Lots of impact players to keep an eye on this fall
Syracuse Orange football doesn’t start for another two months, but that doesn’t stop the early projections from rolling in.
One such list is from former ESPN reporter Phil Steele, who has released his annual magazine previewing every Division 1 football program. He’s highlighted five Orange players as Preseason All-ACC candidates:
- 1st Team – LB Marlowe Wax
- 2nd Team – S Justin Barron, TE Oronde Gadsden
- 3rd Team – DL Fadil Diggs
- 4th Team – RB LeQuint Allen
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5️⃣ Orange make Phil Steele’s Preseason All-ACC Teams pic.twitter.com/s8KTJKqKw2
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) June 19, 2024
A notable ommission from the list is QB Kyle McCord, who comes in somewhere behind Miami‘s Cam Ward, Virginia Tech‘s Kyron Drones, Georgia Tech‘s Haynes King, and NC State‘s Grayson McCall.
Last year, Wax and Allen earned 2nd-team conference honors, while Barron was an honorable mention. Additionally, punter Jack Stonehouse was selected to the 3rd-team, and Allen also earned an all-purpose honorable mention.
Wax led the Syracuse defense with 108 tackles, four sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception. Barron was second on the team with 89 tackles and also broke up eight passes, picked off two more, and forced three fumbles.
Gadsden played in just two games before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc injury, but in 2022, he was the top Orange target with 969 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Diggs had 36 tackles and four sacks during his junior season with Texas A&M. He joins an SU front that expands from three to four in his old coach Elijah Robinson’s system.
Allen had the third consecutive thousand-yard rushing season for the Orange, also adding 210 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns.
Despite the improvements to the roster and a relatively soft schedule, Steele still expects the Orange to finish in the bottom half of the ACC, just behind Pitt. Let’s hope he’s only partially right with his preseason assessments this year.
What are your thoughts on these All-ACC predictions? Do you agree with the positioning?