2015 Spring Football Guide

2015 SPRING FOOTBALL GUIDE t h e i n de pe n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa pe r of s y r ac us e , n e w yor k

Syracuse football enters annual spring game showcasing multiple changes

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the daily orange 2015 spring football guide

t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r o f s y r a c u s e , n e w yo r k

TWO FOR YOU

NEXT IN LINE

Luke Arciniega was granted two more years of eligibility and is adjusting to a position change.

Page 6

An offensive line with moving parts is working to gel as a unit and bounce back from last season.

Page 7

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the daily orange 2015 spring football guide

TIM LESTER is heading into his first full year as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator after taking over for George McDonald midway through last season. Lester has begun to implement his offensive system through the Orange’s first 15 spring practices and he stresses that it doesn’t have a defined identity. moriah ratner staff photographer

[ HERE ] INSERT

Lester installs undefined offense entering 1st full season as SU’s offensive coordinator

By Sam Blum asst. sports editor

T

im Lester’s promise to Steve Ishmael was a bold one for a player that had made just six catches for no touchdowns to start his five-game career. And it was bold for an offensive coordinator just a couple days into his tenure.

But as the two stood in Manley Field House at 11 p.m. — Ishmael perfecting his craft days ahead of Syracuse’s game against then-No. 1

Florida State, and Lester on his way to calling it a night — the new offensive coordinator could afford to proclaim the start of a transition to a reshaped offense.

“Man, this week,” Ishmael recalled Lester saying, “we’re coming out and we’re slinging it.”

And Lester kept his promise. Ishmael became the star, reeling in two second-half touchdowns and collecting 93 total yards.

“He meant what he said. He came out and slung the ball,” Ishmael said. “After that game, I really liked Coach Lester. He’s not afraid to do anything.”

After Lester took over as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator for George McDonald five games into last season, he was reluctant to “change everything.” Through 15 spring practices, Lester’s been able to implement his own style of offense and Syracuse will unveil the first glimpse of it in its annual spring game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Once he gave out his playbook in January, he said he hoped to hammer home 50 percent of his new offense — Lester estimates about 15 plays — by the end of the spring, a number he reached and had surpassed by the last practice on Tuesday.

Last season, the Orange generated buzz with McDonald’s up-tempo, no-huddle approach. This year, Lester isn’t committing to an identity.

“We have the ability to do both. It can do either,” Lester said. “It depends on what we’re good at. If we think the up-tempo is going to help us win, we can crank it up. We’re going to run the same stuff regardless, but we have the ability to huddle or not.”

Lester had the raw plays on offense installed within the first two weeks of spring. But those plays lacked the precision or execution that would inevitably come in the weeks following.

Three of the first four practices were dedicated to their installation. Days five and six were dedicated to “getting good.” After that, there was more installation and a repeating process.

Part of his offense — which he shows players in large part by playing videos from other teams — comes from the Seattle Seahawks. Other see lester page 4

room for improvement Syracuse came into the 2014 season with the goal of being a no-huddle, up-tempo offense. Instead, the Orange fell flat on its face on the offensive side of the ball.

ACC (NOT INCLUDING SU) SYRACUSE

17.1

points per game 29.3

22

touchdowns 50.4

329.9

yards per game 397.1

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from page 3

lester aspects come from the Denver Broncos of the late 1990s. He often refers to his time as the head coach at Elmhurst College from 2008–12 as a model for what he’d like to see at Syracuse.

“You only have to do that when you don’t have your own film,” Lester said. “Every time I’ve been new and taken over, I’ve always had to use the old film or find film of this team doing it

Coach McDonald wanted us to run a different type of offense, and sadly we didn’t have the tools we needed for that offense. So we kind of failed. But Coach Lester switched it up. He just put in little nicks and knacks into it. I think everybody is in the right position.

Terrel Hunt su quarterback

or that team doing it, just to show them what it looks like.”

After last season ended, he met with each offensive player individually. He told them how he saw them fitting into the offense. In turn the players could say what they thought and ask any questions that they were reluctant to do in front of a group.

