Terrel Hunt was pleased with the final outcome against North Carolina State, but was disappointed with his own performance.

Hunt rushed for 92 yards, but passed for just 74, completing half of his passes and throwing two interceptions in SU’s first Atlantic Coast Conference victory in school history. Running backs Jerome Smith and Prince-Tyson Gulley bailed Hunt out, but the Orange passing game struggled mightily for the second week in a row.

“As a quarterback you never want more rushing yards than passing,” Hunt said matter-of-factly.

Hunt and the rest of the SU passing game are looking to improve their consistency and rectify a unit that’s been up and down all season. The running game has become the team’s identity, but Hunt and Syracuse’s (3-3, 1-1 ACC) wide receivers will need to improve against Georgia Tech (3-3, 2-2) when Syracuse schleps down south for a 12:30 p.m. showdown Saturday with the Yellow Jackets.

Quarterbacks coach Tim Lester knows Hunt’s game better than anyone, and said there are still specific skills his QB needs to work on.

“Am I happy with the numbers?” Lester said of the NC State game. “No.”

When Lester and Hunt met after the NC State game, Lester said Hunt wasn’t satisfied with his performance. NC State’s secondary was far from elite, and Hunt knew he missed plenty of prime opportunities.

“After the game I gave him a hug,” Lester said. “He didn’t feel really good. That’s the way I want him. I want him to expect more out of himself.”

Lester loves talking football, arguably more than any of Syracuse’s coaches. And as he stood with a group of reporters Tuesday night while holding a bottle of Glacier Freeze Gatorade in his right hand, he candidly spoke about SU’s quarterbacks for 21 minutes.

He could have easily gone on for longer.

Lester has been through the good and bad with Hunt. He’s seen Hunt improve considerably, yet he said he’s still often a split-second late on his reads, which inhibits yardage after the catch.

Lester says a split-second is the difference between a wide receiver getting tackled immediately and having a bit of a cushion to break free.

On the second play of the game against NC State, Hunt completed a pass to Jeremiah Kobena for a 7-yard gain. The forward progress was fine, but Lester said it was a 12-yard route. The ball should have been in Kobena’s hands earlier.

Lester said the next step for Hunt is to throw the ball before the receiver looks. Hunt often waits to make eye contact, but with the speed of ACC linebackers, waiting isn’t good enough.

“I’m my worst critic,” Hunt said.

Hunt and the rest of the quarterbacks sat down with Lester to watch Miami (Fla.) quarterback Stephen Morris on tape. Lester encouraged the SU quarterbacks to look at how early Morris released the ball. The receiver wasn’t even looking when the pass was thrown, yet he went on to score a touchdown.

But when Lester watches the Syracuse quarterbacks, Hunt included, he rarely sees a release as zippy as Morris’.

“I always seem to see it about a half-second before them. I’m like, ‘Throw it. Throw it.’

“And then they go,” he said.

Lester said inexperienced quarterbacks have a tendency to try to boost their completion percentage, which often means their throws don’t create extra yards after the catch.

But what Hunt has lacked with his arm of late, he’s made up for with his legs. He’s rushed for 253 yards and three rushing touchdowns. He punctuated the win against NC State with a diving plunge into the end zone after a nifty scramble.

When plays collapse, he makes something out of nothing.

“Now teams are going to think we’re running the ball more,” wide receiver Christopher Clark said, “and teams are going to think that we don’t have a pass game, but we really do.”

Published on October 17, 2013 at 2:36 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass