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In Taj Harris’ final game with Syracuse, the Orange threw for their lowest passing yardage of the season. Quarterback Garrett Shrader made his first start of the season, completing just six passes for 77 yards. His longest completion went only 19 yards. SU still beat Liberty that night, 24-21, behind a strong rushing attack and defensive performance.

Not only was the Liberty game the last time Syracuse won before its win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, but it was also the last game before its top wide receiver, Harris, entered the transfer portal. Heading into this season, Harris was a three-year starter who collected All-Atlantic Coast Conference third-team honors in 2020, averaging almost six receptions per game.

From 2018-20, Harris was one of quarterback Tommy DeVito’s main targets in Syracuse’s passing game. But Shrader beat out DeVito for the starting quarterback job ahead of the Liberty game and has held onto it ever since. With Shrader under center, the Orange have installed a new scheme centered around running the ball and read options that give Shrader or running back Sean Tucker the opportunity to run. SU ran the ball 45 times in its 41-36 win over Virginia Tech, only throwing 34 times.

Without Harris, head coach Dino Babers has been forced to replace Harris’ production with several, more inexperienced wideouts including Anthony Queeley, Courtney Jackson and Damien Alford. Jackson has recorded the most yards (293) out of the trio, but Queeley and Alford have brought in two touchdown passes. Alford also averages the most yards per reception (24.13) — showing his capabilities as a long-ball threat, including a game-winning catch against the Hokies. But ultimately, each is topped by Tucker — the nation’s leader in all-purpose yards — who has compiled 238 receiving yards, second-most on the team, and two touchdowns off dump off passes.

With Shrader as SU’s starting quarterback, the Orange have had more rushing attempts and fewer deep passes. In 2019, DeVito averaged just over 1 yard per rush, and Syracuse ran over 50 times just twice. The Orange have already matched that number this season through eight games, recording a season-high 58 rushes against Wake Forest. With Tucker dominating opposing defenses — recording at least 100 yards rushing in all but one game — there has been less of a reason to test Shrader’s arm.

“We need to be balanced as an offense, and we’ll always work towards that, but until you get there, we need to do some things,” Babers said.

One area Shrader has struggled in has been with deep passes. Since taking over the starting job, Shrader’s longest completion was 29 yards against Wake Forest, until he threw a 62-yard touchdown to Trebor Pena against Clemson. And then there was Shrader’s 45-yard throw to Alford to seal the game against Virginia Tech.

But on the first snap of the game against Liberty, Shrader missed Alford on a play-action pass down the middle of the field. Alford had beat his man and only had the end zone in front of him. Shrader overthrew him, missing an early scoring opportunity.

Alford said Syracuse has been running deep passes in practice, making small adjustments to “fine tune” the plays so Shrader can be in sync with his receivers. It all comes down to the timing, Alford said, since all wideouts have different speeds and lengths. Shrader needs to get adjusted to each one.

“I have a lot of faith in all those guys, and they’re only getting better,” Shrader said. “The biggest thing for us is just to continue getting on the same page.”

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While Alford’s strengths come with his 6-foot-6 and 215-pound size, Jackson’s come with his speed and Queeley with his strength. Queeley weighs 33 pounds more than Harris and displays his strength while blocking for Tucker or Shrader, and in coverages against smaller defenders, cornerback Garrett Williams said.

Jackson took over Harris’ spot as SU’s starting slot receiver and is a smaller 5-foot-11, 185-pounds. The redshirt freshman is also the Orange’s backup kick and punt returner, showing the confidence Babers has in his speed and agility.

“Courtney’s a very explosive guy, really quick guy and we probably could give him the ball more than we have been, but he’s done a good job stepping in and filling in those shoes,” Shrader said.

Against Wake Forest, Jackson was the most-used SU receiver in both the run and pass games. Even without Harris, Babers has continued to focus on using his new top slot receiver in the offense, whether it be on quick throws over the middle or jet sweep options. Jackson was used in 19% of the Orange’s plays, down from the 29% mark that Harris recorded against Rutgers. And even despite being used sparingly against Liberty, Harris was used in the most plays of any wide receiver at 13%.

“We’re all ready for it, and next man up, that mentality — it’s everywhere,” Jackson said. “You can’t really worry about what’s going on in the past or what happened, you gotta move on to the future and work on what we have in our locker room.”

Jackson was Shrader’s top target in the past two games against both Virginia Tech and Clemson, being the only wideout that recorded a passing game usage mark of over 20%. Recent games have also shown Tucker’s usage decreasing in throwing situations. His 6% mark against VT was his lowest of the season, and it has been decreasing over recent weeks as SU’s receivers have improved on their ball-catching abilities.

Tucker still has a large role in the passing game through screen passes and the occasional checkdowns, and his speed and physicality have created plays like the 28-yard touchdown reception against Wake Forest that forced overtime.

But in an offense led by Shrader, who said he wants to throw on “every play,” Syracuse needs to find more of a balance with getting the balls to its wide receivers. Touchdowns like Alford’s against Virginia Tech or Queeley’s against Wake Forest have occurred inconsistently. If the Orange are looking to gain bowl eligibility, finding a balance between running, passing to Tucker and passing to wideouts will be key.

“We have a lot of guys in that room that the world might not know of yet, but I think they will soon,” Jackson said.

Published on October 26, 2021 at 10:58 pm

Contact Connor: csmith49@syr.edu | @csmith17_