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Oronde Gadsden II isn’t one to get “pissed off” about a lack of targets, according to Kyle McCord. Syracuse’s quarterback expresses utmost confidence in his big-bodied but stoic tight end, who takes pride in filling his role as a blocker if he’s not producing gaudy receiving numbers.

Over the last two weeks, though, the McCord-Gadsden connection has struggled. Gadsden hauled in 201 receiving yards and three touchdowns across SU’s first two games of the season. Since then, he’s been held to three catches for 16 yards.

Head coach Fran Brown spoke highly of Gadsden’s blocking ability following the tight end’s latest tough outing: a one reception, four-yard statline against Holy Cross. But Gadsden’s not at Syracuse to block. His expected role as McCord’s No. 1 pass-catcher has diminished as of late, even with wide receiver Zeed Haynes missing time.

“It’s a long season, and the way that he works, I’m not worried about getting on the same page (with him),” McCord said of Gadsden Saturday. “I know that it will come.”

Here’s a breakdown of how scheme flaws and less cohesion with McCord caused Gadsden to falter in Syracuse’s last two games against Stanford and Holy Cross:

Stanford: 2nd quarter, 13:29 — Clogged in the middle

SU offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon enacted an air-raid attack that worked to near-perfection through Weeks 1-2. But, it was a one-dimensional offense against Stanford, failing to eclipse 30 rushing yards as a team.

Adding to a lack of play calling diversity, Nixon hasn’t mixed up his route combinations as well as he had been. Where McCord used to have reads at every level of the field, route trees grew more stagnant. For Gadsden, he’s often been stuck in a clogged middle of the field, an area he previously dominated.

This play is a prime example of that. On a second-and-12 from its own 23-yard line, Syracuse went in shotgun with four receivers out wide. Gadsden lined up in the slot on the left side. In this situation, he fits perfectly as a safety valve for McCord. Athletic tight ends like Gadsden can create chunk plays on second-and-longs through short routes over the middle or out routes near the sideline.

Instead, Gadsden ran a short post route into no man’s land. McCord never saw him as Stanford linebacker Wilfredo Aybar instantly blocked his eyeline to a cutting Gadsden. It took too long for Gadsden, or any receiver, to turn around in free space, leading McCord to get sacked for a loss of nine yards.

Stanford: 4th quarter, 5:25 — Misconnection on routine out-route

Down 23-17 late against Stanford, points were a necessity for Syracuse on this drive. While it wound up finishing with a Jackson Meeks go-ahead receiving score, it was nearly stalled due to a misconnection from McCord to Gadsden.

On this play, a second-and-8 from the Cardinal’s 40-yard line, Gadsden lined up once again in the slot with four receivers split out wide. Off McCord’s cadence, Gadsden dashed four yards upfield and darted left for an out-route. McCord stared him down in a clean pocket the entire way. Once Gadsden broke his route and turned his head, McCord let one rip.

There were numerous issues here. First, Gadsden’s route was well short of the sticks. Second, McCord’s eyes tracking on Gadsden allowed Stanford linebacker Tristan Sinclair to easily read the play. Lastly, the throw itself was a little too late. Gadsden had slight separation just before Sinclair got to him. But the play resulted in McCord’s throw being broken up by Sinclair, setting up a long third down in a crucial spot.

Holy Cross: 2nd quarter, 12:19 — An uncreative curl

Nixon’s use of Gadsden isn’t very creative here either. As said earlier, the offensive coordinator failed to scheme Gadsden open very much against Stanford. The same occurred versus Holy Cross.

On another third-down situation, this time a third-and-9 from SU’s 37-yard line, McCord is left with few options to throw the ball. Syracuse lined up in 11 personnel, with the tight end in Gadsden positioned as a strong-side down lineman. Gadsden faked blocking the edge rusher upon the snap, hesitating and leaking out toward the first-down mark. But by the time he turned around, it was too late. McCord had already been sacked by Carlo Crocetti.

McCord simply didn’t have enough time to see the field due to right tackle Enrique Cruz Jr.’s missed blocking assignment. Not that he had any quality reads to make anyways. There were no quick options designed for McCord to check down to. Meeks was doubled on a go route. And Gadsden — the safety valve — was put in a tough position again.

He was immediately covered by Holy Cross corner Donovan Comestro. Gadsden wasn’t even past the first-down mark when he finished his curl, adding salt to the wound. There just wasn’t a dynamic effort by Nixon on this play to find a way to get a reliable third-down target open.

Holy Cross: 3rd quarter, 14:52 — Safety collapses on Gadsden

The absence of Haynes proves to be one of the main reasons for Gadsden’s two-game production decline. Without sharing the field with SU’s X receiver, Gadsden has far less free space. Instead of helping on Haynes’ side, opposing safeties can play lower in the box and hunt for Gadsden in the middle, while linebackers can easily cover him in the short field.

McCord experienced this struggle against Stanford.

“It felt like every single play, they had underneath coverage as well as a safety over the top of him pretty much everywhere he went,” McCord said of the Cardinal. “I’m sure they made that emphasis to take him away.”

Holy Cross followed a similar blueprint to Stanford’s on this play. On a first-and-10 to open the third quarter, Syracuse lined up in the shotgun in a single-back formation, with three receivers split left and one to the right. Gadsden positioned in the slot. As soon as McCord corralled J’Onre Reed’s snap, he looked Gadsden’s way and never took his eyes off him.

Gadsden ran a five-yard curl route, while the remainder of the receivers spread out from the middle of the field. But the Crusaders’ free safety, Tommy Bestpitch, read it like a book. He stuttered toward Gadsden, charged at him once McCord released and knocked the tight end just as the ball hit his hands. Bestpitch’s hit brought Gadsden to the ground, forcing another incompletion.

Published on October 1, 2024 at 8:30 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews