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via AP
Just over 40 college quarterbacks attended the prestigious Manning Passing Academy over the weekend. Syracuse football’s starting quarterback Terrel Hunt made an appearance.
The 6’3”, 233-pound gunslinger posted a photo on his Instagram account this past Thursday to share the news about his trip to Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The academy is annually operated by Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as their father, Archie.
Obviously this is great exposure for the SU program. Hunt served as one of the camp counselors alongside a handful of top colleges QBs, including 7 from the SEC. This provides an awesome recruiting tool here, too. 
What’s even more intriguing is Hunt was one of just four ACC programs to get the nod to head down to Louisiana. Duke’s Anthony Boone, North Carolina’s Marquis Williams and Heisman Trophy winner, Florida State national champion, Jameis Winston, were all in the house. A bit premature to say Hunt is amongst the crème of the crop in the ACC?
This certainly creates some excitement for SU fans that in hindsight, Hunt may be considered a “Top 5” conference quarterback. The Manning Academy is no joke and to receive an invite is a huge honor.
Hunt isn’t the only Orange QB to have participated in the academy. Ryan Nassib’s longtime backup Charlie Loeb bested some of the nation’s finest like USC’s Matt Barkley back in 2012. No offense to Charlie, but look how that turned out. He became a lonely island at Syracuse.
Chris Singleton of the Houma Courier Newspaper tweeted this past Friday how Hunt struggled getting used to the heat. The opportunity and competition probably shaded the heat away for the most part. The results from the weekend have not been posted yet, but Hunt’s adjustment to the heat wave certainly stood out. 
An event like this only elevates Hunt’s maturity level. He enters what hopes to be a “turning point” season for Syracuse. Ten touchdowns to 8 interceptions last year and 1,638 passing yards are simply the numbers. The QB he’s capable of being goes beyond the stats.
He took over for Drew Allen a quarter of the way into the season, so he rose to that challenge. Hunt also completed three game-winning, fourth-quarter drives for the Orange. Clearly he’s got quick instincts and the ability to work hard on the fly. Attesting these qualities in front of the Manning Family can only make him ten times better.
As he said in IG post, “Take full advantage of your opportunities!”¬†Let‚Äôs hope it all translates at training camp come August.
Posted by: Brendan Glasheen
