upperdeck, @Lowerdeck,
GoSU96 and I played in the tournament today
The forecast, as alluded to above, was bad, but somehow, the heavy rain and thunderstorms forecasted never materialized and we were able to get the round in. It did rain almost the entire way but it was light to moderate for the most part.
Head coach Dino Babers participated. The only shot I saw him hit was a putt from about 20 feet that he sank to much celebration. Seemed like viritually all the GAs attended (including former SU star Kendall Coleman (as well as people like Austin B and T Brewer). Everyone on staff assembled at the front of the room and introduced themselves. The only assistants who attended were Rocky Long and Nunzio Campanile. That is unusual but I assume is the new normal with recruiting now in high gear.
Dino answered some questions afterwards, while we waited for dinner to be served. He said that his job had changed almost 100% over the 8 years he has been at Syracuse, with NIL and the transfer portal playing a major role.
Said that today, in some ways, transfers are preferable to HS recruits because he has no control over players who signed for Syracuse out of HS. They can go when they want. Transfers have to stay until they graduate. Much more stable situation, much easier to deal with.
Said that he is reluctant to make predictions for this team right now because it is not a finished product yet. They are still adding players and a number of important players being counted on need further development over the summer before they will be ready.
He talked about all the work the players on campus put in over the summer. Lots of weight lifting, lots of training, lots of opportunities to develop together as a team. Says that they need to focus on working for the team and not themselves and that the summer is the time when there is the most development off the field as the players learn to work together and support each other. That closeness they develop is really important.
Dino said Coach Anae did a great job his one year here and he is very grateful and thankful for what he did for the offense while he was here. Said if he was told when he hired Coach Anae that he would leave in a year that he would hire him without hesitation. Said Coach Beck is going to follow the path Coach Anae started and will do well.
He did note that we have a punter we have brought in who is terrific. He can boom a punt when needed and kick to OB when needed as well. And he expressed a lot of confidence in our new placekicker, who he also mentioned was very, very good. Special teams are a very important part of football and we are in really good position with our specialists right now.
Said he is extremely thankful that Coach Long is on the staff. Explained he is the foremost expert on the 3-3-5 in college football and will take the defense to the next level. Said he had to give up some things to get him but it will all be worth it.
Said Garrett Shrader lost strength in his arm late last season. That is why when the doctors talked to him about a possible surgery. They said if you give him up for 15 days this spring, we can guarantee he will be as good next year as he was last year, and he might well be better. Coach Babers said it was a no brainer to get the surgery done and try and position Garrett better for a full healthy season in 2023.
Said to look for the offense to change in 2023. Said there will be a new wrinkle and fans who have been around will remember it from the past. Said newer fans will not recognize it. We all looked at each other like ‘what the heck is he talking about’? but he had to go after that question and ran out of the room without taking any follow up questions on this.
Coach Babers remains a dynamic and terrific speaker and he was in top form today. That brief address alone was worth the price of the golf tournament.
