Apparently, Syracuse’s football coaches had seen enough.

They’d seen enough defensive backs counting threads on receivers’ jerseys. Enough opposing quarterbacks standing calmly in the pocket. Enough Big East running backs discarding SU’s would-be tacklers like mosquitoes.

In short, they had enough of their defense, a unit that finished 2002 ranked last in the Big East in total defense, giving up 475.7 yards a game and dragging SU to a 4-8 record.

Yesterday, SU officially announced its solution for its worst defensive season in recent memory. Syracuse signed 18 players — 11 of them defensive — on college football’s National Signing Day.

‘We focused on the secondary,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘We wanted to get a couple of cornerbacks. We’re just trying to fill some need.’

Indeed, the Orangemen are overhauling their secondary, which last year allowed 303.8 yards per game and graduated four players.

Syracuse signed four defensive backs yesterday, bringing its total to six, including Jeremy Sellers and Larry McClain, who enrolled at SU in January.

Sellers and McClain, who are eligible for spring practice, will be the most competitive for playing time in their class.

‘I know this: Larry McClain is going to be competing for the starting corner,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘Jeremy Sellers is going to compete for safety.’

McClain and Sellers both hail from Virginia’s Fork Union Military Academy, but their paths to SU were decidedly different.

Sellers received several scholarship offers a year ago but failed to meet the NCAA’s standard ACT score by a point. After a year at Fork Union, Sellers decided on Syracuse.

For Sellers, SU’s poor season was a selling point.

‘Coming into a team that was down, you always want to be the person that can try to come in and improve the team,’ Sellers said. ‘I guess that’s just a goal for anybody that would come in and start at safety.’

McClain’s journey was even more of an ordeal. He signed with SU in 2001 but failed to meet academic standards and went to Fork Union. In 2002, he again tried to come to Syracuse, but personal reasons kept him in Fork Union for a second year.

As it did for Sellers, last year’s secondary debacle made SU an appealing choice for McClain.

‘It’s a dream come true (to be at Syracuse),’ McClain said. ‘I graduated high school in 2001, so this is like a prayer answered for me. I expect to play. It’s a great opportunity for a young guy coming in right now. With the situation of me coming in January, I feel like I have a head start on the guys that are coming in in August.’

With those guys, Syracuse emphasized increasing its speed in the defensive backfield.

‘When you’re looking at defensive backs, speed is something you just can’t duplicate,’ SU recruiting coordinator Jerry Azzinaro said. ‘It’s like height in basketball: Either a guy can run fast or he can’t.’

Two of the fastest defensive backs are Lenny Carter and Marcus Clayton. Each runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. Carter and Clayton are already two of SU’s fastest players.

‘They can certainly run fast,’ Azzinaro said. ‘They’ve got a chance to be really good cover corners.’

While the Orangemen focused on upgrading their defense, experts forecast another down year. Syracuse failed to land one of recruiting guru Tom Lemming’s top 100 players, and several recruiting services ranked just one player — kicker Ricky Krautman — as a four-star athlete.

But Pasqualoni insisted Syracuse has its own evaluation methods.

‘We go by our evaluation,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘I don’t know, from a recruiting service standpoint, who’s watching film, who’s making these evaluations. What I’ve learned over the years is that you’re far better hanging your hat on what you and your staff feel.’

Published on February 5, 2003 at 12:00 pm