On the first day of training camp, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer expressed the importance of finding a backup quarterback. He listed sophomores Mitch Kimble and Austin Wilson and freshman A.J. Long as options. He also discussed freshman Alin Edouard — who has yet to join the team due to a family matter.

During the open part of practice Tuesday, when the offense ran plays against a phantom defense, Kimble led the second team while Wilson and Long split time with the third. No passes were thrown downfield by any of the quarterbacks, including incumbent starter Terrel Hunt, with the offense working on a handful of screens and zone reads.

When asked about the backup quarterback race Saturday, second-year quarterbacks coach Tim Lester smiled and said it “should be good.” A year ago he was being snowballed with questions regarding Hunt and Drew Allen, who were locked in a competition that wasn’t resolved until the third game of the season.

Now the focus has shifted to a group of players with even less collegiate experience, and Lester likes his options.

“The two redshirt guys, Mitch and Austin, they’re coming through a second time so everything is not new to them anymore,” Lester said in a video posted on Cuse.com. “They’re a lot more relaxed, they’ve had the offseason and the spring and summer to work on their technique and really get comfortable and I really saw those guys come on late last year.”

Lester also got the chance to work with Long in spring practice after the freshman enrolled in January. He said Long has shown the ability to make a play out of nothing, likening him to Hunt, and added that that is “a great habit to have.” Lester has yet to work with Edouard.

Just like he did last year to separate Hunt and Allen, Lester is charting every pass in practice and crunching the numbers — even if the eventual “winner” won’t jog out against Villanova on August 29.

Said Lester: “They’ve all shown signs, it’s just a matter of who can do it on the field.”

Published on August 5, 2014 at 7:46 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse