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Two very welcome sights for the defensive minds on this new staff
When the Syracuse Orange hired Fran Brown and his top assistant Elijah Robinson, the most immediate question was which top players the duo would retain for 2024. The answer came quickly.
Within a three-day span, Oronde Gadsden, Justin Barron, and Marlowe Wax all announced their intent to return to SU for the coming season. Gadsden was somewhat expected coming off a major foot injury, but the other two played complete, healthy years while leading the ‘Cuse defense. Wax led SU with 108 tackles and four forced fumbles, while Barron locked down enemy airspace with eight pass breakups and an interception.
There’s always the risk of having your NFL stock drop while trying to finish off your college career on a high note – Mikel Jones is a recent example. But that didn’t deter either vet from spending a year playing for the new age Orange.
Marlowe is looking at the decision from another perspective: having a chance to play in more of an NFL-style defense, put together by two coaches with SEC experience:
“For me personally, it was about how much (Coach Fran) had a plan for everything and how much he believed in his guys,” Wax said. “I really want to play behind some big boys. The linemen you see, he brought those guys in. That’s definitely what I want.”
Syracuse’s Rover echoed the same sentiments:
“My first talk with Coach Fran, he told me to just give him a chance,” Barron said. “When he came here and he talked about his vision, and his vision for me specifically, it was a no-brainer for me to come back.”
The two defensive standouts both had personal reasons for coming back to ‘Cuse, but Barron didn’t deny that part of those was the chance to continue playing together. He’s especially excited about the chance to have multiple roles under Coach Robinson’s plug-and-play defense.
“Spring is the time to see what these guys can do,” Robinson said. “We want to teach our guys the game, and we can’t lock them into a box to do that.”
The defense is receiving instruction not just from Robinson, but from their new head coach as well. Brown’s extensive background working with DBs has helped him find a new home molding a young bunch of corners together with a more experienced safeties group. Throughout camp, we’ve seen Brown do more than just demonstrate drills – he’s running through them himself in just a hoodie and shorts.
“To have the head coach be in our position room as well, which we obviously haven’t seen before, it’s very helpful.” Barron said. “Being able to see what he wants more than anyone because he’s the head coach. His vision for the defense is really important.”
“He loves to be out here,” Wax said. “He loves the game, he loves to be intense, so he’s gonna be out there doing drills. You don’t see that from a lot of coaches.”
The strategy on defense may change with two new men overseeing preparations, but the two guys in charge on the field haven’t lost their authority in the slightest.
“J.B. and Marlowe, those guys are great,” Robinson said. “Those guys are the first ones to come up to the office and say ‘Coach, what can we get better at?’ So I’m excited about those guys. They were leaders before we got here, and they’re darn sure leaders now.”
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