Eric Dungey came back to the sideline in the second half of Saturday’s game, put on his headset and started talking to his confused offensive coordinator.

“That’s an interesting play right there,” Tim Lester said.

“I screwed up, coach,” Dungey replied.

“Oh, that’s what that was,” Lester retorted to his quarterback.

The play Dungey called, one that wasn’t even in the Orange’s playbook, ended up being a 21-yard pass to tight end Kendall Moore for a first down. The true freshman quarterback, thrust into the starting role after Terrel Hunt suffered a torn Achilles, is still overcoming some freshman mistakes, but has shown an ability to adjust quickly for Syracuse.

He will be making his second career start in his third career game when Syracuse hosts Central Michigan on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. He’ll be trying to lead the Orange to its first 3-0 start since 1991 — five years before he was born.

“He gets right back on track,” Lester said. “And that’s the fun part. A lot of times with young kids, there’s peaks and valleys. And with him, the one thing that I find is that the valleys aren’t very long. It’s a play, or maybe two.”

When asked to assess his play, Dungey simply said that there was room for improvement.

Dungey said the biggest difference since his prodigious high school days at Lakeridge (Oregon) High School is the speed and athleticism of the opposing defensive linemen. They aren’t “in the same concept,” Dungey said.

He’s also getting used to running the triple option, something he did very little of in high school.

“I see a lot of room for improvement,” Dungey said. “Make better reads. Read the coverage better. The guys are really helping me out. Steve (Ishmael), Brisly (Estime), the other guys up front, the running backs.”

In training camp, Syracuse cornerback Julian Whigham said he looked forward to when Dungey would get in the game.

“Oh, Dungey’s in the game, let me get that freshman,” Whigham said, recalling his thought process.

Now, Whigham said, Dungey’s improvement has forced him to change his outlook.

“You can tell he’s getting better,” Whigham said. “As soon as he takes control, his confidence is there, too. He’s a real confident guy. He’s taking the reins of the entire team.”

Dungey is still getting used to being in the spotlight. He hasn’t really thought about the magnitude of Saturday’s game. He’s hardly even ventured off campus to find a place to eat.

Dungey’s main focus remains learning on the fly.

Said Dungey: “There’s always room for improvement.”

Published on September 16, 2015 at 12:33 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3