He remembers the conversation where he told Ervin Philips how he viewed him in more of the hybrid role, a position then in its infancy and now a full-fledged aspect of the developing offense.

He talked to Terrel Hunt about slimming down — he’s since lost 15 pounds — and becoming more of a passing quarterback than one that thrives as a scrambler.

“Coach McDonald wanted us to run a different type of offense, and sadly we didn’t have the tools we needed for that offense,” Hunt said. “So we kind of failed. But Coach Lester switched it up. He just put in little nicks and knacks into it. I think everybody is in the right position.”

Last year, the Syracuse offense was a failure.

After Prince-Tyson Gulley ran for a 65-yard touchdown in the first week, no one else in the running back group reached the end zone. Syracuse threw for just six touchdowns, compared to 19 by its opponents.

For Lester, this spring is about “building consistency.” There are some good practices, where the new plays he’s put in have been executed. And there are bad days, where he can tell the players are just waiting for him to explode at them.

But that’s not his style. He admits that his players don’t know him as well as he knows them.

He’s not the type of coach to shout. Instead, he just tells them to do it better next time.

“They’re getting to know me,” Lester said.

“This is a big spring for that. Just because they get to know what I’m like after a good practice and after a bad practice. They know when I’m angry, when I’m happy. I give them a feel for what I’m going to be like on a daily basis and what I believe in.” sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3

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the daily orange 2015 spring football guide

ON THE MOVE ERVIN PHILIPS will slot into Tim Lester’s new position for the Syracuse offense that Lester calls the “hybrid.” The hybrid’s role could consist of taking handoffs in the backfield, lining up and blocking for tight ends or receiving out of the slot. Philips’ versatility will now allow him to be an integral piece of Lester’s offense at SU. logan reidsma asst. photo editor

Philips steps into newly created ‘hybrid’ position for Syracuse’s offense next season

By Jesse Dougherty staff writer

T

im Lester called split zone, with a running back on either side of the quarterback, and Ervin Philips and Adonis Ameen-Moore jogged onto the field.

But to Lester’s surprise, the 234-pound Moore lined up to take the hand off and the 179pound Philips lined up to block for him. It was Lester’s first game as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator — against top-ranked Florida State six games into the season — and he was sure running backs coach DeAndre Smith had made a mistake.

“Don’t you want Adonis blocking for Erv?” Lester asked Smith.

“No, Erv’s probably our best blocker,” Smith answered.

As Lester started laying out the new offense he’d implement in January, he held onto the image of Philips successfully blocking the Seminoles’ defensive ends.

And after a freshman season in which Philips ran for 194 yards, the Orange decided to move him out of a running backs group that also lost seniors Ameen-Moore and Prince-Tyson Gulley. He became a “hybrid” with rising seniors Ashton Broyld and Ben Lewis, and SU’s annual spring game on Saturday will offer the first look at a position Lester called an “inte-

gral part” of his new offense.

“The hybrid has to be able to do everything.

Run, catch and block,” Lester said. “In the offense that I ran before I came here that was always a big spot, so Erv was one of the first people I thought of when I had a chance to put it into this offense.”

With Philips’ speed, age and athleticism pointing to latent potential, he figures to be the most intriguing of the three-man group.

As Lester explains it, the hybrid does a lot of things out of a lot spots in a lot of different ways. The hybrid can take handoffs out of the backfield or on jet sweeps, line up near the tight ends and block in the run or pass game, receive out of the slot and so on.

And to add to the confusion, there’s no consensus on what the position is called — with Lester and Philips throwing out “hybrid,” “H,” “super” and “super back” as names for the position.

But Lester was quick to point out that it’s not an H-back, a position in the offense he inherited from George McDonald. Lester says that the H-back was really “just a slot receiver,” and the hybrid is designed for players like Lewis and Broyld, who don’t perfectly fit the mold of a wideout or running back.

Yet Lester said that Philips does “fit the running back mold perfectly,” and making him a hybrid allows SU to milk his abundant skill set.

Lester added that Philips can move back to

running back if need be, a spot SU got just two touchdowns out of last season.

“I like doing it all,” Philips said. “As long as I’m in the open field, I like doing it all and I think I can do it all.”

When Syracuse defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough was recruiting Philips out of West Haven (Connecticut) High School, he knew Philips didn’t have to be confined to the running back position.

Bullough saw a 17-year-old Philips getting around the edge on handoffs, catching passes and breaking tackles in the return game, and added that Philips “could put his foot in the ground and take off.”

“He would actually be a great corner,” Bullough said, laughing, of what he thought when he first saw Philips play.

Now the rising sophomore will have a chance to do everything short of playing defense and throwing passes — as far as we know — for an offense that is looking to crawl out of the basement of Division I football.

And if Philips’ versatility as a hybrid places him at the center of Lester’s new system in the coming months, what originally drew Syracuse’s attention could be the ire of opposing coordinators in 2015.

“He loves it, because he thinks of himself as a wide receiver anyway,” Lester said of Philips’ position change. “He thinks, ‘I can be a running back but really am a wide receiver.’ And now he is. And he’s a running back, too. Just a little bit of everything. Mentally it really fits.” jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse

taking his spot Here’s a look at some of the potential spots on the field that Syracuse’s newly created “hybrid” position could line up at in different formations.

10

20

30

40

50

40

30

20

10

40

50

40

30

20

10

THE HYBRID OTHER OFFENSIVE POSITIONS

10

20

30

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Arciniega tries new position after getting 2 additional years

By Jesse Dougherty staff writer

Syracuse and the NCAA haven’t exactly seen eye-to-eye in 2015.

But in the case of Luke Arciniega, the two aligned.

After months of waiting for the NCAA to grant — or not grant — Arciniega additional eligibility due to injuries, it was announced last week that he’ll get two more years.

“As much crazy stuff you see going on with the NCAA, every now and then you feel like you got one back,” Will Hicks, SU’s assistant athletics director for athletic performance, said Tuesday. “I mean it’s only fair to (Arciniega). “... You hate to see an athlete that loves it as much as he does that ends on a sour note due to injuries instead of ending their own way, ending the way they want to.”

Two more years will allow Arciniega to do that, and the linebacker-turned-defensive end will continue to work at his new position at Syracuse’s annual spring game in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. With three semesters at Nevada after high school, a year at Sierra (California) College and having his second season at Syracuse strewn with injuries, SU head coach Scott Shafer said he’d need 30 minutes to explain which years Arciniega “got back.”

In an Instagram post last week, Arciniega wrote “I was only hoping for one.” Now he’ll have

twice the amount of time to transition onto a defensive line in need of his speed and experience.

Arciniega was feeling under the weather on Tuesday and was not made available at SU’s media opportunity.

“It’s exciting because he’s actually picked up defensive end real quick from day one,” SU defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said.

“Obviously he’s never played there but there

It’s exciting because he’s actually picked up defensive end real quick from day one. Obviously he’s never played there but there are some things he just did naturally, which is exciting.

So two years is really good.

Chuck Bullough su defensive coordinator

are some things he just did naturally, which is exciting. So two years is really good.”

In 2013, Arciniega appeared in all 13 games and recorded 18 total tackles and two tackles for loss for Syracuse. He also recorded a sack in each of the last two seasons, and Bullough

said the Orange moved him to defensive end to utilize his speed in the pass rush.

The defensive line is also a unit that has thinned since the end of last season and returns just one starter in defensive end Ron Thompson. The defensive line will be without departing seniors Micah Robinson, Eric Crume and Robert Welsh, lost Marcus Coleman to career-ending foot issues and defensive tackle Ryan Sloan left the program in early March.

That leaves a mash-up of inexperienced players at both the tackle and end positions, including Isaiah Johnson, Donnie Simmons, the injury-riddled John Raymon and Wayne Williams, and redshirt freshmen Kayton Samuels and Chris Slayton. The Orange will also bring in eight defensive line members in the Class of 2015.

Arciniega is still learning the nuances of the position, according to Bullough, but could slide into the mix if he stays healthy.

Bullough added that Arciniega needs to put on a little weight to be an effective defensive end, and Hicks said that will come naturally to Arciniega.

He trimmed down over the last two seasons, and Hicks said that bulking up to play defensive end gets Arciniega back to his “natural size.”

Because Arciniega originally came to the Orange as a 265-pound linebacker, Hicks and Bullough don’t think he’ll need to sacrifice

any speed or athleticism while bulking up.

And if his physical attributes and visceral understanding of the position meet a cooper-

EXTRA CREDIT Luke Arciniega received two additional years of eligibility because most of his career has been plagued by injury. Here are the SU players that have received at least one extra year of eligibility: OLIVER VIGILLE

LB

ALEX HODGKINSON

K

DONNIE SIMMONS

DE

ROB TRUDO

OG

NICK ROBINSON

OT

RILEY DIXON

K/P

LUKE ARCINIEGA

LB

TERREL HUNT

QB

IVAN FOY

OT

ative body, Arciniega could be an important part of a retooling defensive line.

“He’s an older guy,” Bullough said. “When you have a guy who’s older, stronger and more physical, that always helps.” jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse

the daily orange 2015 spring football guide

april 3-4, 2015 7

ASSEMBLY LINE

Syracuse’s offensive line lost two starters in left tackle Sean Hickey and center John Miller. Now the unit is working with moving parts that are trying to integrate a new playbook while hoping to stay healthy. A year ago, the line didn’t help in SU’s offensive struggles, but the group is hoping to turn that around in 2015. logan reidsma asst. photo editor

Offensive line strives to gel with moving parts, integrate new playbook after poor 2014

By Matt Schneidman asst. sports editor

O

mari Palmer called last year’s offense despicable.

“I believe we were 122nd last year in the NCAA in offense, which is god awful,” Palmer said.

And while the quarterbacks, receivers and running backs didn’t perform anywhere near an optimal level in 2014, Palmer takes stock in his unit’s contribution to that disappointment, too.

Syracuse graduated its starting left tackle and center in Sean Hickey and John Miller, respectively. A rash of injuries plagued the offensive line last year, and the quarterback’s protective seal was consistently banged up in some form.

Now, three months have passed. Almost everyone is healthy, but there are still moving parts and inexperience on a line that is also adjusting to its second new offense in two years. It’ll get to showcase its growth in Saturday’s spring game, which will be just

another step in the progression of a unit that embodied SU’s struggles last season.

“They’re making strides,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said. “You’re starting to see those five guys play together as a unit, make calls, do a better job with picking up blitzes and passing off stunts and exchanges in the gaps.”

Now that spring practices have concluded, the Orange has a good idea of who’ll start on the offensive line on Saturday. Senior Ivan Foy is at left tackle, senior Nick Robinson at left guard, juniors Kendall Moore and Jason Emerich will contend at center in place of the injured Rob Trudo, freshman Aaron Roberts at right guard and the junior Palmer at right tackle.

And with Trudo’s injury, a unit that once had 60 percent of its starters sidelined at once has been able to test its depth of 15 players before preseason even kicks in — when SU will bring in five more offensive linemen.

“The offensive line is supposed to be five guys playing as one and having guys injured here and there is always going to be tough,” Robinson said. “Just know that if one of us goes

down, there’s going to be another guy ready.”

The first four or five practices of the spring started with elementary learning, Shafer said.

That means installing a new offense, learning the new verbiage of it and getting a feel for a different cadency system. Then comes communicating different calls against

You’re starting to see those five guys play together as a unit, make calls, do a better job with picking up blitzes and passing off stunts and exchanges in the gaps.

Scott Shafer su head coach

its own defense’s blitzes and stepping with the correct foot once the ball snaps.

