NEWPORT, R.I. – Greg Robinson sat at the Syracuse table minutes into the interview session, wearily fielding the same question again and again. The same question he has attempted to answer countless times during his tumultuous tenure as SU’s head coach. The same question made even more relevant now as the Orange comes off a summer of seemingly constant discontent.

Just how can you prove this year will be ‘The Year,’ the year Syracuse finally starts to turn things around after three straight seasons of disappointment?

‘I don’t in talking,’ Robinson said. ‘I say to our team all the time, ‘Your actions speak so loudly I can hardly hear you talk.’ Coming into this season, the time for talking is done, the time for doing is about to begin.’

That’s the mantra SU hopes to take into the season, which unofficially began today with Big East Media Day at the Hotel Viking here. Robinson, who was accompanied by offensive lineman Ryan Durand and defensive tackle Arthur Jones, had his first opportunity to explain how Syracuse will bounce back from last year’s dismal 2-10 season.

And it better happen soon for his sake. Robinson enters the season publicly on the hot seat, as athletic director Daryl Gross announced last year he needed to see ‘tangible improvement’ from a team that has gone 7-28 the last three seasons for Robinson to keep his job.

For three years, Robinson has stood in front of microphones and cameras assuring everyone change was on the way. Now, heading into his fourth and most important campaign, he says he is finally done talking.

‘It’s not about what is said,’ Robinson said. ‘You’re asking questions. I’m answering the questions. It’s what we do.’

Robinson and the Orange are coming off a disastrous summer, which has seen Syracuse lose two of its best players – leading receiver Mike Williams and defensive end Brandon Gilbeaux – to academic issues. Neither will play for Syracuse this year, but Robinson left the door open for both to re-enroll in the spring and play in 2009.

The good news? Tailbacks Delone Carter, who missed the entire 2007 season with a hip injury, and Curtis Brinkley, who struggled through eight games with a bum leg, are both healthy and ready to play when practice begins next week. Freshman running back Averin Collier, who underwent foot surgery in June to remove a bone chip and a cyst, will likely miss just two weeks of training camp.

Having all those backs on the field should give the Orange some firepower in its ground game, which will also be helped by the return of 327-pound offensive lineman Jonathan Meldrum, who is back from a knee injury. The sophomore will compete for the right tackle job.

Still, whether the boost from those players will translate to wins is unknown. According to the Big East media, it won’t. The Orange was unanimously picked to finish last in the conference in the annual preseason poll.

West Virginia, which beat Oklahoma in last year’s Fiesta Bowl, was selected to win the league once again.

So the perception remains that Syracuse is in store for yet another tough season. But Robinson doesn’t seem to care.

‘What others see and don’t see, that doesn’t concern me because it doesn’t matter,’ Robinson said. ‘It’s what do I see and is it real? That’s the bottom line. I don’t really concern myself with the perspectives that others have of us.’

And Robinson claims he does see imminent improvement, as he repeated multiple times throughout the morning. He remained positive, deflecting any claims that the summer was a distraction. Williams’ dismissal from school won’t kill the season, Robinson said – now the offense won’t become so reliant on just one player. Gilbeaux’s absence isn’t necessarily a huge loss – Jared Kimmel may have earned the starting spot, anyway.

When Syracuse takes the field for the first time Aug. 30 at Northwestern, Robinson said the team will be ready. His goal for the season? To win a bowl game.

‘Surprise means people must have low expectations,’ Robinson said. ‘I look forward to watching this team evolve. I think there is a new dawn on the horizon for Syracuse football.’

No matter what, he’s right.

Either the Orange commences its turnaround and begins its ascension up the Big East ladder.

Or it struggles again and a new era begins, one that Robinson hopes not to see.

An era that will not include Greg Robinson.

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on August 1, 2008 at 12:00 pm