During the interview period after yesterday afternoon’s practice, Kyle Johnson strode past Tim Walton, Syracuse’s new defensive backs coach. Walton stopped his interview mid-sentence to congratulate Johnson on being picked in the fifth round of last weekend’s NFL Draft.

While the encounter gave Johnson a chance to show off a gracious smile, it also exemplified Walton’s belief that communication is the key to adjusting to life at Syracuse.

Although the accent Walton developed growing up in Columbus, Ga., caused confusion initially, safety Keeon Walker said the coach’s youthful side makes him easy to relate to.

‘Yeah, we couldn’t understand him at first because he talked so fast,’ Walker said. ‘But he’s a really young guy. He played college ball recently, so we listen to him.’

After Steven Gregory, who is slated to play in nickel situations, made a mistake during practice last Wednesday, Walton grabbed the front of his own hat, whipping it off his head.

‘Steve!’ he said sharply, shaking the hat so hard it’s a wonder the brim didn’t tear off. ‘We can’t have that.’

But that was all the frustration Walton could muster. He then slid his arm around the cornerback’s shoulders and dissected his mistake.

When Walton arrived at Syracuse, he told the players to visit his office anytime. During their study sessions, Walton makes makes a point of asking each about his family, hometown or anything else that pops into his head.

‘I try to get to know my players on a personal level.’ Walton said. ‘I try to understand what goes on in their heads. Communication is the biggest part of coaching.’

Walton said communication fosters trust — crucial considering he is the secondary’s fourth coach in four seasons.

‘You just learn different ways to do things, different terms for things,’ Walton said. ‘When I played at Ohio State, I had the exact same thing.’

Walton moves to Syracuse after two successful seasons coaching at Memphis. During his tenure, the Tigers became more aggressive in their pass defense, increasing their interception total from 11 in 1999 to 15 in 2001.

The aggressive mindset appears to complement SU defensive coordinator Chris Rippon’s scheme as well. Last year, the Orangemen finished 13th in the country in turnovers forced.

‘He lets us go out and try to make plays,’ Walker said. ‘If we make mistakes, that’s OK as long as they are aggressive mistakes.’

No Mo’

Free safety Maurice McClain broke his ankle during Saturday’s scrimmage. The Post-Standard reported that McClain was taken to Crouse Hospital by ambulance.

Defensive backs coach Tim Walton said he wasn’t sure if the injury would keep McClain out for the entire season but admitted it was possible.

McClain was slated to take over the starting free safety job from the graduating Quentin Harris. McClain’s spot will be filled by sophomore O’Neil Scott.

‘It was a tough one, it was a real bad injury,’ Walton said. ‘(Scott’s) going to have to be ready. He just has to improve his overall knowledge of the game. He’s a little inexperienced right now.’

Also unable to participate in yesterday’s practice was Christian Ferrara. The defensive tackle had surgery Friday to repair a torn left bicep.

Ferrara spent the practice mingling with coaches and teammates, while keeping his left arm in a sling hidden under a white T-shirt. He was replaced in the starting unit by sophomore Brian Hooper. At times, however, defensive end Josh Thomas shifted to defensive tackle and Tommy Harris was inserted into the lineup.

Special issue

After blocking five kicks and returning a punt for a touchdown in 2001 and with punter Mike Shafer and kicker Colin Barber returning, you’d think Syracuse wouldn’t be overly concerned with its special teams going into this season.

You’d be wrong.

‘I don’t know if we spend more time on special teams than other programs, but we spend a lot of time working on film,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘Then we spend a lot of time working on the execution.’

Although Shafer’s and Barber’s legs are becoming more reliable, Pasqualoni’s newest difficulty is getting the ball into their hands. With long-snapper Kwazi Leverette graduating, fullback Chris Davis, halfback Barry Baker and tight end Lenny Cusumano are currently competing for the starting job.

Both Shafer and Barber insist that confidence in the snapper is a key to their kicking approach.

‘Kicking is very mental,’ Barber said. ‘If you’re not comfortable or you’re worried about something else, you’re not going to kick very well.’

During yesterday’s practice, Davis and Cusumano rotated without much success. Although Shafer managed to snag most of their snaps, the majority made him leap like a high jumper. Baker practiced in the back of the endzone and snapped two balls into the front row of the bleachers.

Published on April 22, 2002 at 12:00 pm