The linebacker’s meeting room houses eight, and Dyshawn Davis is first to enter. The zealous freshman is new to the linebacker position and to Syracuse, so he’s trying his best to make an impression.

Marquis Spruill is usually the third person to enter the room, after Lewellyn Coker. Spruill’s got the most experience on the field, but he’s still young. And he’s switching from outside to middle linebacker this spring.

Then there’s Dan Vaughan, the elder statesman. Vaughan said he feels he could play every position on the defense, if needed, because of his studying of the SU system the last two years. But the junior spent the past two seasons playing mainly on special teams.

‘I think the biggest thing is they’re going through a learning curve,’ SU defensive coordinator Scott Shafer said. ‘We’ve tried to keep it simple for the most part, and they started getting better. Then we started to add a couple things here and there, and then like you would imagine the progression started to slow down. But I like their attitude, their effort.’

This is the makeup of Syracuse’s starting linebacker corps. With the losses of seniors Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue, two potential NFL Draft picks, the Orange’s biggest question mark entering Saturday’s Spring Game — and later on, the 2011 season — will be at one of its strongest positions a year ago.

And though Davis, Spruill and Vaughan find themselves on the first string as spring concludes, that doesn’t necessarily mean much toward the future.

‘Nobody’s earned anything,’ SU linebackers coach Dan Conley said. ‘Marquis started last year, but he can’t assume he’s going to be the starting linebacker this year.

‘What we try to do is create competition every day in the room.’

Davis is one of two new spring enrollees at SU among the eight linebackers on the Orange’s spring roster, along with Siriki Diabate. But Davis played safety last season for Milford Academy in New Berlin, N.Y.

Now he finds himself in competition for a starting position for Syracuse. He spends the majority of the time with the first-string defense at the WILL (outside) linebacker position, competing with Mario Tull for the spot.

Last season, Spruill went through much of what Davis is going through now, when Spruill came to Syracuse early out of prep school for spring practice. Now Davis is doing the same.

Yet with all of the youth in the Orange linebacker corps, Spruill feels like a veteran. Aside from Vaughan, the other seven SU linebackers are freshmen.

‘When I was a freshman, I was able to do my own thing a little bit,’ Spruill said. ‘But now I have to make more of an effort to be more of a leader.’

Conley looks at the youth and sees an advantage in some ways. The youthfulness of his linebacking group as a whole spurs maximum effort on the field. Combined with the fact that each of the eight is fighting for playing time in an open position, practice can get intense.

It’s the same thing with the classroom where linebacker meetings are held. Conley said he talks to the players who are consistently the last guys in the room, the last guys in line for linebacking drills.

It certainly isn’t a good thing, especially with Davis hustling to be the first player seated for every meeting.

‘Coach Conley, he’s always so excited, and he makes everything a competition,’ Davis said. ‘Like every single thing. … So I just try to be as competitive as I can, just to keep my spot.’

Vaughan doesn’t have that freshman drive, but he’s also fighting for a first chance to be a starting linebacker. Conley notes Vaughan’s smarts and how knowledgeable the lone veteran is of the playbook and of the intricacies of each position.

At practice, Vaughan will tell Davis to stand with him as they go through defensive drills. That way, he can give Davis instruction and share his knowledge. Vaughan said he feels he has an additional role to be a teacher to the young linebackers.

Still, he’s also fighting for a spot. And it’s a spot he wasn’t able to win a year ago, when Spruill came in as a true freshman and took it. The linebacker corps kept a production chart this spring, in which players earned points for productive plays — sacks, tackles for loss, forced fumbles, etc.

With the Spring Game this weekend, Vaughan is on top.

‘He’s a hard worker,’ Conley said. ‘And he understands exactly what we’re trying to get from each one of the positions, so that’s why he’s where he’s at right now.’

In the Spring Game, the Orange’s two sides will not be split by place on the depth chart, so it’s likely the three first-team linebackers will be separated in some way. That plays into Conley’s statement that they haven’t actually earned anything yet. SU has two more linebackers coming in the fall — Cameron Lynch and Oliver Vigille — who will be in the competition as well.

‘We started a true freshman at linebacker the past two years, so we’ll be the best three linebackers there,’ Conley said. ‘Best three will play.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on April 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr