Marcus Sales acted like he’d been there before because he was supposed to have been there before.

The former high school All-American spurned Miami (Fla.), Pittsburgh and others to stay at home in Syracuse and arrived with as much hype as anyone in recent memory.

Signing him was ‘a big deal,’ in the words of former Syracuse assistant Chris White, who recruited Sales.

So when Sales finally put it all together and hauled in three touchdowns in the 2010 Pinstripe Bowl, he played it cool. He put his hands up over his head in a diamond and his teammates pounced on him.

‘Finally, I got a chance and I just made the plays when they counted,’ Sales said after the game.

It had to happen soon, right?

Prior to the bowl game, Sales was one lousy performance away from a three-year slump. He had only four touchdown catches and less than 500 yards receiving in his first two years combined.

But with his five-catch, 172-yard outburst, the struggles faded away.

‘Marcus would do that all the time during practice,’ former SU receiver LaVar Lobdell said. ‘It seemed like he was toying with the corners and defensive backs. Eventually, it transferred over to the game day.’

It was the first time in his career he had gone over 100 yards receiving and set the stage for what could have been a monstrous senior season.

‘Marcus Sales is a great example of what we have been doing in our program,’ Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone said after the 36-34 win over Kansas State. ‘Anyone who knows Marcus Sales, he’s been a little bit up and down, but we talk about work ethic and accountability. He worked hard; last night, prior to before the game meeting I pointed out Marcus Sales and how well he’s worked and the practices he’s had, and he came out and had a big game.’

But July 29 changed everything. Sales and his brother, Michael Sales, Jr., were arrested and both face felony drug charges.

Marrone suspended Sales from the team indefinitely Aug. 5. He has not been reinstated.

‘It’s one of those deals where the team kind of has to make the adjustment and go out and compete,’ wide receivers coach Rob Moore said.

Training camp became a proving ground as SU’s other wide receivers had to step up to fill the void. Van Chew and Alec Lemon moved up to the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively.

Beyond that, no one has proven themselves. The receiving corps has more speed than last year’s, but it lacks consistency. And it lost a valuable playmaker.

‘Marcus’ nickname in here was GT, and that’s Game Time,’ sophomore running back Prince-Tyson Gulley said. ‘He was definitely a big playmaker for us. Any time you needed it, he was definitely our bailout guy.’

• • •

White hadn’t heard the news about Sales. Nineteen days after the four-star player he recruited was arrested, White, currently an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings, was still anxious to see Sales take the field in 2011.

‘I was so fired up for Marcus in the bowl game,’ White said. ‘That was great for him to do that. And hopefully he’ll build on that and have a great year.’

When told of Sales’ arrest, he was taken aback.

‘Oh, shit,’ White said. ‘No, I can’t believe that. I didn’t hear that. What a shame.’

Sales and his brother were taken into custody after being pulled over for running a red light in Syracuse on July 29.

The officer at the scene smelled marijuana from Sales’ car and noticed a 12-ounce plastic cup filled with liquid. When the car was searched, drugs and drug paraphernalia were found.

Police found 180 Lortab (hydrocodone and acetaminophen) tablets, three knotted pieces of plastic containing a green plant-like substance that tested positive for marijuana, a plastic cup containing gin, three digital scales and other baggies.

Sales confirmed that the cup contained gin and admitted to drinking it. He and his brother were also in possession of nearly $1,000 in cash.

The brothers were charged with fifth- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Sales was also charged with consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle, driving through a red light and breaking the city’s open container law.

Both were arraigned July 30 and released from custody afterward.

Lobdell played with Sales at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracusebefore they were on the team together at SU. White said Lobdell was instrumental in convincing Sales to sign with the Orange.

They remain close friends to this day, but Lobdell said he has only spoken with Sales sparingly since the arrest.

‘Since that incident, I’ve kept my distance,’ Lobdell said. ‘I just tried to give him his space. I know a lot of people are bombarding him and asking him a thousand questions a day. We’ve spoken a little bit here and there, but I really just try to give him his space and respect the process of the judicial system.’

Joe Casamento, Sales’ high school coach at CBA, was also caught off guard. Sales had worked at Casamento’s football camp earlier in the summer. He said the wide receiver had put in hours of hard work during the offseason and was excited for the upcoming season.

‘I’m surprised,’ Casamento said. ‘I’ll have to wait and see how it all turns out and see what the real deal is, but I’m surprised.’

• • •

Vicki Chew-Reynolds loved the picture window in her living room. And every day she hoped it would still be intact when she returned from work.

Her son, Van Chew, and his father, Vanzago, threatened the window every day. Vanzago would place the 8-year-old Van directly in front of the big glass window and fire passes at him from across the room.

‘It used to scare me to death,’ Chew-Reynolds said. ‘I was always scared that I was going to come home one day and the whole window would be out. But Van would always catch it.’

