Depth seems to be the key word for the SU Football team heading into week one, and it's afforded Head Coach Doug Marrone the ability to play multiple players at a single position. Orange fans will likely see a few ball carriers in Saturday's season opener against Northwestern. Marrone's newest depth chart has junior Jerome Smith, who played in all twelve games last season, as the starter, but fans may want to keep an eye on freshman Devante McFarlane, a talent who came to Syracuse as a defensive back.
"I feel right now that there five running backs that have the potential of playing for our football team that I feel comfortable about," says Marrone, "we moved Devante to running back last year, hindsight being twenty-twenty I wish I would have moved Devante earlier. We are going to start training him - he posses very good skills for that position."
The SU running backs are hoping to have success against a Wildcats defense that was ranked tenth in the Big Ten last season, allowing an average of 177 rushing yards per game. It should be a good benchmark for the coaches, who will finally have an opposing defense to measure their team to. Marrone added, "We are looking as a coaching staff to use those strengths to the best of our abilities to give us a chance."
