Poll Question: Where do you hope to see the most competition?
SU Football Head Coach Doug Marrone admitted a few weeks ago that one of the most important battles at preseason camp this year is the battle for starting punter. He even went so far as to admit that the team may have taken for granted the great job Rob Long had done for the Orange. Long is, of course, now looking to land a job in the NFL, following his battle with brain cancer late in his senior season. And while it will be very difficult to find a replacement with the talent of Long, Marrone says the competition has been healthy with 4 or 5 kickers in the mix overall, and with two standing out as starting punters.
"Punting right now, (Shane) Raupers has a bit of a lead on (Jonathan) Fisher, but if we went out there today I wouldn't be surprised if we punted Raupers from the left hash and Fisher from the left hash. Are we gonna do that, probably not, but that just goes to show you how much the competition is between the two."
While the kicking competition is far from wrapped up at this point, Marrone is encouraged about the fact that the decisions are still up in the air. It means that there truly is some talent to chose from, and some obvious competitive flair.
"Ross Krautman has done a good job, and I'm happy with Ross because he's come back and his kickoffs have been better. So we have three people that could possibly be kickoff potential for us, and when we're talking about that stuff, this is good stuff. This is fun, this is what it's all about, good competition. I feel comfortable about where we are there."
