With Syracuse football training camp a few weeks away, The Daily Orange beat writers, Chris Libonati, Jon Mettus and Matt Schneidman, will analyze one of the top 10 preseason storylines, top 10 position battles or reveal one of 10 player files each day. Check out dailyorange.com and follow along here to countdown to camp.

Steve Ishmael

Position: Wide receiver
Year: Junior
Ht: 6-2
Wt: 210

Why he’s key for SU: Two years ago, Steve Ishmael arrived at Syracuse with a good deal of hype. In the last two seasons, he’s tallied a total of 985 yards and 10 touchdowns on 66 catches. The rising junior has yet to miss a game.

Despite two solid seasons, Ishmael has yet to hit his ceiling. The Orange hasn’t produced a solid aerial attack, but SU’s passing game should improve with the spread offense Dino Babers has installed.

Assuming the new offense helps and considering that starting quarterback Eric Dungey should improve after a good freshman season, Ishmael should reap the benefits.

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MORE PLAYER FILES:

• Player file No. 7: Brisly Estime
• Player file No. 8: Ervin Philips
• Player file No. 9: Parris Bennett
• Player file No. 10: Cole Murphy

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Ishmael has shown the capacity to be a solid receiver — he has three 90-yard receiving games — but he’ll also have to prove that he can be a go-to No. 1 receiver. In 24 games, he’s had zero or one catch in 11 of them and fewer than 50 yards in 16 of them.

The junior wide receiver improved from his freshman to sophomore season, cutting the number of games with fewer than 30 yards in half, upping his total yards (415 to 570) and maintaining a decent yards per catch average (15.4 in 2014 and 14.6 in 2015).

So while Ishmael hasn’t shown a consistent ability to be the No. 1 receiver, the numbers and overall improvement are encouraging for him to make that jump.

Read more about Steve Ishmael:

• Steve Ishmael is doing all he can to turn Syracuse’s program around
• Steve Ishmael has breakout performance against Pittsburgh
• Steve Ishmael plays vital role for SU ahead of facing Clemson
• Three-star WR Steve Ishmael commits to Syracuse

Published on July 28, 2016 at 1:06 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati