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Tommy DeVito announced he was entering the transfer portal on Sunday night, three games after he lost the starting job. Syracuse head coach Dino Babers’ go-to quarterback for the last three years was replaced by Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader, a move that “shocked” DeVito.

The morning after DeVito’s announcement, Babers took the stage in his weekly press conference, stating that this wasn’t how he expected DeVito’s time with the Orange to end. Babers said that he wouldn’t get into specifics, but he was “attached” to DeVito as he’s one of the best players Babers recruited into the program.

“We’re tied at the hip; I love that guy,” Babers said about DeVito. “He’s part of our family, and he’s going to always be a part of our family. We’re going to always root for him.”

Here are three takeaways from Babers’ press conference:

More on how DeVito leaving affects the team

Babers said that he stayed up all night reading the tweets and responses from DeVito’s teammates about his departure from the team, adding that the former starter would stay on campus till December so he could graduate.

“It didn’t work out the way that we both anticipated, but I hope it works out the way he anticipated it somewhere else,” Babers said.

But with the departure of DeVito, as well as receiver Taj Harris and running back Jarveon Howard earlier in the year, Babers said he has had to get used to players leaving Syracuse.

“The transfer portal is kind of like the new normal; this is very unusual for me,” Babers said. “All those young men are the captain of their own ships, and they get to make their own decisions.”

With DeVito’s departure, Babers announced that sophomore quarterback JaCobian Morgan would be Shrader’s backup but that the other quarterbacks would be evaluated for that position. Morgan saw time last year following DeVito’s season-ending leg injury against Duke.

Besides Morgan, Syracuse has Dillon Markiewicz, Justin Lamson and Luke MacPhail on the roster. Markiewicz is the only one besides Morgan who has seen time in the game, with one incomplete pass against Notre Dame last year. All quarterbacks, besides Shrader, are in their second year at Syracuse.

Special teams struggles

Syracuse was amid a 10-point comeback, cutting down Clemson’s lead to three after a 62-yard touchdown catch from Trebor Pena. Following a defensive stop, the Orange took over the ball and Babers had to make a decision — how far would he want to try a game-tying field goal.

Babers, who doesn’t have a special teams coordinator on his staff, said he talked with kicker Andre Szmyt before the final drive. Szmyt wanted to kick from farther than where Babers wanted, the coach said, and the pair decided on a distance shorter than 50 yards to kick from. With 38 seconds left, Szmyt took to the field for a 48-yard attempt. But he missed, halting SU’s comeback.

“For me to say that the Lou Groza guy can’t kick a 48-yard field goal to put us on top, he believes he can do it, I believe he can do it as well,” Babers said.

After missing on a 52-yard field goal attempt. Szmyt hit the game-winner from 35 yards as time expired against Liberty. But including that game, Szmyt — who was on the Lou Groza Award preseason watch list this year — has missed a PAT or field goal in SU’s last four games. But Babers said that this year isn’t a good sample size to evaluate Szmyt’s play since he’s been the starter for SU the last three years.

“He’s been consistently good, not occasionally great,” Babers said. “You’re talking about four years. Not one year.”

Babers said that the team is “OK” without a special teams coordinator right now, despite the struggles from the special teams unit with punting and kicking this year. But he joked that in a perfect world, he would return to “the traditional way of doing things.”

Cody Roscoe improvements

In the first half against Clemson, Syracuse put pressure on former 5-star recruit DJ Uiagalelei, trying to make the quarterback “uncomfortable” on every drive. The Orange succeeded in that mission with the help of defensive lineman Cody Roscoe, who has 7.5 sacks so far this season.

Roscoe has the second-most sacks in the ACC, after coming from McNeese State University before the 2020 season. Babers said that Roscoe was “one of the best players” at the Football Championship Subdivision level but that he only faced top talent in at most three games during his time with the Cowboys.

“Last year was good for him to get used to going against ACC and Big Ten competition,” Babers said. “We had the offseason to train. He knew what he was missing, he knew what he was lacking, (and) he’s always had the courage.”

This season, Roscoe has four more sacks than the next closest player on the Orange, combining for 40 yards of loss with his quarterback takedowns. He also leads the teams in tackles for loss with 10.5, leaving Babers excited for the rest of his production this season.

“He’s always had the heart, so you put that work ethic in, and then you come back a second time, wanting to prove people wrong, and I think that’s what you’re seeing with Cody Roscoe,” Babers said.

Published on October 18, 2021 at 4:50 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu