Only three names immediately came to Jake Pickard’s mind when thinking about who could step up at defensive end on Saturday.

“Me, (graduate transfer) De’Jon (Wilson), (redshirt freshman Josh) Black and whoever else steps up is going to have to make sure to hold it down and have our brothers’ backs,” Pickard said.

It’s the whoever else that could be a problem. Syracuse started the season with a thin and inexperienced defensive end grouping. Between them, none had started a snap at defensive end for the Orange.

Against Wake Forest last game, Kendall Coleman was called for targeting, earning a suspension for the first half against Virginia Tech, and Black injured what appeared to be his ankle on the first drive of the fourth quarter, never to return. He wasn’t on the injury report released Thursday so he should be a full go. That still leaves an undermanned position group headed into a matchup with No. 17 Virginia Tech (4-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) and a fairly mobile quarterback in Jerod Evans on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

“You always have to be prepared for that,” Pickard said, “just what happened in that game. You never know. You guys could have a full depth one play and three plays later that could be completely tarnished.”

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Black and Coleman’s plays happened two Wake Forest offensive series apart. First, Black got hurt. Then Coleman hit Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford high well after a throw, earning him a roughing the passer penalty, an ejection and a suspension after an in-game review.

Dino Babers called it a bang-bang play and didn’t see helmet-to-helmet contact, but those calls cannot be reversed after the game.

Wilson, Pickard and freshman Kenneth Ruff took over at the two spots with the starters out. Wilson is starting in Coleman’s place on Saturday and Pickard will likely start if is too limited.

Beyond those three there aren’t many more options. Earlier in the season, defensive tackle Chris Slayton had played at defensive end. An injury to Kayton Samuels bumped Slayton back inside, but Samuels is now healthy. SU could move Slayton back to defensive end if necessary.

“We’re not going to be in too much of a disaster plan,” Pickard said. “We definitely have backups. We have other guys showing contribution that could play defensive end for us that could help us out if necessary.”

The other challenge looming for the Orange is shutting down Evans, who led his team in rushes last weekend and averages about 50 yards per game. Other teams Syracuse has faced that run read-option plays — Louisville and South Florida — have fared well, compiling 250 yards on the ground with their QBs (most of which was earned by Lamar Jackson’s 199-yard game) and 648 total rushing yards between the two games.

Those were the second and third games of the season. And since then, Babers and defensive line coach Vinson Reynolds have stressed to the young ends, “we don’t have time for you to be freshmen anymore. You guys have to step up,” Pickard recalled.

“They do have some younger guys out there playing, but they’re certainly playing with great effort,” Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente said. “Their technique has gotten better since the season started. I think it’s apparent. They’re obviously being well coached in their schemes and their techniques.”

The Orange runs a carousel of ends in and out throughout the game to keep them fresh. Pickard sees that as an advantage for the Orange, but thinks any of the players could last an extended amount of time on the field, or even close to a full game — which may become a reality on Saturday.

“If that time ever comes where it’s just one or two people at each position,” Pickard said, “we’re definitely going to be able to do that and still work at the highest level we can while with the lower numbers we have.”

Published on October 13, 2016 at 10:20 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus