sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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SU News
SU Football 2015 Position Preview: Quarterback (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
The Syracuse football season is getting closer and closer. In the lead-up to kickoff, we'll be previewing every position group on the Orange squad, making sure you're fully prepared for September 4. Today, we take a look at the...
Syracuse Orange Quarterbacks
Last year, the quarterback position was rough for Syracuse. You don't need to be told that, but it bears repeating for emphasis. Things were beyond difficult tor Orange passers, and if SU's going to rebound as a team in 2015, it may begin with the quarterback position.
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Terrel Hunt, (Redshirt) Senior
Going into 2014, we saw Hunt -- he of pretty impressive improvement at the close of the previous season -- as the guiding force behind a promising offensive attack. That was far from the case, however, as the seasoned QB struggled to throw the ball while taking too many hits for five games. He was as adept as ever on the ground (his 156 rushing yards against Maryland were especially impressive), but those knocks, failing accuracy and a bunch of turnovers would lead to less-than-positive results overall. Now, healthy and once again the starting quarterback, all eyes are on him yet again. And with changes to the offense, he may actually be up to the challenge. Back in the spring, the seniordescribed the 2014 SU offense as "a jack of all trades but a master of none," and seems confident this year will be different. If he can be more accurate and avoid getting beaten up too much this fall -- there's faith he'll round into the leader the Orange need to be successful.
A.J. Long, Sophomore
Taking the lion's share of snaps following Hunt's injury departure last year, Long actually performed admirably. With extreme confidence and a noticeably better deep ball (than Hunt), the 6-foot QB showed Orange fans a hell of a lot through some pretty rough circumstances. While he's slated to redshirt this season, that shouldn't be seen as a bad thing at all, especially with regard to last year's results. This staff does put a lot of stock in Long's abilities to lead this program in some future season (probably next year), and getting that extra year of eligibility from him is the right call if they can swing it. Should Hunt succumb to injury or poor play again, though, expect that 'shirt to be burned pretty quickly and for A.J. to be tossed into the starting role yet again. (And hopefully he's able to put on a little bit more muscle should that time come this season)
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Get to Know Your Orange Man - #58, C Donnie Foster (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
Name: Donnie Foster
Position: Center
Year: (Redshirt) Freshman
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 312
Hometown: Savannah, Ga.
High School: Savannah Christian Prep/IMG Academy
2014 Stats: Redshirted last fall, though he did earn himself a spot on the Fall 2014 Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
2015 Projections: Based on the depth chart, Foster's fourth in terms of centers, which puts him at a low likelihood to see much playing time. I guess he could get moved around, perhaps, if injuries hit elsewhere on the line.
How'd He Get Here: After spending a year at IMG Academy, he received offers from Harvard and Dartmouth (Ivy League mind, that Donnie!). He also had some preferred walk-on interest from Georgia and Auburn but liked his chances better with Syracuse. Win, us -- and him, too, since he's now set to have a scholarship this season.
What'd Recruiting Sites Say: Nada, but that's not a terrible thing, necessarily.
Money Quote: While talking about his time at IMG Academy...
"I've snapped with (New York Jets QB) Geno Smith, (Miami Dolphins QB) Ryan Tannehill and Tim Tebow while he was here last year. The first day I was here I had breakfast with all the NFL Draft trainees that were here - Matt Barkley,Manti Te'o, Barrett Jones - and it was incredible to see these famous people in their everyday lives, just talking to us."
... let's hope Geno's habit of getting lit up didn't rub off on Foster! (kidding... that level of failure is only caused from being terrorized by Chandler Jones, which Foster didn't have to deal with.
Links Of Wonder: No, seriously, read the entire post from IMG. Donnie shares his love of table tennis, strength training, AP calc and more.
Twitterfeed: @donnie_foster
Tweets Of Wonder: I say similar things at work every day...
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Get to Know Your Orange Man - #58, LB, Hernz Laguerre (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
Name: Hernz Laguerre
Position: Linebacker
Year: Senior
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 220
Hometown: Spring Valley, N.Y.
High School: Spring Valley
2014 Stats: Hernz did not accrue any stats last season.
2015 Projections: Likely the same, though a recent change might give him inroads. He's listed on the post-spring depth chart as No. 3 at the MLB spot behind Zaire Franklin and Colton Moksal, but Moskal is transferring. Laguerre will get competition from the rest of the LB corps as well as the incoming freshman, but he's one guy closer in a system all about Next Man Up.
How'd He Get Here: Laguerre didn't play football until his senior year of high school, he told The NewsHouse. Everyone had told him he was too small so he played basketball and ran cross country, instead. He bulked up to 225 pounds as a senior and played defensive end. As a freshman at Syracuse, he made the team as a walk-on.
What'd Recruiting Sites Say: Nada.
Money Quote:
"Football’s a war. You have a goal in mind — you train, you study your position, and do anything that is just to get to your goal," Laguerre said "In poetry, I’m going to war too. I’m going to war against negativity, for people who have made mistakes and feel there is no remorse."
Links of Wonder: If you're going to read one Hernz Laguerre piece, you're going to read The NewsHouse feature on the combination of his two loves: football and poetry slams.
Twitterfeed: You can find him at HernzJr.
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Other
U2 Invites Tribute Band on Stage at Toronto Concert, Joins It to Perform 'Desire' (PS; video; Owens)
A Toronto-based U2 tribute band got the thrill of a lifetime Monday night when U2 frontman Bono invited the band on the stage and joined them in a song at the Air Canada Centre.
The band, called Acrobat, has performed for about three years, lead singer Gabriel Pate told Rolling Stone, and Pate said he has been performing in U2 tributes for about 15 years. He said that he was called up on stage once before in 2005, but did not sing or perform. The band's bassist, Mark Baker, is also known to the band and was the subject of a documentary about his U2 fandom.
On Monday, though, band members realized what Pate said was a longtime dream when Bono began talking to band members during the show, asked them if they could play, invited them onstage and gave Pate the microphone.
U2 guitarist The Edge played with the band, and Bono joined in with Pate on vocals and harmonica for the song "Desire" from the band's "Rattle and Hum" CD.
Pate told Rolling Stone that the night was truly special for the band:
What happened is as good as it gets. I don't know how much better it could get. If I could bump into the band at a bar and have a pint, that would be the pinnacle I guess. But other than that, I performed in front of 20,000 people last night on the biggest stage in Toronto. It's ridiculous. How do you top that?
Watch the performance:
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