Syracuse News And Notes From Big East Media Day

Lots of little bits that got caught along the way, here they are in no particular order...

Ryan Nassib is most certainly your starting quarterback in 2010.  Not that you were wondering too much, but, now it's fo sho.  Not like last year.

"He’s come a long way," Marrone said. "He went through some adversity last year. Obviously being named the starter, then Greg (Paulus) comes in and he wins the starting job."

We already know Nate Hackett will be calling plays as the de facto offensive coordinator.  Marrone explained why he made that decision in more detail.

"Sometime you just get too emotional when you are calling plays," he said. "You get in a fourth-and-short and you say to yourself, 'I have a play that can get the first down.' But your defense may be playing great and your team would benefit from punting the ball. You are better able to stand back and make those judgments when you aren't immersed in the offense."

Hey remember when Bob Casullo said that a plan is in place for Delone Carter to return to SU?  Well Doug Marrone now says Casullo is a liar, liar, pants of fire.

"Casullo was wrong in saying that," Marrone said. "There is no plan in place...The school will make a decision on what his status is. Once his status becomes, ‘He is enrolled as a student’, we will take our first action with what we are going to do."

When asked about the current RB set up, Marrone divulged his depth chart by saying Antwon Bailey is the starter, Averin Collier is the back-up (for now) and Jerome Smith is No. 3.  And Marrone seems very upbeat about freshman Jerome Smith and Tyson Gulley, if they are needed.

"I think it’s a position that freshmen can come in and play," he said. "It’s different than if we were talking about quarterback, or center, or defensive tackle."

Finally, on the topic of Delone Carter, here's one more reason we need to have the guy back in the line-up ASAP.

Louisville linebacker Brandon Heath said that the Cardinals defense thought Delone Carter was the hardest running back to tackle in the Big East last season

Rob Long at Big East media day in Newport, Rhode Island, courtesy of CFBExaminer.