On Thursdays over the summer, The Juice Online is going to highlight individual players on the 2015 Syracuse football team. This week, we’re profiling safety Antwan Cordy.
There has been plenty of turnover in the Syracuse defense in the offseason, and it is perhaps most pronounced in the safeties.
The three players who received the majority of time at the position (Durell Eskridge, Darius Kelly and Ritchy Desir) are gone, leaving a group of talented—but unproven—players on their wake.
One of the young safeties who has shown promise is sophomore Antwan Cordy, who has drawn rave reviews in practice from Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer.
“I was […] pleased with Antwan,” Shafer said at Syracuse media day earlier in the month, “I’ve always enjoyed coaching kids from down that way (Florida), especially a lot of secondary players, for whatever reason.”
Cordy was recruited to Syracuse as a cornerback and played 11 games there in his freshman year. His lone start came against Boston College, replacing an injured Julian Whigham. He recorded two tackles in that game.
But Shafer decided to move Cordy over to safety after the season was over, and the results have been good so far.
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“With Antwan, we said, ‘We’d like to give you a shot at one of these safeties. I know you can play corner, but, let’s see if you can play safety,'” Shafer said. “And it was natural for him.
“You know it was natural for him when it’s day two or day three and he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities for classroom time with the coach and they do a nice job breaking on the football, showing up where a safety should show up.”
Cordy isn’t built like a typical safety at 5’8″, 175 pounds, but makes up for his with his toughness and high energy, Shafer said. That kind of enthusiasm will eventually endear him to the fans at the Carrier Dome.
“I think he fits in nicely at either strong or the free,” Shafer said.
Vitals:
- Birthdate: January 1995
- Hometown: Homestead, Fla.
- High School: South Dade
- Position: Safety
- Class: Sophomore
- Height: 5’8″
- Weight: 175 lbs
Career highlights: Cordy played in 11 games, including one start, as a true freshman. He had his best game against Pittsburgh, where he recorded a career-high four tackles and made his first career interception.
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