Hard Knocks has captured the attention of NFL fans for years, bringing viewers closer to the training camp of a new team each season. Now Syracuse football has their own version.
“All-Access with Syracuse Football” premiered on ACC Network Monday night, with the first episode chronicling Syracuse’s off-season and the start of training camp. Here’s three takeaways.
The coaching decision
Of all the changes for Syracuse entering the 2024 season, the biggest one will be on the sideline. When Fran Brown was named head coach in November, it jump started the Orange’s offseason and episode one gave more insight into the coaching change.
One of the more interesting interviews in the show was with Syracuse Athletic Director John Wildhack. He said he started to realize a change may be needed at coach after SU’s 38-10 loss to Virginia Tech last year.
Wildhack continued to say that he soon saw Brown as more than a recruiter. For Brown, he knew that he wanted to come up north eventually. He called Wildhack to put his name in the pool and the rest is history.
A chip on their shoulder
A lot of Fran Brown’s early recruiting wins have come in the northeast. A New Jersey native himself, he sees a fire inside of players from his home region.
“When you recruit a kid from the northeast you’re going to get guys with a chip on their shoulder,” Brown said. So his goal was to get the top players from New York and surrounding states and grow from there.
The result? A well-knitted team. Zeed Haynes, a transfer wide receiver from Georgia who’s a Philadelphia native, said the chemistry has boomed because a lot of players are from the same area.
It’s Kyle’s show
Breaking up a huddle at training camp, Fran Brown turns to new Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord and says, “We’re following you fam.”
The Ohio State transfer was one of SU’s biggest transfer portal pickups and he’s embraced his new role. Multiple players were interviewed and talked about all that the new quarterback has brought both on and off the field.
And one of the most important quotes came from star Syracuse receiver Oronde Gadsden, who said he was only going to come back if he gets a quarterback. He got Kyle McCord, and now Syracuse hopes to have a booming offense.
