Scott Shafer has had some rocky starts to his tenure at Syracuse. He named fifth-year transfer Drew Allen as his starting quarterback to begin last season. That lasted only two weeks because Allen was so ineffective. Shafer changed his mind amid public pressure and decided to let the younger, inexperienced Terrel Hunt lead the team under center.
This season the team has been mired in a putrid offensive slump, a three-game losing streak, and he’s decided to change play-callers. The question SU fans have today is: Does Shafer have incredible guts as a leader, willing to stray away from the prepared script? Or is he merely reacting in desperation to save the season (and maybe his job)?¬†
Last year, the change worked.¬†Hunt became an explosive part of the attack, and led SU to a bowl win. Orange fans can only hope this change has the same effect. In both cases, however, there really was no other options. Last year Allen was so bad a change was mandatory or the season would’ve collapsed. This week is not much different. Staying the course with George McDonald felt like whistling on the Titanic. The offense was clearly getting worse by the game, and the season was again on the verge of disaster.
Hunt has an injured leg¬†and will be out at least a month.¬†The problem is there is no soft landing for Tim Lester.¬†Nobody expects the Orange to stay within Vegas’ number (22.5) let alone upset the #1 Seminoles in the Dome. Shafer has to control the locker room, adjust the players to the changes, and find a way to make his team look decent on national television for the third try in three weeks.
Who gets the nod under center? The new depth chart lists both sophomore Austin Wilson and freshmen AJ Long as the starters. Wilson has already played this season in relief of Hunt, while Long hasn’t seen a snap in a real game.
Wilson is 11-for-20 on the year for just 89 yards in relief against Villanova. While he has a good arm, his skill set does not match the zone read offense that Syracuse runs. He can’t run like Hunt, and therefore cannot fool the defense into keeping the ball himself.
Long, on the other hand, is a wild card. We only know about his strong training camp and natural leadership skills. The true freshman can make plays with his feet, like Hunt, and is extremely competitive.  While his talent is raw and ungroomed, he certainly has the poise to succeed in a starting role. Asking him to do it against the defending National Champions is another story, though.
When Shafer and Lester officially name their starter, there will be a ripple effect.¬† Naming Long the starter may show a¬†willingness to move on from Hunt. Shafer has an opportunity to make his next statement, and it starts with¬†Saturday‚Äôs¬†quarterback and ends with¬†Saturday‚Äôs¬†effort. If this pays off and the season is rectified, Shafer will deserve the benefit of the doubt in making changes. If the offense still stinks, it’ll make fans worried there are no real solutions and Shafer isn’t the man for this job.
Posted: Jason Weingold
4 responses to “New Look Orange: Is Scott Shafer a Great Leader or Just Desperate?”
Jason
I don’t know of any fans that’s asking Does Shafer have incredible guts as a leader, willing to stray away from the prepared script? Or is he merely reacting in desperation to save the season (and maybe his job)?
Two years ago when Shafer held his first press conference he made a statement,That Damn ACC,we’re going to lock the doors after they’re in and then kick their asses. If I were a football player and heard a coach make that statement,would be the coach that I wanted to play for. You guy’s in the media and the administration need to take the handcuffs off of Scott Shafer and let him be himself. I know in todays political correctness world that’s almost impossible for you to do.
We need to remember that Shafer has been head coach for two years and is still leading a team that has Marrone’s players on it. Shafer’s first two recruiting classes have been a step up over anything Marrone had accomplished,we need to let him do his job.
Over the weekend Coach Shafer had to make a couple of hard decisions by taking away the responsibilities of the OC from his friend and who is going to be the next QB to lead his team.
His actions tells me that he is energized and intelligent and is a man that has integrity. He’s doing a job that’s been a dream of his since childhood. Let’s be patient and give him another three years to see what happens before we get into a discussion about letting him go or not.
So Jason the next article you do is going to the administration and interviewing them to find out what their thoughts are and how they’re going to get behind and support this team. What’s next on their list of things to do to upgrade our facilities? Is tearing down and rebuilding new housing over on South Campus for the athletes even a thought? Those are the type of questions that’s on some of the fans minds that needs to be addressed.
Shafer may or may not be a great leader…that takes time to quantify.
But he’s not desperate.
The decision to make a change was needed.
The issue now is what type of offense can Lester generate with what’s in the cupboard? And how quick can he do it?
What’s in place may have been square pegs trying to fit into roundholes(McDonald’s offense). Lester may have ideas more suited to
his personnel. A smashmouth running game with a qb who can throw- we haven’t seen that this year.
orangeinva—-we haven’t seen much of the TE’s either this year.
It seems to be that Shafer’s move is out of sheer desperation; and let’s face it – these are desperate times for the team with a season on the brink. It’s not as though Shafer has co-coordinators and after reviewing their bodies of work he decided to go with one of the other. Instead, he’s throwing Lester out there in hopes that 1) the move will satisfy the fans, and 2) that the change will result in better output on the field. This is absolutely a desperate move.