Such a blast from the past.
I think I started posting on this board (or its predecessors) nearly 20 years ago and remember all of the names of some of the great posters appearing in this thread,
Jake,
rrlbees,
OrangeinBoston,
Bayside44,
Chip,
upperdeck,
JeremyCuse,
DCCuse,
billsin01,
MadNY3,
RF2044. Time really does fly.
It has been quite some time since my last post, between having to wind-down during the Marrone era, forgetting passwords, life getting in the way and so on. There is some great history on this board buried somewhere in the archives of the internet. A real treasure trove.
In reading this thread, Dungey perhaps reminds me more of Dutch from the Kobra Kai (“what’s the matter LaRusso, mommy not here to dress you?”) than anyone else in terms of on field persona.
In my view, the program has great history and is on the way back. I believe DIno is the right guy and is going to get it done.
Remember, his offense needs two components to work well - two deep threats on the outside - and the ability to generate an inside run. Once those two components are combined, it becomes impossible to cover the screens, the QB-options and the seam-play action. Something is always wide open. However, if you don’t have each of those two components, the defense can flatten out and cover everything and the offense does not have the diversify and complexity/deception to counteract. I think that begins to change this year.
Speaking of Don Darius, his teammates would always say he was the one guy on the team no one would talk trash to (even the Hurricanes). Guys were just scared of him. To this day he is the best tackling safety I have ever seen. Perhaps my favorite all-time Syracuse player.
I will always say that the tandem of Darius and Tebucky Jones were as good of a safety tandem as there ever has been in NCAA football. I remember George DeLeone telling me back when Tebucky was a freshman RB that he would be an NFL first rounder - they just had no idea at what position. To this day Tebucky may be the greatest athlete in modern Syracuse football history. 6-3, 228 who an 4.36 at pro day and could turn his hips and “get-back” like Will Allen. In this day and age with all of these hybrid / position-less defenses he would be a top-5 pick.
I recently spent some time at a Manhattan fundraiser with a large Alabama booster who thought Landon Collins was the best college safety in the last 30 years. Uhhhhh, Tebucky was bigger, faster, stronger and could actually cover receivers like a corner (and DID cover receivers in the NFL).
Even with those two guys, I will still say that Quentin Harris was the best “technical” safety in SU history. An example of a guy who ran 4.7 but played like he ran 4.4 because he got a 3-tenths head start on every play through great instincts. He was an unsung hero of that 10-3 season as we played almost exclusively press cover-1 man to feature Feeney and simply never was beaten deep.
I really like what Dino is doing. He has two aces at quarterback and is building a roster of big guys who can really run at WR. I’ll say it again. DeVito is special - the dad got him the right training (including some time at Sports University in Fairfield) from an early age and he is as pure of passer as they come. Adams (RB) and Jackson (WR) are guys that we just do not get in modern Syracuse football history. There is a lot of talent on the offensive line and my prediction is that Dino gets us into position to compete for an ACC title during DeVito’s tenure here.
Looking forward to Friday night.
