The shoulder pads came out on day three at Syracuse football practice Friday and with it, an uptick in intensity across the board.

Both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball got after each other in the team portion as well, with both sides making some big plays.

Justin Barron recorded an interception of Garrett Shrader. Shrader then returned the favor by ripping off a long touchdown run in the portion open to the media.

A lot of eyes will be on the offense this fall, but the defense is poised to be just as good as they were a season ago, even with a new defensive coordinator in Rocky Long.

"I think coach (Rocky) Long is more old-school. But he is a relatable coach," Caleb Okechukwu said. "When you first see him, you might think, 'oh, you've got to, you know, he's about to get on us here.' But he's really like a player's coach. He'll talk to me and then asked me what am I seeing? We're building our relationship, building that trust early. Just getting a feel for what he likes and how he sees things and seeing what I'm seeing. So whenever you get a coach like that with the same scheme, you're going you're going to have success."

"He's seen a lot of football," Marlowe Wax added. "He's been coaching a long time. He's seeing all forms of football that you can think of. So I'm ready. I'm happy to look through his lens and just see how it's different and things like that."