SWC75
Bored Historian
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QUARTERBACKS
Seniors: #6 Garret Shrader 6-4 225
Juniors: none
Sophomores: #16 Carlos Del Rio-Wilson 6-2 222 (down from 232), #18 Luke MacPhail 6-4 212
Freshman: #10 Braden Davis 6-5 200
Brent Axe, (a local sportscaster), is found of saying that Syracuse hasn’t gone through an entire season with the same starter at quarterback since Ryan Nassib in 2012. I think that’s incorrect: Eric Dungey started every game in 2018. He was pulled from the Florida State and North Carolina games and hurt early in the Notre Dame game but he started every game. Nevertheless, his point was well taken: SU quarterbacks rarely last throughout the entire season, although tough guy Garrett Shrader came back to play hurt after he got hurt last year. That means that the back-up QB isn’t just the most popular guy in town, (when the starter has a bad game). He’s a key member of the team. You’re lucky if you have a competent back-up to hold things together if the #1 guy gets banged up. A few years ago we had Zach “The Officer” Mahoney, a walk-on who threw 3 touchdown passes against LSU in 2015 and two more vs. NC State. The next year he had 2 vs. Florida State and 5 (!) against Pittsburgh. In 2017 he had 3 vs. Wake Forest. Not bad for a walk-on from a junior college. Since then our back-ups have been scholarship players, brought in to compete for the #1 job. They were the #2 guy because they weren’t yet ready to be the #1 guy. Tommy DeVito had 3TD passes in leading us to victory against North Carolina in 2018 but had only 1 vs. 2 interceptions in his other 6 games. The next year the #2 was Clayton Welch, another JUCO transfer, who threw for 2TDs against both Pitt and Wake Forest. In 2020 it was JaCobian Morgan, who had 2 TD passes in 3 games. In 2021, Shrader, a former 4-star recruit who had played at Mississippi State before being converted to a tight end by Mike Leach, took the job from DeVito. Last year, it was Carlos Del Rio Wilson, another 4-star recruit who transferred in from Florida after not making the 2-deep there. Carlos made his collegiate debut when Shrader got hurt against Notre Dame and looked good, passing 11 for 22 for 190 yards and a touchdown. The next week he was in way over his head vs. Pittsburgh, going 8 for 23 for 120 yards and no scores. It seems we might be better off with back-ups who have had some experience over those who have good ratings as recruits.
We had hoped to have Justin Lamson as our back-up and heir apparent. He had no game experience, but he’d been on campus since he enrolled in January, 2021. He knew the offense and looked like Dungey or Shrader in his high school highlight film. Then he went home to California. He’d been here as long as Shrader without ever playing in a game. That leaves Del Rio Wilson as our back-up again. Hopefully, the experience he got last year and a year learning the offense will elevate his game. To replace Lamson on the depth chart, Babers and his staff brought in another highly rated SEC refugee, Braden Davis. He’s likely not ready for prime time but is still another 4 star, perhaps the one with the most potential. Behind him is Luke McPhail a “preferred walk-on” who looked pretty good in his HS tape. Maybe he could be the next Zach Mahoney.
But Shrader is easily the best at this point in their careers. A big key is to keep him healthy, if we can. He’s coming off off-season surgery and Babers said in fall camp that he was “one a pitch-count”. Two years ago, Shrader and Sean Tucker had a great two-man game going. It was simple, yet devasting; Shrader would take the snap and either hand off to Tucker, who went in one direction, or pull it out and keep it, going in the other direction. Against Florida State they combined for 239 yards rushing and 2 scores, mostly on that play. Against Wake it was 331 yards and 3 scores. Against Virginia Tech, it was 286 yards and 4 scores. Last year, with Robert Anae calling the shots, we rarely used that play. I wondered if it would return now that he’s gone. It was suggested to me that we were avoiding planned runs to help Shrader avoid being hurt. I wondered: on what type of play is a quarterback most likely to get hurt: a designed run where he’s expecting contact and might be the one to initiate it, a scramble where he might get hit from any direction or passing from the pocket, his concentration focused on the receivers and defenders downfield while he trusts in his teammates to protect him? Something to ponder…
Garrett Shrader was a four star recruit out of Charlotte, North Carolina, rated the #13 dual threat QB in the country. He opted for Mississippi State, where he got to play in 10 games as a freshman in 2019, starting four of them:
My comments from my 2021 preview: “What I see is an aggressive, confident, tough runner with a Dungey-like penchant for leaving his feet or lowering his shoulder. He loves to pull the ball away from the running back and run right up the middle, into the teeth of the defense… But defenses can adjust to that and some of his determined runs end at the line of scrimmage. He takes a lot of big hits, which can end a season pre-maturely. But DeVito stays in the pocket and he hasn’t been on the field at the end of the last two seasons. He also showed a tendency to make unexpected laterals to try to extend plays. He has a good arm and sees the whole field – but not everything in it. He isn’t afraid to throw into coverage and there’s one play where he throws the ball right to a linebacker, much as DeVito famously did in the 2018 UNC comeback. (Fortunately it was dropped.) But others weren’t. Still, he made some nice sideline throws and showed he can throw on the run. He’ll be an exciting player but sometimes it’s the other team’s fans that will be excited. People had said that he reminds them of Eric Dungey and I can see the resemblance. He might also be a Troy Nunes, who was famous for making both great and terrible plays.”
