How good is Hunt? How high is his ceiling?

[A Clockwork Orange]

The main thing that sticks out to me is Hunt is a General.

He commands his offense with confidence, poise and the support of his teammates. With his athleticism and talent, the upside at the moment is impossible to measure.

This. In the post-McNabb years I haven't seen an SU quarterback have that "it" factor that Terrel seems to have. Actually, Nassib had it last year, especially near the end of the year.

I think it comes down to confidence. Terrel has the confidence of his teammates, his coaches, the fans. Everyone is behind him, that helps a lot for a college kid. It gives him a BMOC kind of swagger, which you need. McNabb had it, Nassib had it. Everyone in between it always felt like one mistake, one wrong turn and they'd fall apart. Perry, RJ (even though I thought he was pretty solid), Troy, etc... didn't have the support that Terrel has right now.

Now I fully expect (disclaimer: No I don't) Clemson to beat us 60-0, and Terrel to throw five interceptions, just because it would make sense that after we've built him up this much, the cosmos will tear him down. Beyond that, it would be kind of fun (in a gallows humor kind of way) to see the board meltdown. It would be epic.

There's no way Terrel keeps up this kind of pace, so the real question is when he faces adversity on the field for the first time, how does he respond? We haven't seen that yet. If his life to this point is any indicator, I think he'll respond.

 

[TheCusian]

This. In the post-McNabb years I haven't seen an SU quarterback have that "it" factor that Terrel seems to have. Actually, Nassib had it last year, especially near the end of the year.

I think it comes down to confidence. Terrel has the confidence of his teammates, his coaches, the fans. Everyone is behind him, that helps a lot for a college kid. It gives him a BMOC kind of swagger, which you need. McNabb had it, Nassib had it. Everyone in between it always felt like one mistake, one wrong turn and they'd fall apart. Perry, RJ (even though I thought he was pretty solid), Troy, etc... didn't have the support that Terrel has right now.

Now I fully expect (disclaimer: No I don't) Clemson to beat us 60-0, and Terrel to throw five interceptions, just because it would make sense that after we've built him up this much, the cosmos will tear him down. Beyond that, it would be kind of fun (in a gallows humor kind of way) to see the board meltdown. It would be epic.

There's no way Terrel keeps up this kind of pace, so the real question is when he faces adversity on the field for the first time, how does he respond? We haven't seen that yet. If his life to this point is any indicator, I think he'll respond.

Hmm... I don't think he had the confidence of the coaches or he'd have been the starter from day one. His teammates, for sure. Fans? Now? Yes. Then? Around here, it seemed to be a mixed opinion between Drew and T.Hunt. I think you're right it's confidence - but I think it's the inner kind - the kind a kid who has been through what he has, gets. Maturity, calmness. He's climbed through a mile of and came out clean on the end.

I'm not going to say there is no way he keeps up this pace. Who knows? When I first saw Johnny Football, I thought - it's a fluke - no way this guy can keep doing what he's doing. Then he did. Then he did it against Alabama and now he's a Heisman winner (and a douche bag, but hey). It's unlikely that he keeps it up - sure - but what if he can reproduce his performance against Clemson?! Could you imagine the pressure on Boyd if we score on every possession? In a near-full dome?! It's unlikely - but I haven't see anything to say he can't.

Ah - hope. A strange feeling for sure.

 

[ForeverOrange]

Well, last night I had a dream about him, I kid you not. The dream included a walking, talking pink lamp table and getting lost in Buckingham Palace, where I realized my mother was sisters with the Queen of England. Sometime during that dream, I saw Hunt diving for a touchdown and thought to myself, "He's the real deal!"

So, you see, Hunt is definitely NOT a mirage!

Nope just an hallucination...on that note I'll have what he's smoking so I can have the same "dream"!

 

[ForeverOrange]

I'm not sure I agree with that assessment. P took over from Mac, and not only sustained the success, he exceeded it in many respects with some great seasons.

The problems came when we were unable to recruit an adequate replacement for Donovan McNabb [ you Tommy Reamon / Michael Vick--both of you can burn in hell]. And at that point, the program got stale and began to decline. At that point--and only at that point--did he have What losses.

But painting P as an incompetent boob who squandered what Mac built is 100% false. He had a sustained run of success. He just couldn't sustain it beyond the first 10 years. But those outstanding first 10 years is a lot longer than you are giving him credit for.

You had me until you said that. I can think of some What losses right of the bat with McNabb at qb. NC State comes to mind twice. I may be little shaky on my memory of this, but I seem to remember losing to Oklahoma when they were going through a down period. But the thing about P he would always give you a What win also, that's why I was shocked when UConn didn't beat Michigan, because it had his signature What written all over it.

