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.

Safety might be Syracuse’s deepest position group, a nice luxury for a unit that was anything but luxurious last season.

The top two at both free safety and strong safety return, which will benefit a unit headlined by Antwan Cordy that suffered because of inexperience last year. Take Kielan Whitner, whose late-game penalty against South Florida was a turning point in the game, a mistake for which the freshman later apologized on social media.

Whitner is listed ahead of redshirt sophomore Rodney Williams at strong safety on the post-spring depth chart. Williams started the first five games of the season at free safety, but an injury limited him to just nine games total on the year and 17 tackles. Whitner had an impressive first year, recording 33 total tackles while playing all 12 games.

With Cordy owning the free safety starting job over Chauncey Scissum for now, one would assume the tighter battle is at the strong safety spot. Whitner is two inches taller and about 10 pounds heavier than Williams, according to SU’s roster, and was probably SU’s best defensive freshman in an otherwise dismal defensive year.

Teams will certainly target Syracuse over the top since that was its primary defensive flaw last year. The Orange’s last line may be more experienced, but they still don’t have any seniors. And the player with the least experience, Whitner, may be asked to make the biggest transition to build off his breakout freshman season.