Syracuse wide receiver Aaron Weaver will miss the rest of the 2010 season with a knee injury, according to a press release from the university’s athletic department.

According to the release, Weaver suffered the injury on Sept. 14. A subsequent MRI the following day revealed a torn ACL.

Weaver’s loss is a big blow for the Orange, as he had shone in the No. 3 receiver role this season. In SU’s two games against Akron and Washington, Weaver caught six passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Weaver is a senior transfer from Hofstra, a school that discontinued its program last year.

The touchdown was Syracuse’s first of the season on its first drive, as quarterback Ryan Nassib hit Weaver on a slant route and Weaver scampered the rest of the way for a 21-yard touchdown.

‘It was really exciting for me,’ Weaver said of that catch after SU’s game against Akron. ‘It was my first catch at Syracuse. That it was a touchdown made it even better.’

Much of the team had high hopes for Weaver throughout preseason camp, and especially after his torrid start to the season. Alec Lemon was the consistent, all-around threat. Van Chew was the big-play threat. And Weaver showed a bit of both, providing a spark out of the slot position.

Chew was one who developed those expectations, saying after the Akron game that he expected big things from Weaver for the rest of the season.

‘He’ll do it week-in and week-out,’ Chew said, referring to Weaver’s 30-yard, one-touchdown performance. ‘Since he came here, he’s been a hard-worker. Basically, he’s just pushed everybody. He raised my game up to another level, and he raises everybody else’s games up another level too.’

Without Weaver as the No. 3 receiver, the Orange’s depth at that position will be tested on Saturday against Maine. No other receiver aside from Lemon, Chew and Weaver has recorded a catch this season.

Dorian Graham, who moved from safety to receiver in the offseason, is an option. His blazing speed could stretch the field and provide Nassib with another down-field option. But from preseason camp, his hands were more than shaky.

Another potential candidate is Marcus Sales, who impressed the coaching staff in the spring but fell out of favor quickly into camp. Finally, there is Cody Morgan, a walk-on, 5-foot-8 sophomore who Marrone praised toward the end of camp.

Or the Orange could get creative. That means using two-tight end sets more, with Nick Provo and Jose Cruz both making noise in the receiving game thus far. With his shiftiness and speed, backup running back Antwon Bailey could also be a threat out of the slot.

‘We’re looking,’ Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone said to The Post-Standard this morning, ‘for someone to step up.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

 

Published on September 15, 2010 at 12:00 pm