Syracuse, N.Y. -- Redshirt senior offensive lineman Ryan Alexander left the Syracuse football team this week.

SU Athletics confirmed a report from The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com when it sent out a release on Friday afternoon. The school previously declined to address Alexander’s status despite inquiries starting Wednesday evening. Alexander has not responded to messages on social media.

Freshman Matthew Bergeron, who has served as a top reserve through seven games, practiced at right tackle this week and is a candidate to start against Florida State, according to a source.

Alexander, a graduate transfer from South Alabama, was brought in this summer to plug one of the starting tackle spots. He appeared in all of the Orange’s first seven games, starting six, and his departure comes with the offensive line in shambles.

SU ranks dead last in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 35 sacks allowed and five sacks allowed per game. The front five has allowed a constant stream of pressure, leading to quarterbacks Tommy DeVito and Clayton Welch sustaining upper-body injuries, as well as helping elevate SU to being tied for the fourth-most penalized team in the country.

Alexander arrived this summer with 27 starts under his belt at South Alabama. But the all-Sun Belt honorable mention honoree from 2018 was beaten out by redshirt freshman Carlos Vettorello during preseason camp.

Vettorello began the season at right tackle with redshirt junior Airon Servais, a two-year starter at center, making his debut on DeVito’s blindside. Then an injury to redshirt sophomore center Sam Heckel in the second quarter of the season opener forced a shuffle. Servais moved back inside, Vettorello flipped to left tackle and Alexander was inserted into the lineup at right tackle.

Since then, the 6-foot-3, 307-pound Floral Park, N.Y., native has struggled to hold the right edge of the SU line and has contributed to the miscommunications that seem to be crippling the group.

After Syracuse gave up nine sacks to Pittsburgh at home last Friday, coach Dino Babers said “everyone’s job is in jeopardy.” Then he doubled down on Monday, indicating that reserves would get opportunities when practice resumed on Tuesday.

Despite the highly touted recruiting classes that FSU continually brings in, the Seminoles don't, statistically, have a top-tier defensive front like the ones Syracuse faced the last two weeks in Pitt and North Carolina State.

The Seminoles have logged 2.43 sacks per game this fall -- good for 46th nationally -- but have recorded only two in their last three games, both coming from a linebacker.

For Syracuse’s offensive line, though, communication on the road has been an issue. And now, the unit must try to right the ship after seeing one of its veterans leave the program.

-- Brent Axe contributed to this story

Stephen Bailey covers Syracuse football for The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Bailey1 and on Facebook. He can also be reached anytime via email.

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