With the Syracuse Orange set to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers in a Thursday night showdown this week, Orange head coach Fran Brown provided updates on some of his key players who were unavailable for various reasons. The first player Brown commented on was LB Marlowe Wax. Brown said Wax would most likely be ready to return for next week’s game against Virginia Tech.

“He’s a tough kid,” Brown said. “He wants to go, but only for his safety and stuff, probably next week.

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Wax has yet to return from a lower-body injury he suffered during the third quarter of Syracuse’s first game of the season against Ohio. The second-team All-ACC linebacker had six tackles, one sack and a forced fumble in that game against Ohio before getting injured. Brown’s initial prognosis received from the team’s medical staff was a six-week recovery period. That could have made Wax available for this week’s game against Pitt, but the Dutch are clearly playing cautiously with their star linebacker.

Brown then commented on true freshman DB Marcellus Barnes, who earned a starting spot at cornerback alongside Devin Grant and Clarence Lewis to start the season. Barnes played in Syracuse’s first three games of the season but has not played since the game against Holy Cross due to an undisclosed injury. Barnes was spotted participating in the first warmups at NC State, but was in street clothes by the time Syracuse put on the pads.

“We just felt like the other guy had an advantage over where he was at the time,” Brown said.

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Brown is likely referring to Jayden Bellamy, who has taken the cornerback spot opposite Clarence Lewis. Grant has moved to Syracuse’s Star/nickelback role in the 4-2-5 formation, with Justin Barron moving to linebacker to help fill the hole left by Wax’s injury. Barnes has three tackles and three pass defenses in his three games so far this season.

“You don’t just come back to where you were just because you stayed,” Brown said.

Finally, Brown continued to confirm that WR Zeed Haynes is still away from the team due to a personal family issue. Haynes played in Syracuse’s first two games of the season. He had eight catches and 97 yards over those two games. Brown did not provide any context on what the family issue is or what the expected timeline is for Haynes’ return. However, Brown indicated that he will let everyone know when Haynes is back with the team.

“As soon as Zeed can come back, I’ll make sure I tell everyone,” Brown said. “I’m going to post it, I’m going to have a party and stuff. Once he comes back, you’ll see all these orange and blue balloons coming out of my place.

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Haynes entered the season as Syracuse’s No. 1 wide receiver on the depth chart. That role has since been filled by fellow Georgia transfer Jackson Meeks, who has set the stats on fire. Meeks has 29 catches for 344 yards and three touchdowns in the three games Haynes has missed.

Syracuse travels to Pitt on Thursday night for the 80th all-time meeting between the two programs. Kickoff on ESPN is at 7:30 p.m.