Head Coach Doug Marrone Transcript | Student-Athlete Transcript
SYRACUSE, NY -- Syracuse football fans got a first full look at Coach Doug Marrone's first team when the program conducted its Spring Game on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.Using a specialized scoring system designed for the game, the SU offense defeated the Orange defense, 134-95.
First-year coach Marrone put his troops through the initial spring-contest competition of his tenure and a crowd of 5,184 witnessed the exhibition. It marked the second-largest, stand-alone crowd (a game not paired with a lacrosse game) for a Dome Spring Game in Syracuse history.
There were plenty of big plays on both sides of the ball for the Orange. Redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib, who was named the club's starting quarterback during spring practice sessions, completed 17-of-25 passes for 176 yard and two touchdowns. He had scoring tosses of seven yards to junior receiver Mike Williams and 50 yards to senior tight end Mike Owen. Backup quarterback Cameron Dantley, a senior who finished the 2008 season in the first-string role, added a 15-of-24 for 175 yards and two-score performance. His touchdown throws covered 10 yards to redshirt freshman running back Averin Collier and 50 to sophomore wide receiver Van Chew. In all, the Orange tallied 351 yards through the air.
Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Sales hauled in 10 passes for 100 yards on the afternoon. Donte Davis, a junior wideout, had four catches for 52 yards and Williams added four receptions for 33 yards.
Junior running back Delone Carter led the SU ground attack with 53 yards on 14 carries. He scored two touchdowns during the scrimmage's goal-line situations. Sophomore fullback Robert Nieves contributed seven carries for 32 yards and sophomore running back Antwon Bailey added a rushing touchdown.
The Orange defense got into the scoring act when junior linebacker Parker Cantey forced a fumble and sophomore defensive end Zary Stewart scooped up the loose ball and rambled 75 yards to paydirt.
Junior free safety Mike Holmes led the defensive unit with 10 tackles. Sophomore cornerback Kevyn Scott and senior safety George Mayes each had eight total tackles. The Orange defenders accumulated five quarterback sacks, including two from redshirt freshman defensive end Chandler Jones. Stewart also had a sack and finished with six tackles. Junior defensive tackle Bud Tribbey and senior safety Ryan Ahern had the other Syracuse quarterback sacks.
Redshirt freshman kicker Austin Wallis made each of his two field-goal attempts, covering 25 and 35 yards, and was good on both extra point attempts. Junior punter Rob Long kicked three times for a 39.0-yard average.
The game format featured the Syracuse offense (green team) versus the Orange defense (red team) in a series of game-like situations. The scrimmage featured multiple drive starts from the 30-, 50- and 20-yard line. After a 10-minute break, the offense was faced with specific third down and distance situations from different yard marks. The afternoon's competition wrapped up with first-and-goal plays from the four-yard line.
Offensive points were obtained by first downs (2 points), defensive penalties (2), 12-yard-or-more gains (2), touchdowns (6), field goals (3) and extra points (1).
Defensive points were credited for forced punts (2 points), forced fumbles (1), fumble recoveries (2), interceptions (3), tackles-for-loss (1), quarterback sacks (1), touchdowns (6), missed field goals (3), missed extra points (1) and defensive stops (2).