18 february 7, 2013
SIGNING DAY FROM PAGE 20
on his shoulder and I’ll be excited to see where we turn out. “Yeah, we may not be the fastest, we may not be the biggest, we may not be the strongest, but by God, we’re going to play our butts off here.” As Shafer introduced SU’s Class of 2013 in the auditorium of the Iocolano-Petty Football Wing, he made it clear it was only a starting point. This group – highlighted by nine three-star prospects and ranked No. 75 nationally by Scout.com – will provide competition for the core of players returning. The Orange’s class is made up of six junior college transfers and 13 high school players from 13 different states. Shafer said he and his staff pinpointed the quarterback position and the offensive line as their two primary needs. He wanted to bring in two quarter-
COACHES FROM PAGE 20
resulted in Syracuse losing the commitments of Texas quarterback Zach Allen, New York running back Augustus Edwards and Miami defensive end and linebacker Malik Brown. Shafer said this is what happens in college football. Coaches move to other positions and the remaining and new coaches have to adjust to the changes. At one point, though, SU’s coaching staff was so thin that the holdovers had no way to reach out to every recruit. Only Shafer, defensive line coach Tim Daoust and wide receiver coach Rob Moore remained. It was three coaches trying to reach out to more than a dozen recruits. “The tough part was, at one point, we only
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backs to compete with the three returners, and SU achieved that goal by signing Mitch Kimble from Illinois and Austin Wilson from Pennsylvania. To add depth to the offensive line after the loss of Justin Pugh and Zack Chibane, the Orange brought in four offensive linemen. From there, Shafer put a premium on finding playmakers, and despite losing previous verbal commits like quarterback Zach Allen, running back Augustus Edwards and defensive end Malik Brown, the head coach felt his staff did that as he went down the list of signees. “To be honest with you, you win some, you lose some,” Shafer said. “At the end of the day, you want the guys that want to be dressed in blue and orange and I’m excited about those kids that are coming in here.” Shafer, who was hired to replace Doug Marrone on Jan. 9, was forced to put together his first class with his staff in a short period of time. It’s a factor he acknowledged Wednesday, saying they adjusted
their recruiting strategy and tried to build relationships with previous commits and other players in the weeks leading up to Signing Day. As Shafer talked about the work his coaches did in that time, he returned to his first point of the day. He reminded everyone of his humble beginnings playing Division-III football at BaldwinWallace. He pointed out that wide receivers coach Rob Moore was unheralded coming out of high school, a player with few offers, before becoming a star at Syracuse. Defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough, Shafer said, wasn’t the biggest or strongest player in his days at Michigan State, either. The coaches share these stories with their recruits – players who weren’t pegged as future stars, making for the lackluster ranking. They hope the determination that propelled them through the coaching ranks is personified in their play once they arrive.
“I think our kids will appreciate the type of people that are coaching them because that’s who we are,” Shafer said. It will be three or four years until Shafer knows what these 19 players will become, he said, but some of the best players he’s coached weren’t highly rated out of high school. But now, the whirlwind of recruiting is behind Shafer and his staff. They can refocus their effort and energy on coaching. The head coach was ready to go standing at the podium Wednesday, promising his players will play with a hunger and intensity to overcome any talent gap between Syracuse and its opponents. “We’re going to play hard, we’re going to play with integrity and we’re going to play with respect for the game,” Shafer said, tapping the podium after each sentiment for emphasis, “and that’s really all I care about at this point in time.”
had three coaches, so there was only three of us on the road,” Moore said. “It was almost impossible to touch every kid that you want to. We were scrambling for a while.” When Shafer put his new staff together, the coaches spent little time in Syracuse. They went into the recruits’ homes and met with their families. All in all, they held the class together, with only a few exceptions. The coaching changes took place quickly, but the new coaches managed to salvage the commitments of almost every recruit. “I think, given the situation,” Moore said, “we came out of this thing pretty good in light of being down some coaches and really have to scramble toward the end.”
Kimble, Syracuse is going to have five quarterbacks competing for the starting spot. That’s exactly what Shafer wants. Wilson, from Camp Hill, Pa., committed to Syracuse back in May. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound quarterback also had an offer from Eastern Michigan. Kimble, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback out of Jerseyville (Ill.) Community High School, can both run and throw well. In high school, he ran an up-tempo offense that’s similar to the one Syracuse runs. “I think the biggest thing you see is athleticism. Whether he’s on the perimeter or whether he’s throwing it,” McDonald said. “He’s probably the most athletic quarterback that we have in terms of having the combination.” Wilson and Kimble will join the competition in training camp with John Kinder, Terrel Hunt and Charley Loeb, who’s considered the frontrunner for the spot. Shafer said Wednesday he and the coaches made it a goal to go out and find a pair of quarterbacks to bring to Syracuse. The head coach said both of his new quarterbacks are “dynamic” and “competitive.” Syracuse has its quarterback candidates. Now, that group just needs to be pared down to an eventual successor to Ryan Nassib. “We’ve got good kids in-house that are going to compete,” Shafer said. “But you need to have competition with five or six guys at that position
early on. And then we have to decipher where we’re at pretty early on.”
Wilson, Kimble thrown into competition With the signings of Austin Wilson and Mitch
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Playmaker Cooper a big-time get Shafer said he wanted to bring playmakers to the program. He found one in wide receiver Corey Cooper. Scout.com rated the 6-foot, 185pound wide receiver from Millbrook High School in Raleigh, N.C., a three-star recruit. “He’s a playmaking guy,” Shafer said. “He makes acrobatic plays across the board, both down the field on the outside and across the middle.” Moore, Syracuse’s wide receiver coach, said Cooper has the potential to be a great receiver. The Orange is losing starting wide receivers Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales, so Cooper could be given a starting role depending on how he performs in training camp. Moore said that while the potential’s there, Cooper still needs to mature. “You have to be careful about what you say about freshmen,” Moore said. “They still have to develop, they still have to come in and perform. But he has the ability to be an excellent football player. It’s going to be up to us to make sure we develop him and give him all the tools he needs to be successful.” cjiseman@syr.edu @chris_iseman
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