Syracuse Football: QB Terrel Hunt Trusts the Hell Out of Tim Lester

While we, as fans, wait to see what offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s scheme means for Syracuse’s on-field execution, the players already seem to have bought in completely. Quarterback Terrel Hunt said at ACC media days on Monday:

"I trust the hell out of him, and I know the other guys do too."

As Syracuse.com’s Stephen Bailey notes, that’s a strong endorsement coming from the senior, who has not been afraid to throw former OC George McDonald under the bus (hey, I can relate, Terrel). Hunt had previously spoken highly of the ease of running and executing on Lester’s system in relation to whatever it was McDonald had tried to install in his first two seasons as the starter.

Speaking further about the offense, Hunt brought up another tell from last year, beyond just the single-cadence debacle:

"Last year, it was so simple to know where we were running. We only ran a few plays out of certain sets."

Breezing right by that one, so as not to try and light George on fire again, Hunt assuaged our fears by saying that bubble screens were out of the offense (HALLELUJAH!), and instead the emphasis is on blocking and controlling the line of scrimmage. This likely means a return to emphasizing the run, which we can all agree is probably in this team’s best interest. Gearing this attack toward the personnel seems to be the goal – something Hunt is very keen on as well. Acknowledging last year’s futile offense, he promised we would not see more of the same.

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Though we’ve yet to hear the full scope of what’s happening with this offense come the fall, all indications seem to be moving toward more physical play, more running back involvement and more tight end use. Speed’s been emphasized in recent recruiting classes too, and those players (Ervin Phillips, Steve Ishmael, Ben Lewis, Ashton Broyld, etc.) will all be implemented a ton to help offset the power game inside.

Bailey also teases out that he’ll be sharing more on the offense later in the week, all stemming from an extensive interview he recently had with Lester. Hopefully, that should shed even further light on the OC’s scheme and what we can expect