After a standout career as a quarterback at Syracuse from 1984-87, Don McPherson has made a living off of analyzing the position and the game.

In less than two games with Terrel Hunt at quarterback, McPherson’s noticed one thing that stands out about the signal caller.

“Not just his play, but the play of everyone around him stepped up a notch when he came into the football game,” McPherson said. “And I think he brought an attitude and swagger to it that I think is not going to be daunted to all the hype and all the fanfare.”

McPherson, the runner-up for the 1987 Heisman Trophy, will have his No. 9 jersey retired at halftime of the Orange’s matchup with No. 3 Clemson on Saturday. Hunt will be making just his second start, but he’s played in the majority of SU’s last two games since taking over for Drew Allen against Wagner.

He’s done damage with his arms and his legs, much like McPherson, completing 33-of-43 passes for 468 yards and seven touchdowns to go with two rushing touchdowns.

“Terrel is playing like a guy who said, ‘When I get my chance, you all are going to know what I can do. And I’m not going to look back,’” McPherson said.

He had equally high praise for the Tigers’ quarterback, Tajh Boyd, who’s become a Heisman Trophy candidate this season.

Boyd, with the help of a strong cast of skill players and the best wide receiver in the nation, Sammy Watkins, has thrown for 994 yards and nine touchdowns. Like Hunt, he has also yet to throw an interception.

“He’s one of the best talents right now in college football — at any position,” McPherson said. “And the thing that Tajh Boyd has that a lot of young players should watch is he has a maturity about himself that lets him perform, but also to appreciate the performance.”

Equally as refreshing to McPherson, is two black quarterbacks taking the field as starters on Saturday.

When he was at SU, it was a big deal that he was a black starting quarterback. But Syracuse has a history of paving the way. He pointed to Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, the black football and basketball player who revolutionized the quarterback position, and even Jewish sportscaster Marty Glickman.

“So many firsts,” McPherson said. “It’s nice to see a game where there’s two black quarterbacks and it’s not an issue.”

Behind Hunt and an improved offense, an upset is realistic, McPherson said. He admires all of Clemson’s pomp and circumstance and understands how talented the Tigers are, but it doesn’t matter.

“They’ve won one national championship at Clemson,” McPherson said. “And so have we. So all that stuff doesn’t matter.”

Published on October 4, 2013 at 4:58 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2