Just a few hours after Terrel Hunt’s prognosis was announced, SU Athletics published a video interview with Orange All-Access host Matt Park in which Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer discussed the Orange’s approach at quarterback in preparing for No. 1 Florida State on Saturday.

Hunt will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a fractured fibula, suffered in the Orange’s 28-6 loss to Louisville on Friday night. Sophomore Austin Wilson filled in for him, as he did after Hunt’s ejection against Villanova, while reserve quarterbacks Mitch Kimble and AJ Long watched from the sideline.

“I just feel so bad for the young man,” Shafer said of Hunt, “… But now we’re going to move forward this week and try to develop a plan for Austin and AJ and have Mitch ready to go as well.

“… When I look at it, it’s going to be less of a competition as to which guy does better this week during practice. Let’s come up with a plan. If we choose to use two guys, let’s use two guys and give them pieces of the game plan … In an ideal world, you’d love to have one quarterback who can do all those things. But right now the reality is we don’t want to put that weight on any singular player.”

Shafer likened the situation to the way he introduced Dyshawn Davis to the college level as a young linebacker, throwing him into blitz situations and then gradually teaching him the finer points.

“There’s strength in saying, ‘Hey, you’re good at these four or five things. This will be a big part of your game plan,” Shafer said. “And then you take the next guy and say, ‘Hey, you’re a different guy. You give us a change-up. We’re going to use these types of things.’”

Shafer said the coaches’ evaluations of the backup quarterbacks’ abilities to contribute started when they first joined the Orange, not just when Hunt went down with his injury. Shafer said Wilson’s done “some good things” filling in for Hunt and the head coach complimented the job Long’s done as Syracuse’s scout-team quarterback.

“I think all three of those young men have the skill sets to do it,” Shafer said. “… There’s definitely a drop-off because Terrel’s a very good quarterback and his development just continued to ramp up. But now with him out, we go to the next ballplayer up.”

Published on October 6, 2014 at 2:51 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb