Syracuse Football Training Camp Position Preview: Cornerback

Syracuse has to replace both of its starters from last season.

Syracuse football is expected to kick off training camp in the next few weeks or so with the season less than two months away. All Syracuse continues its series previewing each position headed into training camp with the linebacker position.

PREVIOUS POSITION PREVIEWS

Quarterback

Running Back

Tight End

Wide Receiver

Offensive Line

Defensive Tackle

Defensive End

Linebacker

WHAT WE KNOW

There will be competition this fall. Syracuse lost both of its starting corners from last season. Duce Chestnut transferred to LSU while Garrett Williams left for the NFL. That means both spots are open for competition. Now there are favorites to land the starting positions. Jeremiah Wilson was a true freshman last season but earned a lot of playing time and even started the bowl game. Isaiah Johnson transferred in from Dartmouth the previous offseason and played quite a bit last year, while also starting multiple games. Wilson and Johnson will be the favorites to start given that they have been in the program and have experience with the defensive scheme. There will be challengers, however. Specifically from incoming transfers Jaeden Gould and Jayden Bellamy. Both are former highly regarded recruits who left their previous school for a better opportunity. Both have size and talent, and will be factors in this competition. Quan Peterson redshirted last season but is one to watch as well. Berry Buxton is an incoming junior college transfer with post high school experience and could also be a factor.

WHAT WE DON'T

How will the new position coach impact who starts, the rotation, approach, development? Gone is Chip West as cornerbacks coach and taking his place is Travis Fisher. Fisher played nine years in the NFL and has been coaching for more than a decade. During his previous stops, his secondaries have fared well. What we do not know is exactly what his impact will be. How will players develop under his tutelage? How does he view the current roster? How will he evaluate which players should start, what the rotation will be and where each piece fits? Syracuse has had strong secondaries for the last several seasons and Fisher has the resume to continue that. Because he is new, we just do not know how that will work.

BIGGEST CONCERN

The unknown. This goes along with having a new position coach as well as losing both starting corners from a good secondary last season. That leaves a lot of questions for this group entering training camp, especially because there is not a ton of experience after Isaiah Johnson. That is not to say there are not options, there is not talent, and the new coach is not capable. There are just a lot of questions entering training camp for a group that has been fairly solid and consistent year to year since about 2018. This is not something Syracuse is used to over the last five years. That said, there are reasons to be optimistic which we will get to next.

BIGGEST STRENGTH

Raw talent. Jeremiah Wilson showed promise as a true freshman. Isaiah Johnson was rock solid last season and, with a step forward in his development, is expected to be a very good player for the Orange this season. You then have Gould and Bellamy, who had extremely impressive offer lists out of high school as highly ranked recruits. There is talent in the cornerbacks room. It just has to be refined within the system, but there is a lot of raw talent with which to work, at least on paper. That is not even factoring in players like Quan Peterson, Berry Buxton, and others.

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