On Thursdays over the summer, The Juice Online is going to highlight individual players on the 2015 Syracuse football team. This week, we’re profiling quarterback Terrel Hunt.
The impetus to Syracuse’s nosedive in its 2014 season can be traced back to quarterback Terrel Hunt’s injury.
Hunt played just five games last season after breaking his foot in SU’s game against Louisville. From there, the Orange cycled through four difference quarterbacks, and was held to 10 or less points four different times with Hunt on the sidelines.
Fortunately for SU, Hunt is healthy again, but a lot has changed since Hunt last lined up under center. The main thing has been a change in offensive coordinators, as Tim Lester has taken over for George McDonald and installed a new offense.
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Hunt appeared to struggle with it during SU’s spring game, completing just 10-of-30 passes for 145 yards.
“Throughout the spring he’s still sharpening up with the new offense,” Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said after the spring game. “He’s had some really good days. Today, I thought he was OK. I think he’s got a lot of things he has to get working on.”
But the fact was that Hunt was out there, and didn’t show any ill effects from his injury.
“Me and my receivers were a little off, but we’ll get that right by the time the season comes,” Hunt said. “My ankle is sore sometimes, but I’m going to work through it.”
Said Shafer: “It was good to get him back. It took him a little while to get going on that leg but I didn’t think the second half of spring he was thinking about it anymore.”
Inside slant: Shafer blamed Hunt’s poor spring performance in part on play calling. “I kind of pigeonholed him with the offense,” Shafer said. “Didn’t want to put a lot on tape.” In the spring game, SU took many more chances deep, which has never been in Hunt’s wheelhouse. But if Hunt can grasp Lester’s new offense, Syracuse should almost certainly score more points than they did last year, when it was 121st in the NCAA with 17.1 points per game.
Vitals:
- Birthdate: August 1993
- Hometown: Rosedale, NY
- High School: Christ the King
- Position: Quarterback
- Class: Senior
- Height: 6’3″
- Weight: 234 lbs
Career highlights: Hunt threw for 1,638 yards and 10 touchdowns, and rushed for 500 yards and seven touchdowns after in his sophomore season. He was also named MVP of the 2013 Texas Bowl after throwing for 188 yards and rushing for 74 yards and two scores in a 21-17 win. In five games last year, Hunt was 83 for 145 with one touchdown.
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