Andrew Armstrong and Lakiem Williams are always competing. In the weight room and on practice fields this summer, the pair couldn’t resist comparing each other’s measurables. Who could lift more weight? Who could finish a sprint quicker? Who could run a faster 40-yard dash?

By season’s start, their competition shifted to on-field statistics — sacks, tackles and tackles for loss. Whoever ends up with the most tackles at the end of the season has to buy the other dinner.

“I’ll go make a play, he’ll go make a play, then he’ll come back, get like three plays in a row,” Williams said. “I’m like ‘OK, dang, I need to get me one now.’ We always battle.”

Williams currently leads the team with 43 tackles, and Armstrong a close second at 41. In terms of game-by-game tackle totals, the two have each “won” three games so far. Syracuse’s (3-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) starting linebacker duo has set the tone for the Orange this season, serving as the leaders of the defense at a position that many thought would be one of SU’s weaker ones this year.

The Orange had to replace starting linebackers Ryan Guthrie and Kielan Whitner from last season’s team, but Armstrong and Williams have thrived in their first seasons as starters for the Orange.

“When you start thinking about the second game to what they’re doing right now,” SU head coach Dino Babers said, “they have developed extremely well.”

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In Syracuse’s second game of the season — a 63-20 beatdown by Maryland — the Terrapins ran for 354 yards on a lost SU defense. While the two linebackers finished second and third on the team in tackles that day, they, along with the rest of the defense, struggled with missed tackles, poor reads and miscommunications.

Williams and Armstrong said the Orange didn’t take the Terrapins seriously and thought they’d cruise to a victory. But then UMD took a 28-7 lead just a quarter and a half into the game, seemingly shaking Syracuse’s defense up for the rest of the contest.

“That’s just a feeling we don’t want to have again,” Williams said. “So ever since then we’re just like ‘we’re gonna be right no matter who it is, who we play.’”

After a loss to reigning national champion Clemson the following week, Syracuse’s defense has shown marked improvement, holding its last three opponents to just 52 points combined. SU’s allowed just 107.6 yards per game on the ground while extending its takeaway streak to 20 games, the second-best active mark in the nation behind Mississippi State.

The Orange defense’s strong stretch of play culminated last Thursday, when they held  North Carolina State to more than 13 points below its season average. While SU still managed to lose the game, 16-10, because of its struggling offense, the Orange had its best individual effort of the year by either linebacker. Not only did Armstrong prolong Syracuse’s turnover streak with his second-career interception, but the senior led the team with a career-high 14 tackles.

“He always surprises me with something new every day,” Williams said about Armstrong. “The NC State game really made me appreciate (Armstrong) because they were just trying and he just kept making plays.”

Armstrong played in all 13 of Syracuse’s games last season, but started just one, spending most of his playing time on third downs and special teams. He saw limited action, but his 45 tackles were sixth-most on the team and his two fumble recoveries were tied for third-best in the ACC. His production can be attributed in part to his knowledge of the game, Williams said, which has impressed him just as much as Armstrong’s physical ability.

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Williams, meanwhile, has developed into SU’s leading tackler after barely seeing the field last year. The Tacoma, Washington native played sparingly and made just four tackles, spending his time exclusively on special teams. After transferring to Syracuse following two years at Butte College, Williams has had just over a year to learn the Orange’s defensive schemes. With six games as a starter, his intensive work this summer — like learning the playbook and improving his body — has come to fruition.

“I feel like it’s shown on the field this year and he’s created a name for himself,” Armstrong said. “We’re a really good duo out there, I’m happy to have him by my side.”

Williams’ responsibility before the snap as a middle linebacker is to relay the play call to the rest of the defense. Armstrong identifies what type of formation the offense is in, relaying that information back to Williams so that the two can make whatever pre-snap adjustments are necessary.

As the “voice of the defense,” linebackers are largely responsible for ensuring every play is thoroughly communicated and understood before the ball is snapped.

Communication has been the key of late for Syracuse, Armstrong said. When there is no communication or if a player isn’t on the same page as the rest of the defense, that’s when big plays and holes happen, like what happened time-and-again against Maryland.

Despite some hesitation prior to the season regarding the preparedness of SU’s linebacker group, Williams and Armstrong have had success while taking the brunt of Syracuse’s defensive responsibilities. Last year, when Guthrie and Whitner had to replace two star Orange linebackers, they led 2018’s squad team in tackles. This year, Williams and Armstrong have done the same.

“We’re taking that same approach,” Armstrong said. “There are still people that are gonna doubt us, but at the end of the day we’re the ones on the field doing it, they’re not.”

Published on October 16, 2019 at 11:01 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34