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New-look wide receiver corps emerging for Syracuse in spring

New-look wide receiver corps emerging for Syracuse in spring

Syracuse wide receiver Jarrod West has emerged as the most reliable pass catcher in the Orange's all new starting group. Ziniu Chen | Staff Photographer

Syracuse’s passing attack is undergoing an overhaul. With a brand-new quarterback, three new starting offensive linemen and a pair of new starting wide receivers, the days of Ryan Nassib, Marcus Sales, Alec Lemon and Justin Pugh are gone.

In their place is a new-look group. Three quarterbacks vie to replace Nassib. An inexperienced group of wide receivers join Jeremiah Kobena and Jarrod West to form an all-new starting group.

For stretches of the spring this group has been stagnant — on Sunday it failed to find the end zone for nearly half of practice. Other times it has flashed potential. West, Kobena and Quinta Funderburk, a highly touted transfer from Arkansas who sat out last season, all made spectacular catches and scored touchdowns.

“Those guys have done a tremendous job filling in for Marcus and Alec,” quarterback John Kinder said. “I think the same as us quarterbacks, they’ll begin to grow and progress as we continue and they get more repetitions, they’ll get better and better.”

West provided depth behind Sales and Lemon a year ago as the third wide receiver on the depth chart. Kobena, who has been primarily used as a kick returner in the past, missed the middle part of last season with an injury.

Keenan Hale, Christopher Clark and Alvin Cornelius III — all seldom used a year ago —add to the depth for a unit that lacks the top threats it had last year in Lemon and Sales.

“I feel like we have a real talented group, probably one of the talented groups I’ve ever played with, even playing with Alec and Marcus and how good they were,” West said. “Just the depth from the No. 1 guy to the last guy in the room is real good.”

West sits atop the group, but Kobena, now a junior, has been getting the majority of the first-team reps alongside him.

Kobena showed flashes of potential during his first two seasons with Syracuse. He was a fixture in the return game, averaging nearly 20 yards per kick return last season, and helped the Orange stretch the field. He hauled in just six catches, but two went for touchdowns, including a 50-yarder against Northwestern.

“He gives you a lot of speed and he can make tough catches and stuff,” West said. “So when he’s healthy we’re a lot stronger group.”

When the Orange came out of its break, quarterback Terrel Hunt took a sack, but learned from his mistake. Next time SU’s defense brought the blitz, the quarterback got the ball out quickly and rifled a pass to Kobena on a slant, who turned and darted to the end zone untouched.

But Funderburk is the most intriguing. The sophomore began his career as a four-star wide receiver recruit at Arkansas with incredible body control and gobs of potential. After struggling to get on the field as a freshman for the Razorbacks, Funderburk transferred to Syracuse where he’s now expected to be a big-play threat for an offense that lost its top two from a year ago.

“He’s a big-play receiver, I would say,” Kinder said. “He has the ability to make big plays and we’re going to take some shots with him.”

Despite the lofty expectations, Funderburk has primarily worked with the second unit, behind West and Kobena. But on Sunday he made a play that turned heads.

Quarterback Charley Loeb lofted a pass to the back corner of the end zone. Funderburk leaped up above the defense to snatch the ball out of the air and kept his feet in bounds for the touchdown. In one play, Funderburk showcased all the attributes that made him such an intriguing prospect — the body control, the hands, the concentration and the size.

“Quinta’s done some good things; I think he’s starting to mature as a player,” head coach Scott Shafer said. “He’s got a long way to get where we want him to be, but it was nice to see him make the catch today in traffic.”