Then Mike Leach became the coach at Starksville and he wasn’t looking for a wild dual-threat quarterback, (triple threat if you count turnovers), so he converted Garrett into a back-up tight end who caught one pass for 8 yards and played on special teams. Garrett decided to find a place where he would have a chance to start.
Shrader won the quarterback job here from Tommy DeVito after the third game of the 2021 season and has been the #1 man since. He’s not been a turnover machine at all, throwing 26 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions. His completion percentage improved as he got more used to our offense: 53% in 2021 to 65% in 2022. He was a ferocious runner in 2021, gaining 781 net yards at 4.5 a clip and rushing for an impressive 14 touchdowns. He was more conservative in 2022 gaining 444 yards but only at a 3.0/carry rate but he did score 9 times. He has showed himself to be quite a leader, combing back from injuries to play hurt but fairly well. He’s a big guy who tends to think that that (and a luxuriant beard) will protect him but he’s learned to take care of himself on the field and could have a big year if he can stay fully healthy.
His 2022 highlights:
Garrett Shrader 2022 Season Highlights | Syracuse QB
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is another big quarterback, although he’s lost 10 pounds since last season. He was a four-star recruit out of Georgia, rated as the #31 quarterback prospect in the country, per 247. He went to Florida, where he found the quarterback room a little too crowded. He came here last year and, with Justin Lamson injured, became the back-up quarterback. His chance came in the Notre Dame game and he looked pretty good, playing with some confidence and showing a strong arm but with good touch, something young quarterbacks are often missing. The next week he was overwhelmed by Pittsburgh’s aggressive front line and didn’t play very well. But we held out hope that he could develop into a good college quarterback and potentially replace Shrader, both as a fill-in and a successor. Despite his size, he wasn’t much of a runner, getting 43 yards on 25 carries, (including sacks) in the two games.
The Notre Dame game, (Carlos comes in at the 14:20 mark):
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse Condensed Game | 2022 ACC Football
The Pitt game, plus commentary:
HIGHlights and LOWlights from Syracuse Football's Loss to Pitt
RECAP: No. 20 Syracuse Football falls to Pitt 19-9
Braden Davis is the third four-star transfer, (44th best QB), Babers has brought in from an SEC school in the last three years. Davis is a tall (6-5) somewhat skinny (200lbs) native of Delaware who went to South Carolina and was red-shirted before deciding he’d rather be at Syracuse. He committed right after Lamson left so he may have been a replacement for him or maybe Babers wanted him all along. He’s seen as another athletic, dual threat quarterback. He’s said to be very athletic: an Instagram post showed him in orbit above the earth. His arm strength and passing mechanics have been questioned. He’s got a good pedigree: his father is Antone Davis, who played for the Eagles, Falcons and Packers in the NFL from 1991-99. But Antone was not skinny: 6-4 330. He played guard and tackle, not quarterback. Ironically he may be here because LaNorris Sellers, who had committed to us, switched to South Carolina.
His high school highlight film:
Braden Davis, 2019 Highlights, Middletown High School
It’s from when he was a sophomore in 2019 but it’s easily the best of the highlight films I could find. I think he needs to build himself up and work on his technique, (and get better highlight films). If he does that, he could be a factor in a year or two. I like his attitude: “What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality.” I hope they all see it that way.
