Scott Shafer is, at his core, a defensive guy. He spent the past four years as Syracuse’s defensive coordinator before being promoted to head coach in the offseason.

In his time heading the defense, he’s built his own philosophies, one of which is his desire to have 18 capable players on defense.

He’s always seen depth on the defensive line, but until this year it was harder to come by at the linebacker position.

“We struggled with that, in my four years here, at linebacker because we haven’t had good numbers,” the head coach said during his weekly press conference Thursday.

With the emergence of JUCO transfers Luke Arciniega and Josh Kirkland into the Orange’s rotation, Shafer is feeling more comfortable about his depth at that position. Arciniega logged a career-high four tackles against No. 3 Clemson and has nine on the year, including two for a loss. Kirkland ranks fourth on the team with 19 tackles and his 2.5 for a loss are more than starter Dyshawn Davis.

Shafer said it can be an uncomfortable situation for a coach to get players like Arciniega and Kirkland involved when the three starters are so skilled.

“You’ve got to get outside your comfort zone a little bit,” Shafer said.

He knows, though, that adding depth will make SU “a better team at the end of the game.” He likes to get Cameron Lynch involved on special teams, too, so adding two more reliable linebackers to the rotation can keep Davis, Lynch and Marquis Spruill fresh at the end of the game.

Said Shafer: “They’ll be better football players if they can get a little break here and there.”

Published on October 10, 2013 at 11:19 am

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2