAY. HURRAY,HURRAY,HURRAY,
HURRAY.
@Terry;
PTG best year was two years ago when he beat West Virginia single handed in the Pinstrip Bowl. He was hurt for over half a season in 2013 and I’m not sure that he’s going to have a banner year in 2014.
The one thing I’m sure of is,when a player becomes a senior at Syracuse and has done all that the coaches have asked him to do,as long as he stays healthy(no matter what position)they have always paid him back by getting plenty of game time trying to convince the NFL scouts his worth to them. It’s called loyality/respect to the player that’s given it their all to the program over a 4-5 year span.
RON-PTG still a 2 star player now in a 4 star league. He’s ok but not what SU needs.
As for the IPF building it still was not handled properly at all. Where I worked(now PT retired from there) we got granted a $900,000 facility. Any normal human knows that issues develop around building new facilities!! And this site is not IPF in cost but was built a number of years ago. Once the paperwork and first shovels put in the ground we were always checking into “what goes” about getting it done. The issue of the drainage for the IPF was nothing compared to our issues of “not in our neighborhood” feelings against our building!! We went around the community and had discussions(at times that was what you could call it)with the landowners. In the long run they gave us the blessing and every year we have a birthday party for the building and the whole community shows up. They feel it has improved the community. The SU administration of staff sat on their A$$’s and let the politicians(we dealt with them too) dictate to them what was to be done. They(SU and city fathers/mothers) knew the issue and just stalled it or shoved to the end of the pile. SUFB to the administration isn’t #1 like it should be. Even after the big bucks coming from the move to the ACC. The IPF is a terribly needed facility any educated moron knows that. Well maybe not?? At least if you want something bad enough work for it. It does work if YOU WANT IT!! GET ER DONE as they say!!
Thanks for explaining Terry,it shows me just why and how you feel about things. I agree that it should have been started long before now and I know just how ignorant politicians can be. The battle between the university and the city goes way back. The city wants more tax revenue from them and the university isn’t going to give it to them. End of story. That’s why I’m so against building a new stadium in a slum/run down section of down town. If they agree to and go ahead and build it down town Syracuse University will lose a ton of money. The people employed at the university now will become county officials. I also think the new chancellor doesn’t have a strong enough personality to withstand the pressures coming from city hall and will eventually cave to their demands.
Terry…
Amen!
Malone… Get over yourself!
This should be about Cuse returning as a football power.. Not about political/architectural/intellectual bull!
George Morris 2nd and DMF must impact this year. I have little faith in PTG’ s production and in any event the aforementioned RBs need to excel in order to be a factor in 2015. Strickland will be in the backfield rotation early. AAM is my pick for surprise RB this season. Its his senior year and has disappointed since arriving due to his physical condition weight wise. Now his power game is critical with Jerome gone.The real question about 2015 is who will be in line to supply that power?
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