Much like its quarterback decision, the Syracuse football team will wait to name its second starting cornerback until the end of this week. Sophomore cornerback Tanard Jackson will start at left cornerback, while a competition involving five players will be used to determine the other starter.

Juniors DeAndre LaCaille and Thomas Whitfield, sophomores Terrell Lemon and Marcus Clayton and true freshman Dowayne Davis are competing for the job.

‘We’ve had some very serious competition going on,’ SU head coach Paul Pasqualoni said on Monday. ‘I would hope by (today) or (tomorrow) we’d have a direction or rotation. In fairness to that group, we just need to give them a chance this week to really compete so we can know who the best guy is.’

Defensive backs coach R. Todd Littlejohn said he was going to speak with the competitors yesterday, hoping to light a fire under them. He said none had come up to him and really showed a strong interest, but he figured that would change with SU’s first game only three days away.

LaCaille and Clayton, a converted wide receiver, are both recovering from difficult fall seasons. Both injured their hamstrings, but Littlejohn said each has recovered. LaCaille may be leading the competition based on his seniority, and he’s listed in the top spot on SU’s depth chart.

‘I don’t want to make it a revolving door (of corners) this year,’ Littlejohn said. ‘You want to have a guy settle into a position.’

Middle man Pasqualoni announced Monday that Jerry Mackey, a sophomore, will start at middle linebacker on Sunday, replacing Rich Scanlon. Mackey, the great nephew of SU All-American John Mackey, played in four games last season, registering three tackles.

‘From the start of the spring Jerry has gotten better every single day,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘He’s got great work ethic.’

Injury bug Rice Moss was supposed to be Syracuse’s next big-time receiver. The freshman made the two-deep depth chart to start the season and was drawing rave reviews. Now, he’ll wait until next season to show his skills. Moss broke his right thumb last Saturday and will miss the entire season.

‘The injury to Rice Moss hurts us because he’s a very good freshman,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘He’s an unusual guy because he’s so mature. It’s hard to lose him.’

Sleeping with the enemy The quarterback secret is out, but Pasqualoni said earlier this week he expects Purdue to have a pretty extensive scouting report of his team. Three former SU assistant coaches now coach the Boilermakers. Purdue defensive ends coach Gary Emanuel (1991-93), defensive backs coach Lou Anarumo (1990-91) and running backs coach David Mitchell (1991-93) all spent time at SU.

‘Don’t worry about Purdue finding anything out about Syracuse that they don’t already know with the playbook sitting in front of them,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘Purdue will find out everything they need to know.’

This and that Brad Nessler, Bob Griese and Lynn Swann will call Sunday’s game for ABC, the same team that worked SU’s game against Notre Dame last season. … This is the first meeting between Syracuse and Purdue.

Published on September 1, 2004 at 12:00 pm