Tylik Hill, Shavane Anderson Jr. deliver vs. UNH amid injuries in RB room
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If you glanced at Syracuse’s depth chart Monday, the top three running backs listed might’ve caught you off guard.
First, sophomore Tylik Hill. Penn State transfer Matt Outten, who SU’s website lists at wide receiver. And freshman Shavane Anderson Jr.
No Ju’Juan Johnson or Ahmad Miller, who transferred this offseason from LSU and Jackson State, respectively, and looked primed to assume major roles in the Orange’s backfield. SU head coach Fran Brown revealed Monday that both were dealing with injuries, but he thought Miller would return for SU’s season opener Saturday against New Hampshire.
But if you watched the game, you would’ve thought it was Johnson and Miller going pound for pound against the Wildcats. No, it was Hill and Anderson.
With Johnson and Miller not dressing, the two youngsters held their own as the Orange (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) cruised to a 66-3 win over New Hampshire (0-2, 0-1 Coastal Athletic). Hill finished with more carries, taking 16 for 91 yards and one touchdown, but Anderson bested his numbers with 102 yards and three scores on 10 attempts in his first college game. The Orange finished with 239 rushing yards thanks to their performances.
It’s yet to be seen how the two will be used alongside Miller and Johnson when they’re healthy, but their breakouts Saturday eased the pressure on quarterback Steve Angeli in his return from injury.
“I think football teams that are growing to become a good program, that helps to still have guys that continuously step up,” Brown said postgame. “It helps guys not want to stay injured long. Got to hurry up and get back.”
Syracuse’s running back room saw a complete overhaul after last year — like many position groups. Starter Yasin Willis jumped to Kansas, and backup Will Nixon declared for the NFL Draft.
SU retained Hill, who had just 133 yards as its No. 3 option last season, and added Anderson in its freshman class. Out of the portal, it plucked Johnson from LSU, where he totaled just 169 yards on 48 carries in two years, and Miller, who produced 1,054 yards in 2025 at Jackson State.
Brown didn’t name a starter from the group before Saturday’s game but said Monday that Johnson “probably won’t play” with his injury, which would keep him out until the middle of the week.
No worries, though. Hill and Anderson had it covered.
Hill got the brunt of the work early, scampering for 22 yards on SU’s opening drive and another 24 on the ensuing series that resulted in an Umari Hatcher touchdown.
Then Anderson found his lane, galloping down the middle and cutting outside for a 37-yard gain to set up first-and-goal. He capped the drive with a two-yard score after bouncing off one UNH defender.
The next two drives went like this: Syracuse marched down the field, and Hill plunged forward for another two-yard touchdown. Syracuse drove to the Wildcats’ 15, where Anderson broke left, shed two tackles and finished inside the pylon behind Angeli’s booming block.
A few minutes later, Anderson plunged into the end zone again for his third score.
“It’s just the next man up. I got the opportunity from all the older people going down. So once I got up there, I just had to step up, and that was a thing I had to do,” Anderson said postgame.
It was 41-0, and 24 points came from two backs the Orange might not have expected to start a few weeks ago. The two didn’t score in the second half but continued piling yards before Outten and Malachi Coleman took their places in the fourth quarter.
Hill wasn’t shocked by Anderson’s performance. Three touchdowns in your college debut? Whatever, he’d already seen Anderson light up defensive backs in SU’s fall camp.
“This is what he does in practice,” Hill said postgame. “He makes us all better in the room. So I wasn’t surprised seeing him do this today.”
Their futures may be undetermined with Johnson and Miller potentially coming back next week versus Cal. But should anyone in that room go down, Anderson and Hill proved Saturday that they’re viable backup options going forward.
