Drew Allen had heard it before. He spoke with Scott Shafer on Tuesday and his head coach told him to be ready.

“That’s kind of what I’ve been hearing for five years,” Allen said, “so it’s nothing I’m not used to.”

After seizing the starting job in training camp, Allen is a backup once again, just like he had been the last four seasons at Oklahoma. When Allen and new-starter Terrel Hunt spoke to media Tuesday night, Allen was terse with his answers while Hunt joked with the media and gave thorough responses.

Hunt is the starter now. Allen is the backup. That’s the way it will be until Hunt loses the job or Allen wins it.

“My confidence got boosted,” Hunt said, “and I feel like now I could show what I’ve actually been working on the whole time.”

Wearing loose black sweatpants, Hunt stood suavely in front of a hoard of media members. He said “all the cylinders were clicking” on Saturday and that his confidence is soaring.

Quarterbacks coach Tim Lester said Hunt’s ability to throw the deep ball has improved. Hunt has closed the gap in the one area Allen had him beat.

When Shafer told Hunt he would start against Tulane, Hunt wasn’t too surprised.

“I kind of felt it coming,” Hunt said. “I had a great big grin on my face.”

He went home to his University Village apartment and called his aunt Valencia Hunt-Valencia. Hunt-Valencia congratulated him on the accomplishment, but Hunt said she “didn’t really cheer” when she heard the news.

They both knew it was coming all along. After his scintillating 15-for-18, 265-yard, three-touchdown performance against Wagner, Hunt was sure he would get the nod.

“It was going to happen sometime,” Hunt said. “It was just a matter of time.”

Twenty minutes earlier, though, the man on the other side of the shifted spectrum held a partially-full, blue Gatorade bottle and stared blank-faced at an even bigger crowd of reporters. He wore orange and white Nike cleats and still sported his practice pants.

When a reporter asked him about the “developments that have gone on this week,” Allen initially dodged the question.

“Going on this week?” Allen said, straight-faced. “What do you mean?”

“Terrel’s going to start on Saturday,” the reporter said. “What are your thoughts?”

Allen responded the same way he has for four years, standing in the shadow of a better-performing quarterback.

Said Allen: “I’ll be ready to go.”

Published on September 18, 2013 at 1:08 am

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass