According to Nate Mink of the Post-Standard, the Syracuse coaches have not ruled out a two quarterback system. Luckily, quarterbacks coach Tim Lester said on record he doesn’t think that’s “the way Shafer would go.”
Let’s hope not. While it’s fine to play your cards close to the vest, it doesn’t help anyone to rotate QBs in and out every few possessions once games start. The old adage still rings true: If you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any quarterbacks. And swapping signal-callers in-game is a recipe for disaster.
It’s one thing to utilize a subset of plays for a quarterback if he brings something special to the table. We all clamored for the use of a Wildcat offense for a few downs last season for the explosive Ashton Broyld. There’s plenty of examples through recent college football memory where a dual-threat running/passing QB had success running a few series in-game. The most famous example is the ’07 Florida Gators, who started Chris Leak en route to a BCS title, but got contributions along the way from freshman Tim Tebow.
And maybe Terrel Hunt is that type of player. Could Syracuse run a traditional pro-style offense with Drew Allen, then throw Hunt into the mix for a few read-option plays? Yeah. That could keep these fast-attacking ACC defenses on their toes during Syracuse’s first foray into its new conference.
But a case where there’s no true #1 guy, just a weekly carousel of rotating QBs will put the Orange in a hole. Establishing the leader of the huddle, and the identity of the offense is critical. SU needs to know who its best option is under center in two weeks when Penn State is on the field, and trust in that.
Posted: D.A.
