Let The Camp Battles Begin!

by Sean Keeley on Aug 7, 2008 2:12 PM EDT

The hardest working man at Syracuse training camp isn't Greg Robinson. It's not Andrew Robinson. Hell, it's not even the team's longtime trainer Gus "Crazee Eyez" Robinson. It's Donnie Webb, who's covering the details of camp better than Syracuse's defense covers, um, anything?

First up, our long national nightmare is over. Andrew Robinson has been named the starting quarterback for Syracuse. What's that? Actually, he hasn't? AWESOME! Despite the fact that quarterback may just be the only position outside of special teams that the Orange have a definite star at, Greg Robinson would rather pretend that Cody Catalina has a realistic shot at taking snaps against Northwestern.

Robinson is officially designated the first-string quarterback as opposed to starter. Assistant coach Phil Early said the staff is withholding the starting designation for now. That seems more about holding Robinson's feet to the fire in training camp and letting the other quarterbacks know they have something to compete for as opposed to the threat of change.

Because as we all know, there's nothing that fires people up like false threats.

Big A (I refuse to ever call him A-Rob and may a thousand hellfires befall your family if you do) wants to remind Orange fans that, despite not having a receiver on the roster with a touchdown catch to their name, don't fret. It is, as the kids say, all good:

"You can say what-if, but it would be a waste of time," Robinson said. "The offense we have is perfectly fine and capable of performing in the passing game and running game. To sit back and ponder if we had those receivers is a waste of time. It's something the team is not going to do and I'm not going to do. We're going to move forward and get down this offense as best as we know how.

"We went all summer without them. The core group of guys we have, I have the utmost confidence in their abilities. I've seen it all summer. I'm not just saying that after three practices."

Done and done. In Andrew We Trust.

Jumping from a position with no controversy to a controversy that's been set to "brew," the free safety position is officially wide open. All the more surprising when you consider who is involved...returning senior and starter A.J. Brown and redshirt freshman Kevyn Scott.

"Randy McKinnon is in there as well," said head coach Greg Robinson.

Sorry, Greg. My bad. Randy McKinnon is in there as well. What else can you tell us Greg?

"First of all, they're intent, mature young football players."

That's not a criminal intent, I hope.

Don't be surprised if the entire defensive backfield is in disarray for a while, apparently strong safety is no lock either:

Max Suter and Paul Chiara are "chomping at the bit," according to Robinson, as they challenge senior Bruce Williams for the starting job at strong safety. "That's a competitive spot, too. Bruce is Bruce - working and deligent about what he's doing."

Do yourself a favor and keep a close eye on Syracuse.com for more updates as they come in (but you alreayd knew that...).

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