In conjunction with our College Football’s Best series, highlighting the top plays, players, highlights, and moments from all 133 teams, we’re here to showcase the best the Syracuse Orange have had to offer in 2023. Who has stood out? What units are turning heads?
And who from ‘Cuse is among the top mentions in our College Football’s Best series this season?
Syracuse Orange Best of 2023
At College Football Network, we watch every game. Every player. Every team. And our notebooks are chock full of top players, plays, highlights, and moments. Today, I’m emptying the notebook.
Below, find Syracuse’s noteworthy players, groupings, or units, all listed under a different category: good, great, grand, or wonderful. Every team across the country has put forth their best efforts in 2023, and through four weeks of action, those players deserve notoriety for what they’ve put forth this season.
Highlighting the best with a line from the one and only Chris Farley, welcome to this season’s Good, Great, Grand, Wonderful!
For all 133 teams, head over to College Football’s Best of 2023.
Jump to the rest of the teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference: Boston College |Clemson | Duke | FSU | Georgia Tech | Louisville | Miami | NC State | UNC | Pitt | Virginia | Virginia Tech | Wake Forest
Good: Jeremiah Wilson, CB
We had LeQuint Allen here for his all-around prowess on offense, but we couldn’t leave off Jeremiah Wilson, as he’s impressed in 2023. Wilson has five pass breakups and a pick-six and has proven he can lockdown any receiver on the outside for the Orange.
Great: Marlowe Wax, LB
While ‘The Mob’ has been terrific up front, it’s Marlowe Wax who grabs headlines on defense. He leads the team with 31 total tackles as he’s patrolled the middle of the field well and runs the alley even better.
His two sacks are tops on the team as Wax has proven effective at picking and choosing his shots and spying on opposing QBs all the same.
Grand: Receiver Quartet
Together, Damien Alford, Donovan Brown, Umari Hatcher, and Isaiah Jones have combined for 868 receiving yards in 2023. They’ve hauled in eight of nine touchdowns through the air, and the trio of Alford, Brown, and Hatcher each have gone for over 200.
They’re nearly unstoppable at this point.
Wonderful: Garrett Shrader, QB
The Orange are 4-0, and they certainly have Garrett Shrader to thank for that. He’s been brilliant with his legs, per usual, rushing for six touchdowns and 316 yards at 6.9 yards per rush.
But it’s his downfield passing that should scare opponents. Shrader has completed passes at a career-high 66.7% through four games and has added an element with his downfield accuracy.