Some quality honors for a small collection of Orange standouts.
The Syracuse Orange football team had five players named to Phil Steele’s All-ACC team for 2017. Steele’s annual college football preview is one of the most well-known around, and he usually names his first-, second-, third- and fourth-team all-conference squads for both preseason and postseason.
Wide receiver Ervin Philips, linebacker Zaire Franklin and punter Sterling Hofrichter all received second-team honors. Safety Antwan Cordy and long snapper Matt Keller were both named to third-team.
Philips was second on the Orange in receptions and yardage last season, and he’s the ACC’s leading returning receiver. He’s also on the Biletnikoff Award watch list for the country’s top receiver.
Franklin was one of two Orange players with 100 tackles last year (the other was Parris Bennett). Hofrichter averaged nearly 43 yards per punt as a freshman last season.
Though Cordy was injured in the second game last year, he’s still largely considered one of the defense’s top players. Keller, who was the top long snapper in his class when he arrived at SU, is now in his third year manning that spot.
While the preseason all-conference teams ultimately don’t mean much, it’s still nice to have a few Orange players recognized. It’s also confusing not to see Eric Dungey on there at quarterback, especially given the high praise he’s received all offseason, being named to several major watch lists.
