Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse football will likely be without defensive linemen Dion Wilson and Kevin Jobity Jr. for the rest of the season, Syracuse football coach Fran Brown said during a radio appearance on Friday.
Brown noted the injuries during a radio appearance on TK 99′s Gomez and Company.
Brown noted the injuries while discussing the loss of backup running back Will Nixon for the rest of the year.
“We’ve got a couple of other guys that will probably miss the rest of the season too,” Brown said. “You’ve got Kevin Jobity on the defensive line and you’ve got Dion “Tank” Wilson who will be out the rest of the year.”
Brown also said that the Orange will be without safety Berry Buxton III for this Saturday’s game against North Carolina State. Buxton was seeing regular playing time as a backup safety.
Brown was not asked for specifics about any of the newly-reported injuries.
“We’re a couple guys down but next-man-up mentality,” Brown said.
Jobity, a defensive end, made 10 tackles in five appearances this season, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Wilson. a defensive tackle, had made eight tackles in four games.
Jobity had played more snaps this season than any Syracuse defensive lineman other than defensive end Fadil Diggs this year. Wilson was fifth on the list behind Diggs, Maraad Watson and Denis Jaquez Jr.
Without them, Syracuse will lighter in a unit that has rotated players frequently this year in order to keep players fresh. Along with Diggs and Watson, Syracuse’s top options along the defensive line include Rashard Perry, KingJoseph Edwards, Denis Jaquez Jr., Isaiah Hastings, Chase Simmons and Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff.
Pro Football Focus had given Wilson with the 11th-highest grade of any Syracuse defensive player this season, with Jobity graded No. 20 out of 32 players.
The defensive line position was one of the Orange’s biggest question marks entering the year and a spot that underwent one of the offseason’s most dramatic overhauls.
“We’ll see,” Brown said. “We’ll see what it’s like. You can have a lot of people but you need players. These people need to be able to make some plays. I think we’ll be all right though.”
Syracuse’s run defense has been shaky at times, surrendering 136.6 yards per game through the first five games of the year. Syracuse has struggled tackling in multiple games, including last week against UNLV.
Brown pointed out that Syracuse will get some help soon on defense with the return of linebacker Marlowe Wax. One of Syracuse’s best defensive players, Wax seems as if he could return as soon as the Orange’s next game against Pittsburgh.
Syracuse has played with three down linemen at times this season, positioning Diggs where a linebacker would traditionally play. That alignment could help offset some of the injuries and allow the Orange to keep Wax, Derek McDonald and Justin Barron on the field at the same time.
“The good thing is you’ll get Marlowe back in about two weeks,” Brown said.
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