Syracuse’s offensive line is in flux again, and the latest hit comes at right guard.
Head coach Fran Brown said Monday that starting right guard Jayden Mann will miss Saturday’s game at North Carolina State after leaving last weekend’s loss to Clemson with a lower-body sprain. Mann was on the field for only 13 snaps before the injury forced Syracuse to shuffle up front.
“I don’t think he will be [available],” Brown said. “It’s a sprain.
Nothing’s torn, or anything at all like that. But it’s badly sprained, I think.
Outside of that, he’ll be fine.”
Brown said Mann has no structural damage, but he does not expect him back anytime soon. The Orange are hopeful he could return if they reach a bowl game next month.
When Mann went down against Clemson, Syracuse turned to UCLA transfer Oluwafunto Akinshilo and sophomore Byron Washington to handle the rest of the work at right guard. The results were uneven. According to Pro Football Focus, Akinshilo gave up a sack and another pressure in just three snaps, while Washington finished with a pass-blocking grade of 55.4 and a run-blocking grade of 39.3.
The problems weren’t limited to one spot. Syracuse’s right side had a rough afternoon against the Tigers, with starting right tackle Kam Pringle allowing a sack and another pressure in 15 snaps. Pringle’s 27 allowed pressures are tied for the sixth-most in the FBS.
That opened the door for sophomore Skylar Harvey, who took over and played 60 snaps. Brown said the competition between the two has been ongoing.
“They’ve both been competing,” Brown said. “Kam has done a good job.
I think he got beat twice early on, so we put Skylar in. Skylar has done well.”
Harvey finished with a pass-blocking grade of 55.4 and a run-blocking grade of 49.1. He allowed one pressure and was also flagged for a critical illegal hands to the face penalty late in the first half. That penalty pushed Syracuse back from Clemson territory to its own side of the field, and the Orange eventually ran out of time before they could try a field goal.
Brown said Harvey remains a candidate to start at right tackle this week.
The bigger question is what Syracuse does at guard. Brown said the staff is still sorting out who will replace Mann, and whether Joe Cruz will slide from left guard to the right side.
He also said Akinshilo, like center Kahlil Stewart, is dealing with an ankle sprain but should be able to play through it.
“We’ll have some things that we’ve got to do now to figure out who’s going back into the opposite side,” Brown said. “Do we move Joe Cruz to the other side?
Do we play [Akinshilo] because he had a little high-ankle sprain? Do we get an opportunity to have [Akinshilo] go back in or will it be Byron to play the other side?”
The uncertainty comes with Syracuse already sitting 123rd out of 138 teams in pass blocking, according to PFF. That protection has been a major issue for quarterback Steve Angeli, who has completed just 27.8% of his passes when pressured this season. In six games, he has 181 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions under pressure.
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