Paul Chiara decided it was time to, in his own words, ‘redefine’ himself.

After all, it was easy to understand the situation this spring. Chiara saw the trio of tailbacks ahead of him on the depth chart and figured the chances of him taking many handoffs in 2008, his senior season, were slim.

But Chiara didn’t want to spend his final collegiate season on the bench, either. So he approached Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson with an idea.

‘Paul came to me and asked if he could move to safety,’ Robinson said in a conference call Tuesday. ‘He thought it might be better suited for him, and I told him I’d give him a chance.’

Months later, Chiara finds himself on the brink of SU’s starting free safety spot. Bruce Williams’ move to wide receiver during the summer, and sophomore Randy McKinnon’s injury against Akron have opened the door for Chiara to make a major contribution his last season in Syracuse.

How ready is he? That’s up for debate. But for a depleted Syracuse secondary, Chiara may be the only real option should McKinnon, who suffered a bruised bone below his left knee in the first quarter Saturday, not be able to play.

‘I knew I was going to be in for a different experience,’ Chiara said of switching to safety. ‘But I was ready to embrace that. I felt that from a personal standpoint, that it was time for some change for me.’

Not that it was easy for Chiara to give up the running back spot. But after playing sparingly in 2007 (21 carries for 95 yards) and with Doug Hogue, Curtis Brinkley and Delone Carter all ahead of him in SU’s crowded backfield, Chiara didn’t have much of a choice.

Early on, it looked like he’d be an afterthought at free safety, as well. Williams was seemingly entrenched as the starter during the spring and early summer. Chiara was buried on the depth chart then.

Now? He may be roaming around the Syracuse secondary against No. 19 Penn State this weekend.

With McKinnon out, Chiara played the final three quarters against Akron. He tied for the team high with eight tackles, but was also part of a secondary that was torched by the Zips for 260 passing yards and three touchdowns.

‘I think I had a little bit of a rough first half (against Akron), but I think I came back in the second half and had a really strong showing,’ said Chiara, who played safety and linebacker in high school. ‘I felt like I got into the game the second half. I felt more comfortable.’

‘Paul did some good things,’ Robinson said. ‘There’s room for improvement, believe me. But for his first time in a game for real, he’s come along.’

The Orange better hope so. Robinson Tuesday said the Nittany Lions have perhaps ‘the best offense’ of any team he’s played in his three-plus seasons at Syracuse.

Not exactly the ideal opponent should Chiara get his first start on defense. But the senior insisted he would be ready.

‘I feel like after going through this week of practice and getting the looks I need to have, I’ll be prepared for Saturday,’ Chiara said. ‘Hopefully my actions will be good enough for me to maintain being a major contributor for this team the rest of the season.’

Brinkley’s revenge

Saturday holds a little extra importance for senior tailback Curtis Brinkley.

‘Growing up in Pennsylvania, Penn State means a lot to me,’ Brinkley said. ‘Coming up, I always wanted to play for (Penn State head coach Joe Paterno), but for whatever reason, things didn’t work out.’

Brinkley went to West Catholic High School in Philadelphia, where he set city records in rushing yards and touchdowns.

Those Pennsylvania connections will give Brinkley added incentive to build on his career-high 143-yard rushing performance in last Saturday’s loss to Akron. He doesn’t appear intimidated by the Penn State’s stature, either.

‘Penn State is a great,’ Brinkley said. ‘But Penn State is a Division I school just like we are. When they go get something to eat at their dining hall, they swipe their meal card just like we do.’

Change on the way?

It’s no secret the Orange defense needs to improve drastically after allowing 42 points to Akron last week. But will Robinson consider personnel changes? The head coach refused to rule it out.

‘There could be some changes,’ Robinson said. ‘I’m not going to talk about all that right now.’

jsclayto@syr.edu

Published on September 9, 2008 at 12:00 pm