The Syracuse Orange return 13 starters from a team that finished 5-7 in 2011, including quarterback Ryan Nassib and and leading receiver Alec Lemon. But according to the team's depth chart released prior to preseason practice, several returning starters could be battling for a starting spot.
Lemon, in fact, is listed behind Jeremiah Kobena at the X-receiver, though that will probably not hold.
Here are three other battles to keep an eye on looking ahead to the Orange's Sept. 1 opener against Northwestern:
Defensive end: Incumbent Deon Goggins sits behind redshirt freshman Donnie Simmons, though that is also unlikely to remain. Goggins, a redshirt senior, tied for fifth on the team last season with 43 tackles, but he only had 1.5 sacks coming off the edge. Simmons sat out his freshman season, and the coaching staff loves his motor, especially after he gained more than 20 pounds in the offseason. Even though he may not beat out Goggins -- or senior Brandon Sharpe at the other end -- Simmons will still see plenty of playing time.
Linebacker: Sophomore Marquis Spruill was one of the team's top tacklers a season ago, but he is listed as Dan Vaughan's backup at outside linebacker. Unfortunately for Spruill, Vaughan was even better last season, racking up 72 total tackles, good for second on the team. Senior Siriki Diabate is also in the mix in the middle, but expect Spruill to move back to that spot and be flanked by Vaughan and sophomore Dyshawn Davis.
Cornerback: It seems to be a three-man race for two spots at this point, between Ri'Shard Anderson, Keon Lyn, and Brandon Reddish. Anderson and Lyn were starters last season, while Reddish was just getting his feet wet as a true freshman. Still, Reddish has made great strides during preseason, and he may relegate one of the incumbents to second team.
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