Ashton Broyld Is The Tim Tebow Of Syracuse Football (Kinda But Not Really But Also Kinda)

I was reading Dave Rahme's piece on Syracuse.com about Ashton Broyld and what he did during practice Monday and it occurred to me that I found myself hoping Rahme would write one of this every day.

I want an Ashton Broyld update every day.

There are a lot of guys on the team that I want to keep tabs on and get updates on often but there is no player I want constant information about quite like Broyld.

Yes, he hasn't played one second of one minute of one Syracuse Orange football game. However, the potential and the curiosity factor surrounding the talented freshman makes it impossible not to wonder what he's capable of and whether or not he's proving himself in practice.

Ashton Broyld could end up taking 1-2 snaps a game in the Wildcat. Ashton Broyld could end up with 2,000 all-purpose yards by the time the season is over. I honestly have no idea.

I blame Doug Marrone, inasmuch as one can say "blame" when it comes to giving us hope about a young player's potential. Marrone is notorious in his low-key descriptions about player potential. He usually sticks to "Player X is doing a nice job" and leave it at that (good for you, Player X!). However, Marrone has spent the better part of the off-season talking openly about how Broyld will see time at running back, wide receiver, quarterback and possibly other positions if we decide to create them.

Besides, it's not every freshman who comes in wearing No. 1 on his jersey.

And so, I patiently await articles like Rahme's on whether or not Ashton is actually seeing time at those positions. I look for clues to see how quickly he's picking up the game or if he there's one position he seems to be excelling in. I see a gallery of practice photos and immediately zone in on the photo of Broyld. He's throwing the football! He's gonna play quarterback! He's better than Johnny Unitas and Peyton Manning combined! There's even video of him saying how excited he is while throwing. Look how cool and calm he is, just like the ol' gunslinger...

In the title of this post I compare Broyld to Tim Tebow, currently making headlines down the road in Cortland. Now, it's more than a little funny to compare a guy who got in trouble for showing his junk to spectators with Jesus Boy over there, but, it's less about the specifics and more about what both players represent:

1. Curious Hype
2. Unlimited Potential
   

In theory, a guy that's already received the public discussion that Broyld has received in the Syracuse community is destined to be a Heisman candidate by the time he's a senior, if he's even still here as a senior. Of course, we've all seen plenty of guys flip that script and never meet that potential. But for now, it exists and Ashton Broyld represents it.

Dare I say he represents the next level of success for Syracuse football. That this program will be in a better place by the time he leaves it.

Maybe. Maybe not. But in the meantime, I want an update on Ashton Broyld and everything he does after every single practice this August. I'm all about that potential.