Antoine Deslauriers has already made his mark at Syracuse, and now the sophomore linebacker is helping define what the Orange want their defense to look like this season.
After practice Friday, Deslauriers talked about the “11 as 1” message the team has embraced for 2026. For him, it’s about turning a group of individual defenders into one operating unit.
“11 as 1” mantra for the Orange
The idea, Deslauriers said, is that to " have a winning defense, we have to play all as one.
"W e have 11 on the field but we have to play as one person. With the relationship we have as a defense and the whole team, we can achieve that goal as playing as a single unit."
That message carries extra weight after what Syracuse went through on defense in 2025. The Orange finished 125th out of 134 FBS teams in total defense, allowing 427.7 yards per game.
Among Power 4 programs, only Rutgers and Boston College were worse. Syracuse’s scoring defense was even more troubling, giving up 34.92 points per game, the lowest mark among Power 4 teams and 128th nationally.
Deslauriers’ own debut season showed why he matters in the middle of all this. In 2025, he became the first true Syracuse freshman ever to lead the team in total tackles in a season, tying Gary Bryant III with 60. He added 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles, earning multiple freshman All-American honors along the way.
Syracuse has also spent the offseason reshaping the staff on that side of the ball. In December, the program made a change at defensive coordinator, with Elijah Robinson moving from that role to defensive line coach after Vince Kehres was hired. Kehres arrives after six seasons as Toledo’s defensive coordinator, and his 2025 defense ranked fourth in scoring defense nationally, behind only Ohio State, national champion Indiana and Texas Tech.
Deslauriers and the Orange will keep grinding through preseason camp all month. Syracuse Roundtable’s camp coverage continues Wednesday from the Ensley Center, where the team is set for two closed practices and an off day over the next four days.
Once camp wraps at the end of the month, the schedule flips quickly into game mode. Syracuse opens the regular season at home against New Hampshire on Sept. 5 at the JMA Wireless Dome, with kickoff set for noon ET.
In Other News...
Syracuse Defense Is Giving Fans A Reason To Believe Again
By the time Syracuse wrapped its third fall training camp practice, the tone around the defense was already starting to shift. New coordinator Vince Kehres, fresh in from Toledo, spent his media session talking up the groups strength and the kind of standard he expects it to play with, while defensive back Chris Peal offered a players view of the transition. Peal, a preseason All-ACC cornerback and a name to keep in mind for the NFL draft picture, said the group is still sorting through the details as it settles into Kehres system.
What makes the early buzz matter is how much Syracuse needs this side of the ball to hold up if it wants to turn belief into something more concrete this fall. Peals presence gives the secondary a clear anchor, and his comfort level in the new defense will be one of the cleaner indicators of where this unit is headed. For now, the signs are encouraging, but camp has only just begun, and the real test will come once the pace and pressure pick up. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Defense Faces One Huge Test Under Vince Kehres
Vince Kehres arrives in Syracuse with a reputation that should matter immediately. After five seasons coordinating Toledos defense and a head-coaching stint at Mount Union before that, he steps into a program whose defense spent 2025 near the bottom nationally in both total and scoring defense, the kind of slide that demands more than a cosmetic fix. The Orange are hoping his track record in a very different environment can translate into something sturdier when the 2026 season opens.
The first place that makeover figures to be judged is up front, where Kehres has already sounded encouraged by the defensive line room as camp approaches. Syracuse needs that unit to hold up if the rest of the defense is going to follow, and the mix of portal help, younger returnees and incoming freshmen gives the staff at least some reason to believe the group can be deeper than it was a year ago. The question now is whether that depth can become something more than optimism once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Is Gaining Early Ground With A Fast-Rising New York Big Man
Syracuse has made a clear early push with Damian Mojica, the fast-rising New York big man in the 2028 class whose recruiting stock has climbed quickly in recent months. The four-star prospect already has scholarship offers from Syracuse and Purdue, among others, and his growing national profile has made him one of the more intriguing in-state names for the Orange to track this cycle.
Mojica was on campus in late June, giving Syracuse an early chance to strengthen a relationship that has been building through active contact with the coaching staff. For a program that has long valued keeping top New York talent home when possible, his rise adds another layer to a recruitment that still has plenty of time to develop, but already looks like one worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]