Find out why the four letter acronym E.A.T.T. is the motivation behind this year's unit.
After a disappointing 2025 season on defense, the Syracuse Orange football team is looking to improve this upcoming fall.
Last season, the Orange defense totaled just 20 sacks, a number ranking as the third-worst in the entire Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Orange's overall defensive pass rush ranked 99th out of 136 teams according to Pro Football Focus.
Of course, it's also fair to point out that the team's offensive struggles and quarterback woes led to some of the poor defensive performance. Syracuse's defense was on the field a lot, forced to try to pick up the slack because of poor quarterback play.
SU went 3-9 last season and lost eight straight games in the wake of a season-ending injury to starting QB Steve Angeli.
Syracuse's efforts to improve on the defensive side of the ball starts with a new edge rusher coach in Jeremy Hawkins - and a new mantra for the unit.
The Jeremy Hawkins file
Hawkins joined the Syracuse football staff in January. The 36-year-old Hawkins spent the previous two seasons at Georgia State. His resume also includes stints with Eastern Kentucky, LSU, UAB, Mercer and Central Oklahoma.
Hawkins was a college football player at Troy and also played professionally as an indoor football player.
What does E.A.T.T. mean for the Syracuse football edge rushers?
Multiple times during Hawkins' media session on Monday, the new assistant coach mentioned the term E.E.A.T.
The four-letter acronym stands for "Energy, Enthusiasm, Attitude, Technique." Hawkins noted that all of his players, so far, are matching the effort they are hoping for and following the E.E.A.T. attitude.
When did linebackers and defensive ends merge into edge rushers?
For football fans who have followed the sport at most both the college and pro level, the term "edge rusher" is starting to be used by more teams. In more traditional defenses, the terms "defensive ends" or "outside linebacker" are used to describe the defensive player that lines up on the line of scrimmage, matching the offense's widest-aligned player in formation.
Syracuse, like other teams and schools in the country, have adopted the term "edge rusher" to describe a player that is both rushing the passer and setting an edge for the defense.
Ironically enough, Syracuse has no official "edge rushers" listed on the team's roster. Everyone is still differentiated by linebacker and defensive lineman.
What do the next two weeks look like for Syracuse football?
This week is the final week of training camp practices before the team transitions into game week preparation, starting on Aug. 31.
The Orange will open the season on Sept. 5 against New Hampshire.
As August winds down, so does SyracuseRoundtable live coverage's from camp. Friday's practice will be the final day of on-site camp coverage.
We'll also have live coverage from all Syracuse home games at the JMA Wireless Dome.