The little 8-year-old with good hands blossomed into a star at Centreville High School in Virginia. It was there that Chris White — the same Chris White that had already landed Marcus Sales — noticed just how good his hands were.

‘He had the best hands that I’ve seen out of a high school kid catching the ball,’ White said.

‘And he could flat out run.’

His tremendous speed, athleticism and hand-eye coordination led to a standout career at Centreville playing both quarterback and wide receiver. As a senior, Chew ran for 338 yards, threw for 640 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 26 passes for 269 yards.

White said Chew probably weighed less than 150 pounds when he recruited him, but the kid was tough.

At 170 pounds last season, though, Chew got banged up. He played the entire second half of the season with a sports hernia and finally succumbed to the pain, sitting out the Pinstripe Bowl.

‘I just had to tell myself that I had to suck it up and keep on playing,’ Chew said.

When he was healthy, the offense had a new weapon: a deep threat. He had 79 yards on just three catches against Akron, including a touchdown. He had a career-long 48-yard catch against Colgate.

He finished the season as SU’s leading receiver with 611 yards and five touchdowns. But after Oct. 16 against Pittsburgh, he failed to top 50 yards in a game.

After recovering from surgery, the 2011 offseason was spent trying to gain weight. His mother made him five or six meals a day and he worked out twice a day.

He put on 14 pounds in the last two years and is up to 175. It should help him avoid nagging injuries and better his chances of staying healthy.

‘When Van Chew was rolling, the offense was rolling,’ offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. ‘If we can keep him healthy, if we can keep his weight up, we have a real good chance.’

• • •

Alec Lemon found a seam and split the defense in the Ernie Davis Scrimmage on Aug. 20.

Safety Shamarko Thomas couldn’t catch him and Lemon sprinted into the end zone, the recipient of a 79-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Nassib. On the first series of SU’s scrimmage, Lemon made just the type of play he talked about making earlier in August.

‘That was our focus in the summer, was explosive plays,’ Lemon said.

Other than Chew — and Sales, if he returns — Lemon is the only wide receiver to catch a pass in a Syracuse uniform. With Chew likely getting the prime attention from opposing defenses, there’s a lot riding on Lemon’s ability to make more plays this season.

Lemon put up apathy-inspiring numbers a season ago, catching 32 passes and four touchdowns. He also made some key drops, including what would have been a go-ahead touchdown reception in a loss to Louisville. The junior was hindered by a broken hand for much of the season, but nothing is holding him back entering 2011.

‘Coming off a strong spring and all summer, I feel like I’m ready to play out there with everyone else,’ he said.

Though Lemon produced a monster moment in the Ernie Davis Scrimmage, he’s one of the least likely receivers to burn defenders down the field for SU.

The Orange’s main deep threat should be Dorian Graham, one of SU’s fastest receivers.

Graham is a defensive back-turned-wide receiver whose stone hands kept him from catching a pass last year. But Nassib said Graham took his game to the next level this summer, catching thousands of balls and working on his route running as well.

If Graham dropped a pass during summer workouts, he would run the same route two more times, making sure he caught the pass twice in a row before he could move on.

He ran crisp routes throughout preseason camp, showing a refined wide receiver IQ that is astonishing for a former defensive back.

Combine it with his speed, and he’s a tough guy to cover.

‘Dorian Graham’s improved immensely,’ defensive coordinator Scott Shafer said. ‘He’s one of the best route runners on the team.’

Jarrod West will compete with Graham for playing time as the No. 3 receiver. West is a sophomore with a chip on his shoulder after missing all of last season with a foot injury.

If the Syracuse passing game is to take another step, any one of these guys has to catch the passes.

Anyone.

‘They don’t really have a choice,’ fullback Adam Harris said. ‘They have to step up when there’s an opportunity.’

• • •

Nassib is optimistic about what his receivers bring to the table this season. He expects that there will be a larger pool of performers this season rather than three guys — Chew, Sales and Lemon — like last season.

‘We won’t have to run them ragged like we had to do last year,’ Nassib said. ‘Which we had them run so many reps that it led to injury last year.’

Still, most of the deep receiving corps that Nassib said Syracuse possesses is unproven. And if Graham, West and players even deeper on the depth chart like Adrian Flemming and Jeremiah Kobena don’t step up, the Orange will likely be left with two receivers to rely on. Chew and Lemon.

Prior to the Pinstripe Bowl, Syracuse had just one passing play longer than 50 yards during the regular season. But Nassib expects more this year.

‘They’re no longer just running routes, they’re making defenses think,’ Nassib said. ‘They’re playing with them kind of, messing with their heads or whatever. They’re really taking their game to the next level and being technicians out there instead of just stiffs.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on August 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm