What Fran Brown had to say after Syracuse football’s spring game
Fran Brown discussed Syracuse football’s spring game, specific position groups and his team’s future outlook on Saturday. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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Fran Brown was in a spot he hadn’t been in since his playing days a decade and a half ago. On the field. Behind the quarterback. During a live football game. It left Brown a foreign feeling as an energetic JMA Wireless Dome crowd wallowed behind him. It was even stranger that SU’s head coach carried a microphone and spoke to the fans as the game proceeded.
That’s just spring football. It’s quite literally fun and games. Steve Angeli threw passes to a fan midgame and offensive linemen were returning in-game punts. A clean catch would result in a 10-yard advancement. A drop and your team is moving 10 yards backward.
“Let’s just have fun,” Brown said. “Enjoy. Give them an opportunity.”
But to some players, this is business. It’s an additional chance to solidify your spot — or earn one if you hadn’t. There are seven quarterbacks, and only one can start. Thirteen receivers, and maybe three or four regularly see the turf. Twenty offensive linemen, and yet it’s still called a front five for a reason.
So, despite Brown’s antics, a real football game was still played. It consisted of two two-minute drills and a third and fourth quarter, but there were tackles and catches and the whole shebang.
And here’s what Brown said postgame about what he saw:
QB dynamics
Angeli took the Dome turf in full pads and a blue Syracuse jersey. He blended in with the other quarterbacks and led warmups minutes before the game. But he was inactive as expected, so Amari Odom and Malachi Nelson saw the bulk of the quarterback duties.
Brown was impressed with what he saw from his signal callers. Odom led a two-minute game-winning drive, capped by a Tripp Woody 50-yard field goal. Syracuse struggled on both special teams and in high-pressure situations last season, a key reason Saturday’s scrimmage began with a two-minute drive for each team.
“(I’m) happy we got two quick scores,” Brown said of SU’s back-to-back scores that concluded the 9-7 slugfest. “Any coach in the country will tell you, when they get an opportunity to end the spring game with a two-minute drive, and you can kick a field goal to win it, that’s pretty legit.”
Legit indeed. So was the rest of Odom’s play. He connected with Elijah Moore for a 65-yard completion over the middle and found Terrell Wilfong down the right sideline with a beautifully-placed over-the-shoulder ball.
Nelson didn’t seem quite as comfortable in the pocket as Odom, but he also found Wilfong for 19 yards and completed a few more passes as the evening continued.
“They’ve all been doing a good job,” Brown said of his QB room. “We gotta watch the rest of the tape today. We’re gonna all sit down over the next two weeks… and we’re really gonna dive deep into the film, and see where it’s at to see who’s gonna be able to compete with Steve.”
Danny Lauter and Rich Belin also saw some action late in the game. Belin led a scoring drive, which ended in a Malachi Coleman rushing touchdown. Zaid Lott, an early-enrolled freshman, also saw the field, but his most notable play was an interception to Davien Kerr on the opening drive.
“I think we’re really competitive,” Brown said. “I think our leaders have stepped up all the way. They love to compete.”
Ballhawks need work
Kerr’s and Chris D’Appolonia’s early picks were encouraging for Syracuse’s new-look defense under former Toledo defensive coordinator Vince Kehres. But to Brown, there’s still plenty of work to be done.
Brown said he’s always thankful for the interceptions, but he cares more about his players’ eyes. From his on-field perspective, he said they weren’t up to his standards.
“We gotta keep getting better,” Brown said. “We got a long way to go.”
Brown also mentioned he wanted to see more contact, which is difficult to ask for when players are hoping to stay healthy with fall ball and the rest of the preseason ahead. Still, Brown saw positives in some players, notably Ziyyon Bredell, who took a ball off the helmet and inadvertently assisted Kerr’s interception.
“I think (No.) 22 was hitting the way I wanted him to hit out there,” Brown said of Bredell.
Being a former professional cornerback, Brown knows what it takes to be successful. He called himself a technician when it came to defensive backs’ tendencies.
“I like eye placement, discipline and technique,” Brown said. “I think we can communicate more. I think once they continue to do that … we’ll be fine. We just gotta keep growing.”
Future outlook
Calvin Russell III roamed the sideline on a scooter, while Antoine Deslauriers and Chris Peal — two starters last season — were inactive in Saturday’s game.
To start, Brown said Russell’s torn Achilles is not as bad as most. Russell boldly said this week that he’s targeting October for a potential return, which would still give him half of his freshman season. He spent this past week receiving passes on his scooter and participating in drills to the best of his abilities, which Brown said was a joint decision between the two sides.
“I’m not about to let him sit in a room by himself or just not do stuff,” Brown said. “Why would I have him just sit on the sideline? There’s nothing wrong with his hands. He can actually catch really well.”
Brown said Russell will only go sit on the sideline if his foot begins to hurt. Otherwise, Syracuse’s head coach is involving his budding star in every way he can.
“Everything everybody else does, he’s gonna do,” Brown said. “He’s tough. He’s really, really tough.”
Russell was joined by Deslauriers and Peal on the sideline, both of whom will likely hold significant roles on defense this year. Brown explained Peal’s absence by saying he’s simply played a lot of football recently. He said he’s decided not to have Peal play all spring.
As for SU’s standout linebacker, Brown said he pulled his hamstring. It’s nothing serious, per Brown, but he didn’t want it to get any worse. He said it was a grade two strain two weeks ago, but it’s already better since then.
“We know Antoine’s not afraid of contact,” Brown said. “So for me, it’s like, ‘Why not keep getting (Gemaus) Sackie better? Why not keep getting Jamie Tremble better?’”
After all, that’s what spring football is all about.
