After the defense as a whole warmed up with light ball-stripping drills, the fumble-scooping routine and deflecting passes from point-blank range, the players split into positional groups during open practice Monday in the Carrier Dome.

The linebackers started by picking off out routes thrown by their coach Clark Lea and then began the leg-burning exercises.

Lea dragged over an approximately 5-yard-wide chute to emphasize staying low to the ground.

In the first drill, the players split up and lined up on both sides of the chute. Lea had a giant ball on the turf, and when the players side-stepped underneath the chute, Lea pushed the ball at them. The players, already using their legs to stay low to the ground, had to muster up the strength to push the ball right back to Lea while moving from side to side, staying low enough to clear the chute.

A few drills later, the players cut diagonally underneath it. They ran out another 3 yards past the chute to two upside-down trash cans, where the players stopped, turned around and caught a pass from Lea or another assistant coach.

“Nice job, nice job,” Lea said to his players as he took out his notes for the next drill.

The linebackers coach then pulled the individual sled out to the field and had his players go at it.

“Punch it. Punch it,” Lea repeated to freshman Colton Moskal.

As the group wrapped up its round of shots at the sled, head coach Scott Shafer walked over, having taken notice of the work his linebackers were putting in.

“Keep it going,” Shafer told them, “keep it going.”

Defensive line

Tim Daoust’s linemen squared up with each other near the goal line of the Carrier Dome end zone and worked on their explosiveness out of the down position.

After the linebackers finished utilizing the chute, the linemen used it to emphasize staying low to the ground, lining up in the down position underneath the chute and popping out outside of it.

Defensive backs

The secondary started out on footwork, maneuvering around a 5-yard square of cones and hauling in passes.

Later, the defensive backs honed their interception skills, picking off short out routes and deeper out routes thrown by defensive backs coach Fred Reed.

Special teams

The field-goal unit showed off its trickery Monday, rolling holder Riley Dixon out to the side to throw passes.

Rolling to his left on the first snap, the punter hit defensive end Isaiah Johnson, who nearly dropped what would’ve been a touchdown. On the next play, Dixon rolled to his right and found freshman Jamal Custis, a wide receiver working with the tight ends, for a score.

SU ran a third-consecutive fake, but Dixon’s pass for Custis was deflected incomplete.

Published on August 18, 2014 at 8:06 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb