Syracuse’s pass rush is missing an identity. Who steps up in ACC play?
Syracuse football’s pass rush is still searching for game-wreckers to emerge on its roster as it heads into ACC play. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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Three sacks in three games. Zero players with double-digit sacks. None by edge rushers. None against Power Four schools. One versus FBS programs.
This is the state of Syracuse’s pass rush as it heads into Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday against Clemson. After the Orange lost most of their sack production from last season, no one has stepped up in 2025. Three contests is a small sample size. The numbers, nonetheless, paint a concerning picture.
SU edge/defensive line coach Nick Williams still sees light at the end of the tunnel. He said transfer edge rusher David Reese, who’s in his eighth season of college football, is Syracuse’s key to consistently getting to the quarterback. Williams believes Reese’s proven experience — 11 sacks playing for California from 2023-24 — paired with his speed and balance off the edge, makes him SU’s No. 1 pass rushing threat.
Reese had three quarterback hits in Syracuse’s Week 2 win over UConn. But when will pressures turn into sacks?
“He’s got to. He’s got to,” Williams repeated, stressing his desire for Reese to take command of SU’s pass rush. “And if he does, it’s going to unlock a lot of things for us.”
Time will tell if Reese can fulfill his expectations. Though at this point, waiting is all the Orange can do when it comes to their pass rush, which hasn’t been the same since Fadil Diggs and Marlowe Wax went to the NFL. Their No. 1 reinforcement option on defense? Gone. Interior lineman Maraad Watson transferred to Texas in April. That left Syracuse little time to pick up the pieces. And it’s showing; the Orange are tied for 115th in the country in total sacks.
While a couple of names like Reese — SU’s Jack linebacker — and defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr. are eliciting promise thus far, the Orange (2-1, 0-0 ACC) are still figuring out their pass rush identity as conference play heats up.
“Sacks are good, and you know, we got a long season,” Reese said. “But just being disruptive, getting the QB off his game, I feel like that’s something we take pride in.”
Linebacker David Omopariola and defensive lineman Rashard Perry rush toward Colgate quarterback Zach Osborne. Through three games, Syracuse has totaled just three sacks. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
Per Pro Football Focus, Syracuse’s 70.4 pass rush grade in 2024 ranked 81st among the then-134 teams in the FBS. Now, with 136 FBS schools, the Orange still rank in the bottom half at 72nd overall, but their pass rush grade is slightly lower at 68.5.
They didn’t sack Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar in the season opener, then only got to UConn signal-caller Joe Fagnano once before registering two sacks versus Colgate. On the opposite side, Syracuse’s offensive line has conceded eight sacks. It isn’t a sustainable ratio to win games.
“We do a lot of self-evaluating,” Williams said of his defensive line and edge rushers group. “We force the guys to look at themselves in the mirror and attack our weaknesses. We’re nowhere near where we need to be. But we just gotta continue to get better.”
Second-year defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson entered 2025 in a precarious spot. Led by Diggs’ 7.5 sacks, the Orange brought down the quarterback 27 times last year. But 18 of those were by players who departed over the offseason, including KingJoseph Edwards (3.0 sacks). Watson’s surprise transfer ruined SU’s plans to feature him on its interior defensive line. Robinson, head coach Fran Brown and Co. didn’t have sufficient time to replenish their group.
On one hand, it’s not like Syracuse’s 2024 pass rush was very dominant. It had its moments, such as Diggs’ two sacks against then-No. 25 UNLV to win National Defensive Player of the Week and the Orange swarming NC State quarterback CJ Bailey en route to a victory. But the numbers don’t lie: Their sack total ranked 12th among 17 ACC squads.
Thus far, elevating sophomore defensive lineman David Omopariola and senior edge rusher Denis Jaquez Jr. to larger roles has resulted in zero sacks from the two returners. Reese, who, according to Williams, was identified in the transfer portal specifically for his pass-rushing skills, has yet to prove himself. Besides a key sack against UConn from Jobity, only tight-end-turned-SAM linebacker Jamie Tremble and cornerback Braheem Long Jr. have sacks, both of which occurred versus FCS opponent Colgate.
Robinson also hasn’t featured many blitz packages in his defensive playcalling so far, a major difference from last year, when the Mike linebacker, Wax, totaled 4.5 sacks. Syracuse mostly relies on a three-or-four-man pass rush, unless the Orange are defending short-yardage and third-down scenarios.
This conservative scheme and lack of individual game wreckers are hindering Syracuse. SU currently ranks 126th among 136 FBS schools with a measly 1.37% sack percentage — a stat that quantifies how often defenses sack quarterbacks on dropbacks. In 2024, the Orange finished 56th (6.44%) in the same metric.
“We got to be better and there’s always room for improvement,” Williams said.
This offseason, Syracuse’s defensive staff worked to resolve its tackling problems of 2024, which it determined to be its Achilles’ heel. The Orange reimagined their tackling philosophy by studying collegiate programs nationwide and seeking advice from prominent NFL alumni like Keith Bulluck. They even added Syracuse legend and NFL Hall of Famer Dwight Freeney and former New York Jet Muhammad Wilkerson to the defensive staff.
Brown is outspoken about turning Syracuse into a Southeastern Conference-caliber program. He thinks one of the first steps to accomplishing that is to become much more physical.
“What we put on film last year wasn’t up to the standard,” SU linebackers coach Robert Wright said. “We want to win a National Championship, so our defense needs to reflect that.”
Yet SU is still struggling to tackle quarterbacks. Eight out of 12 College Football Playoff teams ranked within the top 17 of PFF’s pass rush grades. Simply put, you need to get sacks to compete for national titles.
Williams praised Reese and Jobity as two players who can spark a turnaround. He saw “great things” from Jobity when rewatching his film from Week 2’s win over UConn, where he tallied five tackles and a sack — all team-highs for defensive linemen. Williams says Jobity embodies the ideal tough guy in the middle of the defensive line, praising his ability to quickly jump off the snap and bull-rush the quarterback from the A and B gaps.
But for him, the answer to Syracuse’s pass rush establishing consistency resides in Reese. He doesn’t see any excuse for why he can’t make a major impact in the ACC like he did the last two years at Cal.
“He has to show that first,” Williams said of Reese. “But he will. He will.”
