The heart and soul of Syracuse’s miraculous three-year defensive turnaround is gone. Nebraska poached Tony White from SU yesterday and its left the program in an unstable state. The Orange’s 3-3-5 system was nothing short of terrific since 2020 when White arrived from Arizona State. The defensive guru was nominated as a finalist for assistant of the year in college football and with good reason. White has directed three different top-20 defense despite a rotating cast of characters, injuries, and even though the roster didn’t really fit his scheme very well.
White was beloved by Syracuse fans and players alike. If you had any doubts about that just check out the murmurs from social media yesterday…
We tried to warn you about White’s potential departure a few months ago. The DC has been unbelievable in his time at Syracuse, it was a matter of when and not if that the schools with big purses were going to come knocking. Could we see players like Duce Chestnut, Caleb Okechukwu, and Marlowe Wax transfer out of the program? Their tweets certainly lend some belief to that possibility.
Nick Monroe is reportedly taking over as the defensive coordinator for the Pinstripe Bowl. The long-time assistant coach has done some impressive things on the recruiting trail and has close personal connections to a lot of the players just mentioned. Perhaps if Monroe is given the DC job, those star players will be more inclined to stay.
As always, stay tuned.