Throughout the season, Doug Marrone has reiterated Ryan Nassib’s role. There are specific plays, specific formations and specific situations assigned to the backup quarterback.

Two weeks ago, that changed. Starter Greg Paulus was benched at halftime of Syracuse’s loss to West Virginia and Nassib got his first crack at extended playing time. Now that he’s gotten an appetizer, he wants more.

‘I’m craving for it,’ Nassib said. ‘Whenever I get that chance, I’ll be extremely thankful.’

For now, he must wait. Immediately after Syracuse’s 34-13 loss to the Mountaineers, Marrone reinforced that Paulus is the Orange’s starting quarterback. Not Nassib. So naturally, when Syracuse (2-4, 0-2 Big East) hosts Akron Saturday (3:30 p.m., TW26), all eyes will be on Paulus. His leash may be shortening.

After a hot start – at one point on pace to set the school passing record – Paulus has regressed sharply. In the Orange’s Big East opener, he threw five interceptions, eroding a close game into a wipeout. Two weeks ago, his across-the-grain screen pass into a black hole of West Virginia defenders set the tone for another blowout loss.

Despite the benching, Marrone insists there is no quarterback controversy. Even though Paulus’ 10 interceptions are tied for second most in the nation, Marrone isn’t ready to crinkle up this experiment quite yet. This week is Paulus’ chance to erase the mistakes of the past two.

‘I think a lot of athletes do this,’ Marrone said. ‘I’ve seen this for a long period of time. Someone that is as competitive as Greg goes out there and tries to make a play. And sometimes the plays aren’t there and you need to take what the defense gives you.’

Everyone agrees that last week’s bye should help. A healthy step back from a two-week funk has given Paulus a chance to exhale.

‘I think it’s a really good thing for me and this team,’ Paulus said. ‘Any time in the middle of the season you can reevaluate the things you’ve done – good or bad – and see the progress you’re making or the areas you can work on.’

Not that Paulus wanted to sit on the West Virginia game too long.

‘I was ready to play the next hour,’ he said.

Nassib? All he can do is wait and tame his urge to play. Two days into spring practice, he was named the starter. Paulus came to SU in May, was named the new starter one week into preseason camp, and Nassib has been the backup ever since.

Being fed rations hasn’t been easy. After getting occasional snaps as a decoy in the Syracuse’s ‘Stallion’ package, Nassib played the entire second half against West Virginia. Albeit with the fat lady warming up her vocal cords, Nassib played well. The redshirt freshman completed 7-of-16 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns – numbers bruised by four drops.

‘I’ve been yearning to get on the field all year long,’ Nassib said. ‘It’s better late than never. I’m just glad I got the opportunity to get some serious time and run the offense a little bit.’

And the keys to the offense were instantly handed back to Paulus. Marrone has left no wiggle room after the loss. For now, it’s back to the bullpen for Nassib.

‘Some games with Ryan, if you talk about 100 percent, he may have five percent, seven percent or as high as 17 percent depending on what the package is,’ Marrone said. ‘If it’s working for us, we’ll stay with that package.’

Arm strength may be Nassib’s X-Factor. His passes carried an extra juice against West Virginia, self-admittedly contributing to a few drops. While redshirting last year, Nassib spent hours in the weight room to improve his upper-body strength and power in his hips.

What Nassib may lack in collegiate experience, he makes up for in velocity.

‘My arm strength has definitely increased since I got here, mainly because of our strength and conditioning program,’ he said.

Whatever the case, the last game’s benching reflects that Paulus’ job security is as shaky as it has been all season. Another dud could vault Nassib into a starting role for good. Whereas Paulus is here for just this season, Nassib has three more years.

Paulus insists he isn’t panicking.

‘My confidence and my mentality are the exact same,’ Paulus said. ‘It’s being ready for the next play and getting ready for this week. I think that whenever a player starts looking over his shoulder, they’re thinking about the wrong things.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on October 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm