There is no plan in place for Drew Allen to play Saturday against Tulane at 12:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer confirmed on the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ teleconference on Wednesday.

 

The coaching staff had predetermined that then-backup quarterback Terrel Hunt would replace Allen on the fourth offensive series of Saturday’s 54-0 win over Wagner. He did, and by the middle of the third quarter had led SU to seven consecutive scores.

 

This week Hunt is the starter, but it appears Allen has fallen more than one week behind.

 

“If the production is good then you keep going with it,” Shafer said. “If it’s not what you need, that’s when you start to consider things, but I want Terrel to feel comfortable going out and playing free-flowing.”

 

Hunt was the unquestioned second-stringer in the Orange’s first two games of the year – losses to Penn State and Northwestern. He only saw the field for a garbage-time drive against the Wildcats in which he drove Syracuse down the field for a touchdown.

 

But his 15-of-18, 265-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Seahawks not only pushed him ahead of Allen in the quarterback race, but far enough to the point where Shafer may not even play the senior on Saturday.

 

“It’ll be: See how Terrel’s playing and adjust to the elements as we go,” Shafer said.

 

Shafer and quarterbacks coach Tim Lester agreed that in Tuesday’s practice, SU’s only session since the Wagner game, Hunt appeared confident and threw a sharp deep ball.

 

That ability to throw the ball downfield was the biggest knock on him throughout training camp and entering the season.

 

“He did a good job, threw some good balls,” Shafer said. “He only had one that I thought was maybe not a good deep-ball throw, but for the most part he looked good.”

Published on September 18, 2013 at 12:24 pm

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