About halfway through the spring’s 15

practices is when the unit can progress to a little bit higher learning, the head coach added. That’s when the linemen can focus on learning greater chunks of the playbook — so much so that the line feels comfortable running the same play over and over against its own defense.

“We’ve had team periods where we would run 16 straight outside zones, going left, right, left, right,” Palmer said. “The defense knows what’s coming, we know they know what’s coming and we don’t really care.”

It’s a return to the blue-collar mentality that the offensive line wanted to be known for last year, and the next step in getting back to full strength for the first time in a long time.

And a unit that couldn’t stay as one, as Robinson called it, is now working to do so, as it hopes to redefine itself after a season of disappointment.

“Now that we’re finishing up spring ball, now it’s starting to come together,” Shafer said.

“We’ve got a long way to go to get to where we want to be, but they’ve made good progress.” mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman

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5 players to watch during Syracuse’s annual spring game Saturday’s 1 p.m. spring game will be the first look at Syracuse football since it fell to Boston College, 28-7, to end a disappointing 2014 season. As the Orange starts fresh this year with a new offense under offensive coordinator Tim Lester and the defense faces widespread turnover, here’s a look at five players to keep a studious eye on.

Terrel Hunt, quarterback The Orange’s starting quarterback was last seen on a football field limping off of it with what turned out to be a fractured fibula against Louisville on Oct. 3. He missed the rest of the Orange’s season, a total of seven games, and was replaced by a revolving door of AJ Long, Austin Wilson and Mitch Kimble.

The backups were mostly ineffective — and so was Hunt, up until his season-ending injury.

He completed only 57.2 percent of his passes and threw just one touchdown compared to four interceptions.

This past year was a major drop-off for Hunt, who in 2013 had led SU to a bowl berth with a late, game-winning touchdown drive against Boston College. He followed that up by shining in the Texas Bowl, rushing for a touchdown with 1:14 left to carry the Orange past Minnesota.

His leg is still not fully healed at this point — that will be fixed with time. But on Saturday, it’ll be interesting to see how well Hunt can translate Lester’s in-progress offense to a simulated game situation and navigate his unit with it.

ASHTON BROYLD will play before the SU crowd on Saturday for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury against Maryland early last season. The rising senior held top marks in 2013 with his 452 receiving yards and 52 receptions. sam maller staff photographer

Ashton Broyld, wide receiver

Parris Bennett, linebacker

Like Hunt, Broyld is on his way back from an injury. The rising senior suffered a lower-body injury against Maryland in Week 3, re-emerged for SU’s loss at Clemson five weeks later and didn’t play again.

One of the Orange’s more dynamic offensive weapons when healthy, Broyld topped SU in 2013 with 52 receptions and 452 receiving yards on the year. He’s one of Syracuse’s most versatile offensive threats as well, based on his background as a quarterback in high school.

He was originally brought in as a running back, but is now labeled a wide receiver on the roster and will assume a “hybrid” role this year, where he’ll line up in the slot, take handoffs out of the backfield and on jet sweeps and more.

Saturday will be his first time in action since that loss to the Tigers, and also the first time Lester will display hints of Broyld’s role in SU’s overhauled offense.

SU’s linebackers were the strength of its defense last year. Seniors Cameron Lynch and Dyshawn Davis provided stability game in and game out on the outside and Marqez Hodge admirably replaced Marquis Spruill in the middle.

Rising sophomore Zaire Franklin, who impressed during his time on the field last season while Hodge was sidelined with an injury, likely has locked down one of the starting outside linebacker spots. Bennett appears to be ahead of fellow rising sophomores Jonathan Thomas and Colton Moskal for the third linebacker position.

None of the three are too experienced outside of special teams, but the spring game will provide them a chance to face off with the Orange’s offense and get a leg up on the three incoming freshman linebackers — and it appears Bennett will have the first crack at it.

Aaron Roberts, offensive guard

The Orange’s starting secondary has to replace three of its four starters, and the rising sophomore Williams will be very much a part of that process.

Williams, a 5-foot-10, 187-pound defensive back, appeared in only two games last year — grabbing a fumble in SU’s win at Central Michigan — before suffering a season-ending lower-body injury. But now, listed as one of Syracuse’s three safeties on the roster, it appears the next time he steps on the football field will be as a starting safety.

Syracuse has lost starters Darius Kelly and Durell Eskridge in the back of its defense, and the safety spots are Williams’ and Chauncey Scissum’s spots to lose; Saturday will be their first time getting some live action in them.

The rising sophomore is expected to start at right guard on Saturday, and, if he does will, be one of the most inexperienced linemen, if not the most, that Syracuse starts.

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound guard appeared in one game last season and is one of the more raw pieces to the Orange’s revamped front five. The line’s true chemistry won’t be uncovered until senior Rob Trudo returns from an ankle injury to man the center position.

But it appears Roberts, for the time being, has sprung himself ahead of reserve linemen Michael Lasker and Jamar McGloster, and if he holds up well against SU’s defensive line on Saturday, he may accomplish more in determining his role for next year.

Rodney Williams, safety

— Compiled by The Daily Orange sports staff

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april 3-4, 2015 9

Comparing SU’s returning starters to rest of ACC Atlantic

By Jacob Klinger development editor

Last season, Syracuse was very nearly the worst team in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division. Only a win over Wake Forest spared the Orange that dubious title.

Moving on from the 2014 campaign and through the spring though, SU has found itself with even more ground to make up. In terms of returning starters, Syracuse is in one of the division’s worst situations.

The Orange only returns nine starts on offense and defense combined. Clemson and Boston College are the only programs with comparably frightening numbers. The difference is that those teams were good in the fall — good enough to make bowl games. SU at its healthiest barely beat Villanova.

And so with spring football coming to a close, here’s a look at the number and size of the gaps Syracuse is tasked with filling. jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_ Note: Returning starters were projected off the starting lineup of the team’s final game last season, then compared against who remained on the roster.

florida state total: 11/22

clemson total: 11/22

louisville

total: 13/22

boston college

total: 9/22

north carolina state total: 17/22

syracuse total: 9/22

wake forest total: 12/22

4 offense 7 defense 7 offense 4 defense 8 offense 5 defense 4 offense 5 defense 9 offense 8 defense 6 offense 3 defense 8 offense 4 defense returning starters

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the daily orange 2015 spring football guide

2015 SYRACUSE ROSTER 1 Ashton Broyld WR Sr.

16 Zack Mahoney QB So.

50 John Raymon NT Sr.

75 Denzel Ward OT So.

1 Julian Whigham CB Sr.

16 Rodney Williams FS So.

51 Donnie Simmons DE R-Sr.

75 Wayne Williams NT Sr.

2 Quinta Funderburk WR R-Sr.

17 Jonathan Thomas LB So.

53 Nathan Hines LS So.

77 Keaton Darney OL So.

2 Wayne Morgan CB Sr.

20 Cordell Hudson CB So.

55 Marcus Coleman DT Sr.

78 Jason Emerich C Sr.

4 AJ Long QB So.

21 Chauncey Scissum FS Jr.

55 Rob Trudo OG R-Sr.

79 Taylor Hindy OL Sr.

5 Luke Arciniega LB R-Sr.

25 Eric Jackson CB Sr.

56 Matt Keller LS Fr.

80 Tyler Provo TE Jr.

5 Austin Wilson QB Jr.

27 George Morris RB Sr.

57 Omari Palmer OG Sr.

81 Jamal Custis WR So.

7 Troy Green WR Jr.

28 Antwan Cordy CB So.

58 Donnie Foster C So.

82 Alvin Cornelius WR Sr.

7 Oliver Vigille LB R-Sr.

29 Devante McFarlane RB Sr.

58 Hernz Laguerre LB Sr.

83 Sean Avant WR Jr.

8 Steve Ishmael WR So.

30 Parris Bennett LB So.

59 Aaron Roberts OG So.

84 Ben Lewis WR Sr.

9 Brisly Estime WR Jr.

33 Marqez Hodge LB Jr.

63 Rony Charles DL Sr.

86 Adly Enoicy WR So.

10 Terrel Hunt QB Gr.

36 Alex Hodgkinson K R-Sr.

65 Jamar McGloster OT Jr.

87 Kendall Moore TE Jr.

11 Trey Dunkelberger TE So.

41 Eric Anthony SS Jr.

67 Michael Lasker OT Sr.

89 Josh Parris TE Sr.

11 Corey Winfield CB Jr.

42 Jacob Green TE Sr.

68 Nick Robinson OG R-Sr.

90 Cameron MacPherson TE Sr.

12 Ryan Norton K Sr.

42 Joe Stanard CB Jr.

69 Keith Mitsuuchi LS Sr.

91 Isaiah Johnson DE Jr.

13 Ron Thompson DE Sr.

45 Zaire Franklin LB So.

71 Alex Hayes OG Jr.

92 Riley Dixon K/P R-Sr.

14 Colton Moskal LB So.

46 PJ Batten TE Jr.

72 Ivan Foy OT R-Sr.

95 Chris Slayton DE So.

14 Ervin Philips RB So.

48 Cole Murphy K So.

73 Jon Burton OT Jr.

15 Juwan Dowels CB So.

49 Alryk Perry LB Jr.

74 Seamus Shanley OG Sr.

Note: This roster does not include Syracuse’s incoming freshman class.

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april 3-4, 2015 11

Hunt expresses anxiety, optimism for QB’s return to action quarterback coach calling the shots.

“We’re way further (along) than we were last year,” Hunt said. “And you can ask any player that. Every player knows their job and they do their job right. Last year we had a ton of plays we were trying to run and nobody knew exactly how to run them.”

TERREL HUNT will play in front of fans in the Carrier Dome for the first time since Oct. 3.

The senior said he’s anxious to get back. logan reidsma asst. photo editor

We’re way further (along) than we were last year. And you can ask any player that.

Every player knows their job and they do their job right. Last year we had a ton of plays we were trying to run and nobody knew exactly how to run them.

Terrel Hunt

By Sam Blum asst. sports editor

Terrel Hunt hasn’t played in a game since fracturing his fibula in Syracuse’s loss to Louisville on Oct. 3. And though Saturday’s spring game is, as SU head coach Scott Shafer put it, more of a practice, the quarterback is just happy to be playing football in the Carrier Dome in front of fans again.

“I just feel more confident in knowing things because I just had a bunch of time to just look at coverages and study coverages and study

and see everything,” Hunt, Syracuse’s starting quarterback, said. “I know our defense like the back of my hand.”

Hunt said on Tuesday that he had no idea that the spring game would have a practice format with no score being kept until a reporter asked him, but noted he was just ready to just go out and play. He’s also expressed excitement about working with offensive coordinator Tim Lester, who was promoted the game after his injury occurred. Hunt didn’t shy away from saying that it’s beneficial for a quarterback to have a

su quarterback

On Saturday, he hopes to make sure he gets the ball out of his hands with good timing. He wants to make sure the energy is up and hopes to stay in the pocket longer.

Lester has said he sees Hunt more as pocket passer than the run-centric quarterback he’s been viewed as in the past.

“If we have a guy that can run, fantastic,” Lester said. “But he has to drop back, read coverage and make the throw.”

He noted that it’s different this year to not work with former offensive coordinator George McDonald, who wasn’t a quarterback coach. He said McDonald couldn’t point out the little things like Hunt’s footwork that Lester sees instinctively.

Hunt is using the spring to adapt to a new offense with a new mindset. He’s happy to finally be playing and not on the sideline or in the coaches box helping to call plays. The only thing holding him back is a sore leg. But he knows the only thing that will cure it is time.

“It’s been a while,” Hunt said. “I can’t wait to be back.” sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3