Syracuse football held its first fall camp media availability in Manley Field House on Friday ahead of the team’s first practice on Saturday. Head coach Dino Babers, linebacker Zaire Franklin, center Jason Emerich and other players spoke to the media.

Here are three things Babers said.

1. Michael Moore and James Pierre have not reported for fall camp

Commits Michael Moore and James Pierre have not reported to SU’s preseason training camp because of eligibility. Pierre is waiting for “certification” from the NCAA and Moore is waiting for “certification” from SU, Babers said.

Moore, a 6-foot-2 cornerback, is transferring from Palomar (California) College. Pierre, a safety, was originally signed to North Carolina but had to decommit after UNC would not admit him.

Colorado graduate transfer defensive end De’Jon Wilson did report to camp despite not being listed on the roster.

2. Syracuse will hit as necessary

To keep his team healthy, Babers said the Orange will hit on an as-needed basis. The amount of hitting in practice will depend on how proficient the team is. He will limit specific players’ amount of hitting, too, if they need less practice.

“It’s all based on what we see,” Babers said. “When you have two boxers and you’re training one and the one that you’re training is a fantastic hitter — he can strike things, he can hit things and crush things that he hits. He doesn’t have to practice doing that much.

“If we’ve got a team full of hitters, you don’t have to hit that much. They know what they’re doing. If you don’t have a team full of hitters, you better practice hitting. Because if you don’t hit in this game you won’t have a chance to win.”

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MORE PRESEASON STORYLINES:

• Storyline No. 1: How will SU adjust to Dino Babers’ offense?
• Storyline No. 2: Who will step up at defensive end?
• Storyline No. 3: Can Eric Dungey stay in the pocket?

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3. Babers will finally get to meet with his team during fall camp

Unlike in years past, the addition of satellite camps sapped time from Babers to get to know his players. Babers attended camps in Cleveland, Norfolk, Virginia, Ontario, Canada, and Paramus New Jersey.

“That took a lot of time away from them,” Babers said.

He was also on the road fundraising with Syracuse’s “No Huddle Tour” in June.

Saturday will be the team’s first practice since the spring season. Despite Babers not getting to see his players as much as he’d like, the SU head coach said players look stronger now than they did in the spring but still have room to grow.

The post-spring depth chart, which is the most current depth chart released was based on 10 padded practices from the spring. Babers said part of the reason starters haven’t been named at some positions is because the staff has seen its team so few times. And because the staff is new, Babers knows they’re “behind.”

“But that’s OK,” he followed up. “People have been ran down from behind before.”

Published on August 5, 2016 at 4:38 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus