Well actually Rhule had said that we weren’t going to be lining up in 3 man fronts all that much. He said that they were going to adapt their D to the players available. Maybe that was just coach speak to try to keep Nelson around but if you’ve watched much of the video out there on our DC you can see Nelson could still fit. I see them more often with 4-6 guys on the LOS than I do 3. Nelson can cover most TEs in the B1G.
I don't think he said that, I think you heard what you wanted to hear. Rhule said that White is creative on defense and will put the player in formations that fit their skill sets. That doesn't meant that White is going to have 4 guys line up on the DL that are 6'5" and 300 Lbs.
I have said this repeatedly but apparently it is still missed, when Rhule says they will line up in 4 man fronts, the personnel isn't changing. You will see an edge line up with his hands in the dirt. He will typically be line up outside the shoulder of the tackle. The DT/ DE will be lined up in the gap between the G and T, the NT will be in the opposite gap between the C and the G and the other DT/DE will be lined up either head up on the T or between the G and T. The nickel will line up in place of the missing LB and the other two LBs will simply rotate over, or they will play with 2 LB, depending on the offensive formation.
I don't understand the comparison to the TCU defense, that is like comparing White's defense to Iowa St's D. Not all 3-3--5 defenses have the same principles. If you want to compare, all you have to do is look at the size, shape and skill sets of the Syracuse players and adjust accordingly.