Syracuse Scouting Reports:

[RJWGoBulls]

Syracuse Orange

2005 Schedule

9/4 West Virginia

9/10 Buffalo

9/17 Virginia

10/1 at Florida State

10/7 at Connecticut

10/15 Rutgers

10/22 at Pittsburgh

10/29 Cincinnati

11/12 South Florida

11/19 at Notre Dame

11/26 at Louisville

2004 overall record:

6-6

Conference record:

4-2

Returning starters

Offense: 5, Defense: 9, Kicker/punter: 1

2004 statistical leaders (* returners) Rushing: Damien Rhodes* (870 yds)

Passing: Perry Patterson* (1,851 yds)

Receiving: Jared Jones (621 yds)

Tackles: Jerry Mackey* (106)

Sacks: James Wyche* (5.5)

Interceptions: Diamond Ferri (4)

Spring Answers: Not that he wasn't outstanding last season, but now that Damien Rhodes has the show all to himself, he's bulked up and looks better than ever. The Orange might be pitching it around a lot, but Rhodes will get plenty of chances to shine. ... Some question whether the 'Cuse have enough receivers to adequately run the new West Coast offense. New coach Greg Robinson doesn't seem to share the same worries. Experience isn't a strength, but he liked what he saw this spring from Tim Lane, Rice Moss, Quentin Brown and others. He's also got a nice batch of freshmen coming in this summer. ... The seeds for the Robinson hire might have been sown back when Georgia Tech was racking up touchdown after touchdown in that nightmare that was the Champs Sports Bowl. Robinson earned his reputation as defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos' title teams of the late 1990s and his aggressive style was immediately embraced by the Orange. It took about half the spring to get the intricacies down, but the hits were hard and the potential is real. ... Also expect an upgrade on special teams, especially in the coverage units. Robinson, at one time a special teams coach, has come in and scrapped the old spread formations. At the very least, the team should be able to cut down on blocked punts. As for a return specialist to replace Ferri, Bedle and Brown have looked particularly impressive.

Fall Questions: How will the Orange respond to coordinator Brian Pariani's pass-driven system? And just who will be leading that new attack anyway? The quarterback race between Patterson and sophomore Joe Fields, who contemplated transferring before a change of heart, was pretty much a dead-heat all spring and Robinson indicated it will pick back up in August without a definitive leader. ... Robinson has made it clear he's not a big fan of rotating his linebackers in and out of the game. That's what makes the competition in the middle between Tommy Harris, Jake Flaherty and Luke Cain all the more important. The most interesting story is Harris, the fifth-year senior now at his third position and pushing for that long-awaited chance to start. Nothing here will be decided until well into August. ... In Robinson's swarming defense, the strong safety needs to be strong in run support and pass coverage. That's why it is crucial to find a viable replacement for Diamond Ferri, really the only major loss on that side of the ball. Reggie McCoy and converted corner Dowayne Davis, both sophomores, are in a heated competition. ... Syracuse still isn't quite sure whether Brendan Carney will need to again handle the job at place-kicker, in addition to his punting and kickoff duties. The coaching staff is hoping either junior Ricky Krautman or incoming freshman Patrick Shadle can perform well enough in August to take over the job.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2046841&num=4

[Apis Bull]

Greg Robinson takes over in Syracuse

By JIM BUTTA

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-The Greg Robinson era has officially begun.

After watching the Orange stumble and bumble their way to back-to-back 6-6 marks, critics of long time SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni all agree that 2005's team needed a change. Enter Robinson, a 1975 graduate of the University of the Pacific.

Pasqualoni, a 1972 graduate of Penn State, amassed a 141-76-1 mark in 19 seasons of coaching-107-59-1 mark at Syracuse-but lost three of his four encounters against Rodriguez including last year's 27-6 loss in Morgantown.

Problem is, however, Robinson and his staff of assistants will have to turn things around without the services of all-Big East running back Walter Reyes.

Junior Perry Patterson returns after playing every game last year and starting nine. In his first full season under center he passed for 1,851 yards and seven touchdowns. But, he completed only 58.1 percent of his throws (168 of 289). Sophomores Joe Fields and Matt Hale will battle it out for the back-up job.

Whoever the signal-caller is he will be joined in the backfield by senior running back Damien Rhodes-the heir apparent to Reyes.

Rhodes was the most productive runner for the Orange last season, finishing with a team-high 870 yards and 10 touchdowns. Problem is he was also the team's most productive receiver with 18 catches for 246 yards and a touchdown.

The youngest position on the team heading into the spring was at receiver where sophomore Rice Moss and junior Tim Lane were penciled in as the starters. However, junior Landel Bembo returns as the team's leading receiver with 14 receptions for 115 yards last season.

Up front Syracuse returns seniors Steven Franklin (center), Jason Greene (left guard) and Quinn Ojinnaka (right tackle). Senior Kurt Falke came out of the spring as the No. 1 man at left tackle, but a pair of red-shirt players, freshman Ryan Durand and junior Mike Sklarosky, will continue to battle it out for the starting nod at right guard.

Defensively, Robinson will have nine returning starters and 14 players that saw a lot a action during the 2004 campaign.

Senior defensive end James Wyche is back after earning second team all-Big East honors a year ago and will look to improve upon his 68 total tackles and 5.5 sacks. In fact the front four is stocked with returning starters.

At linebacker junior Jerry Mackey missed spring practice after leading the Orange in tackles with 106, including seven for loss, but Syracuse will still field a strong group with the return of Kelvin Smith, Kellen Pruitt and Tommy Harris.

The secondary will also be strong with the return of three-quarters of the starters from 2004. Senior DeAndre LaCaille (right side corner), junior Tanard Jackson (left corner) and senior Anthony Smith (free safety) all return.

With so much talent returing and a new coach to lead them, Syracuse fans will be hoping that the Orange can return to the top of the Big East in 2005.

Greg Robinson takes over in Syracuse