It’s that time again; no, not NCAA Tournament time, it’s time for spring football, which gets started tomorrow for the Syracuse Orange. Following an 8-5 season in which the team won six of its final seven games, excitement is high. With a new coaching staff in place and a new conference on the horizon, there’s even more reason to be excited for the upcoming spring football season. Of course, with a new staff in place and a slew of key players from last season lost, there are plenty of questions facing Syracuse football, and spring is the first chance to try to answer them. Let’s run down the top five questions facing the Orange this spring.
5. Offensive Scheme – This spring will offer up our first glance at the Syracuse offense under new offensive coordinator George McDonald. Head coach Scott Shafer has said that the Orange offense will be inventive and exciting, as well as similar to the offense we saw from Syracuse in 2012. However, we won’t know anything about what the new offense will look like scheme wise or how aggressive it may be until the three public scrimmages late in the spring season. It’ll also be interesting to see if McDonald continues to go with a no-huddle offense, or if that method is abandoned without an experienced quarterback running things. We probably won’t get answers to all of those questions by the end of spring, but we should learn something about the new Syracuse offense by the end of spring practice.
4. Wide Receiver – The loss of seniors Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales have created huge holes for the Orange at wide receiver. Last year, the Syracuse coaching staff chose not utilize their depth at wide receiver so that Lemon and Sales could spend as much time on the field as possible, but now the team has little experience at that position. Jarrod West is the most experienced of the group and should be a reliable target, but probably won’t be a downfield threat. That threat could come from speedster Jeremiah Kobena, who was the recipient of a few deep throws last year, but will now be counted on to play more downs and be more consistent. Adrian Flemming and Chris Clark also saw some playing time last year and will be candidates to take on a larger role this year. The most talented receiver is probably Arkansas transfer Quinta Funderburk, who has yet to play a down in college football, but could quickly break out as a star. Sophomore Kyle Foster likely would have seen some action last year if not for an injury that forced him to redshirt after playing well on special teams and seeing some time at receiver as a true freshman in 2011; he is a big target at 6’3’’ and is one of the more talented receivers on the roster. Youngsters Keenan Hale, Alvin Cornelius, and Ben Lewis will also try to get in the mix this spring, as there’s no shortage of options at wide receiver for the Orange, but there is a profound lack of experience. Spring practice will be key to determining which receivers the Orange will be able to rely on in 2013.
3. Ashton Broyld – It’s a new year and there’s a new staff to figure out what to do with Ashton Broyld, following what many would consider a disappointing freshman season, considering the expectations he stepped onto campus with. There’s no doubt that Broyld would like the opportunity to play quarterback, but whether he’ll get that opportunity from the new staff remains to be seen, and even if he does it seems unlikely that he’d be able to leapfrog over three older quarterbacks on the depth chart. There’s also a bit of a logjam at running back, where both Jerome Smith and Prince Tyson-Gulley return after outstanding seasons. Broyld’s body type is akin to a wide receiver-tight end hybrid, which may be something for the new staff to consider. There’s also the possibility of Shafer wanting to have Broyld on the defensive side of the ball, where he has the athleticism to play a number of positions. There’s no question that Broyld is one of the best athletes on the team, and the coaching staff needs to find a way to get him on the field as much as possible, and finding a way to do that and finding a position for him will be a priority this spring.
2. Offensive Line – If Justin Pugh had come back for his senior season this would be a huge strength for the Orange, but now with the loss of Pugh and the graduation of Zack Chibane, Syracuse needs to replace the entire left side of their line. Sean Hickey may move from right tackle to left tackle, his natural position, but that creates a void at right tackle, in addition to the uncertainty of depth at offensive tackle, where Syracuse has little experience. Replacing Chibane should be a little easier, as Ivan Foy could move into that spot after starting at right guard to start the season. Redshirt freshman Omari Palmer is also an option, but depth is once again an issue the Orange will have to address this spring.
1. Quarterback – Who will replace Ryan 
Nassib at quarterback? That’s the biggest question for Syracuse heading into the spring. Charley Loeb, John Kinder, and Terrel Hunt are the three candidates, but with Nassib taking nearly every snap over the past three seasons and a whole new set of offensive coaches, it’s impossible to know who the favorite is, if anybody, heading into spring ball. Syracuse has reliable players at nearly every position, but if they’re going to compete and win games in 2013 the way they did at the end of 2012, they need a quarterback they can trust, and figuring out who that will be starts this spring.
