Freshman walk-on Cole Murphy is No. 1 on Syracuse’s place-kicking depth chart for the first time. And on Tuesday’s teleconference, SU head coach Scott Shafer explained why.

Murphy and Ryan Norton, who is 4-for-7 on the year, competed last week for the starting job. After having their attempts in practice charted, Shafer decided to start Murphy. He had an extra point blocked and a field goal bounce off the right upright, but Shafer said he kicked well and will continue to have Murpy and Norton compete for the starting kicking job.

“And like all the players we’ll continue to watch him every day and I’m not steadfast on having to name a starter at any position at any time,” Shafer said. “Competition is what makes players excel at higher levels. So we’ll continue to create those competitive environments in practice.”