As head coach Fran Brown leads the Syracuse football team, and there was some concern that a few key players would miss Saturday's contest against the Clemson Tigers. With Notre Dame transfer and Syracuse football quarterback Steve Angeli leading the way for the offense, that side of the ball gets an update on top running back Yasin Willis and also defensive back Duce Chestnut.
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, he reported Saturday morning that Chestnut is a “game-time decision” for the Orange, though there is an expectation that he is “trending towards playing.” As for Willis, he is also “expected to play” after he was reported as questionable.
“Source: Syracuse starting defensive back Duce Chestnut is a game-time decision at Clemson, and he's trending toward playing as long as warm-ups go smooth,” Thamel wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Orange leading rusher Yasin Willis is expected to play, as he's listed as questionable on the ACC Availability Report.”
Willis is the Orange's leading rusher on the season thus far, recording 139 yards on 34 carries with four touchdowns as he has played in two games, missing last weekend's game against Colgate. Looking at Chestnut, he leads the program in total tackles with 18 and also solo tackles with 13.
Syracuse football's on the injuries to the team, including Yasin Willis
While the Syracuse football team moves on from quarterback Kyle McCord, the hope is that Agneli, Willis, and the rest of the offense can maintain the progress made. Still, there had been a ton of injuries for the Orange, including Willis and Chestnut, but Brown would say on Thursday that “everybody was healthy,” according to Syracuse.com.
“Everybody is back,” Brown said during his weekly radio show on TK99. “Everybody was healthy. They looked good in practice.”
Willis had been expected to play as per Brown, though there could have been some serious questions since he missed last weekend's game against Colgate, as said before.
“Thursday, you’ll find out,” Brown said about a possible status of Willis, via Syracuse.com. “He better practice. He better play. You’ve got to play football, right? It’s the nature of the business. We’ll see. If everything goes right, he’ll play.”
Though expected to play, it remains to be seen how much work Willis will get in the outing. At any rate, the Orange is currently 2-1 on the season, looking to get another victory in the win column as the team takes on the Tigers.