 

[Alsacs]

You had me until you said that. I can think of some What losses right of the bat with McNabb at qb. NC State comes to mind twice. I may be little shaky on my memory of this, but I seem to remember losing to Oklahoma when they were going through a down period. But the thing about P he would always give you a What win also, that's why I was shocked when UConn didn't beat Michigan, because it had his signature What written all over it.

I was a young kid, but my family in Oklahoma remind me and my mom who are both SU alums of this game all the time.

 

[RF2044]

You had me until you said that. I can think of some What losses right of the bat with McNabb at qb. NC State comes to mind twice. I may be little shaky on my memory of this, but I seem to remember losing to Oklahoma when they were going through a down period. But the thing about P he would always give you a What win also, that's why I was shocked when UConn didn't beat Michigan, because it had his signature What written all over it.

It might be useful to level set what constitutes a What loss, because I think we're using different definitions.

 

[SWC75]

I don't think there is any question the kid can play. Will he continue to improve? We shall see. I think he will.

Also, I suspect your 1-10 were in no specific order. But I believe #10 is much higher on the list of critical attributes for a QB on a winning team. Lots of kids can throw a ball, have a big arm, or bark out plays. The intangibles are much more important if you want to win consistently. Way too early to know for certain. But I think Hunt just might be that kind of player/leader.

But regardless, he is good right now. I don't care who we play, I have confidence the kid will not let us down. He will make some mistakes (eventually). Even the very best do. At this point in time, he changes the dynamics of this team -- for the better.

It's like being a baseball pitcher. Velocity is not irrelevant but it's not the most important factor in making a pitcher. I remember watching Colt Brennan when he was setting records at Hawaii. His balls seem to float to the receivers. But they got there and they were caught and that's what counted.

 

[SWC75]

I was a young kid, but my family in Oklahoma remind me and my mom who are both SU alums of this game all the time.

Once upon a time Oklahoma could get all excited to beat us.

 

[TheCusian]

Let's take a thread about maybe the best What moment of the season, T.Hunt's start, and let it morph into another thread about how good/bad coach P was/is.

The truth is down the middle on coach P as history. In the past. The past. Gone. Done.

The truth on Hunt is being written now. Shafer and co. is the now.

 

[Zcuse]

Zip versus a "catchable ball".

This is college football, not the NFL.


I love this kind of response. Let's not get ahead of ourselves is your first statement. But then you admit to almost vibrating with optimism and anticipation.

You are right. I cannot point to any SU QBs that had great first games who fizzled out. But I can point to lots of similar situations (Wasn't Jeremy Lin going to be a superstar at one point in time?)

I really hope that the kid can be as good as Mcnabb.

I'd recommend you restrain your enthusiasm because when the Optimism Meter gets too high, sometimes the disappointment is even more bitter based om unrealistic expectations.

My good man, I am a Syracuse fan. I think it's in our DNA to not be overly optimistic.Count me among those who will be surprised if it goes our way (VERY pleasantly surprised), but I'm surely not vibrating with giddiness.
I just meant that if he shows well against Clemson, then it will be among the best first 3 starts we have seen from any QB who wears the Orange (and Blue/Orange) helmet. And you would have a legitimate opponent (by any measure) to compare fairly. In that scenario, optimism for the future can rightly run high.

 

[GoSU96]

What is wrong? Patterson was a decent college QB who wasn't elite, but was serviceable during his SU career. He had awful coaching his entire career George DeLeone as his coach and then Pariani and I forget his last coach. Patterson had talent but just never had the help he needed.

You think DeLeone and Pariani are comparable? Says all that needs to be said I guess.

 

[CuseOnly]

My good man, I am a Syracuse fan. I think it's in our DNA to not be overly optimistic.Count me among those who will be surprised if it goes our way (VERY pleasantly surprised), but I'm surely not vibrating with giddiness.
I just meant that if he shows well against Clemson, then it will be among the best first 3 starts we have seen from any QB who wears the Orange (and Blue/Orange) helmet. And you would have a legitimate opponent (by any measure) to compare fairly. In that scenario, optimism for the future can rightly run high.

SU fans are overly pessimistic...with just a pinch of downright delusional thrown in for good measure.

 

[kcsu]

I think that he has huge upside. He has great vision and feet. His pocket awareness is something that you either have or dont it cant be taught. His vision and pocket awarness more than make up for his arm which is pretty good. Each second that he buys allows the reciever to get seperation which makes the throw easier his vision and quick decision making go hand in hand with this. Joe Montana had a decent arm, but great vision, pocket awareness and feet. He also had an O that took advantage of these strenghts. I see nothing but good things for Hunt and believe we are going to win a lot of games with him at QB

 

[AZOrange]

About 8.5 feet high I'd guess.