Luke MacPhail: He’s never played a game so I might as well repeat what I’ve said in my previews the last two years:
“He is a ‘pro-style quarterback’. He was “the fifth most productive passer in Massachusetts history in touchdowns (85) and yards (7,195)” and the “All-New England Player of the Year”, which sounds pretty good to me. Here are his highlights:
Luke MacPhail Senior Highlights
He’s got good size, can make all the throws, can scramble to buy time and throw on the run and runs the ball with determination and some speed. I like how his long throws have some air under them and gives his receivers time to run under them. He also hits guys in stride. What more do you want?”
While I hope we don’t get down to having Luke in there, (as Shrader, Del Rio Wilson and probably Davis would all have to be hurt), it wouldn’t surprise me if Luke surprised people if he did get in there. Luke was a 2-star, the 100th best pro style QB, per 247. It would be interesting to see where Babers would if both Shrader and Del Rio Wilson went down: Luke McPhail, the possibly underrated preferred walk-on who has been with the program for three years and knows the offense or Braden Davis, a high recruit with a lot of developing to do physically and in terms of fundamentals who basically just showed up.
Having three four stars for one position does make me feel good. Imagine the reaction if Dino had recruited them all in one season! He didn’t do that but all three are in an Orange uniform anyway.
Seniors: #6 Garret Shrader 6-4 225
Juniors: none
Sophomores: #16 Carlos Del Rio-Wilson 6-2 222 (down from 232), #18 Luke MacPhail 6-4 212
Freshman: #10 Braden Davis 6-5 200
Brent Axe, (a local sportscaster), is found of saying that Syracuse hasn’t gone through an entire season with the same starter at quarterback since Ryan Nassib in 2012. I think that’s incorrect: Eric Dungey started every game in 2018. He was pulled from the Florida State and North Carolina games and hurt early in the Notre Dame game but he started every game. Nevertheless, his point was well taken: SU quarterbacks rarely last throughout the entire season, although tough guy Garrett Shrader came back to play hurt after he got hurt last year. That means that the back-up QB isn’t just the most popular guy in town, (when the starter has a bad game). He’s a key member of the team. You’re lucky if you have a competent back-up to hold things together if the #1 guy gets banged up. A few years ago we had Zach “The Officer” Mahoney, a walk-on who threw 3 touchdown passes against LSU in 2015 and two more vs. NC State. The next year he had 2 vs. Florida State and 5 (!) against Pittsburgh. In 2017 he had 3 vs. Wake Forest. Not bad for a walk-on from a junior college. Since then our back-ups have been scholarship players, brought in to compete for the #1 job. They were the #2 guy because they weren’t yet ready to be the #1 guy. Tommy DeVito had 3TD passes in leading us to victory against North Carolina in 2018 but had only 1 vs. 2 interceptions in his other 6 games. The next year the #2 was Clayton Welch, another JUCO transfer, who threw for 2TDs against both Pitt and Wake Forest. In 2020 it was JaCobian Morgan, who had 2 TD passes in 3 games. In 2021, Shrader, a former 4-star recruit who had played at Mississippi State before being converted to a tight end by Mike Leach, took the job from DeVito. Last year, it was Carlos Del Rio Wilson, another 4-star recruit who transferred in from Florida after not making the 2-deep there. Carlos made his collegiate debut when Shrader got hurt against Notre Dame and looked good, passing 11 for 22 for 190 yards and a touchdown. The next week he was in way over his head vs. Pittsburgh, going 8 for 23 for 120 yards and no scores. It seems we might be better off with back-ups who have had some experience over those who have good ratings as recruits.
We had hoped to have Justin Lamson as our back-up and heir apparent. He had no game experience, but he’d been on campus since he enrolled in January, 2021. He knew the offense and looked like Dungey or Shrader in his high school highlight film. Then he went home to California. He’d been here as long as Shrader without ever playing in a game. That leaves Del Rio Wilson as our back-up again. Hopefully, the experience he got last year and a year learning the offense will elevate his game. To replace Lamson on the depth chart, Babers and his staff brought in another highly rated SEC refugee, Braden Davis. He’s likely not ready for prime time but is still another 4 star, perhaps the one with the most potential. Behind him is Luke McPhail a “preferred walk-on” who looked pretty good in his HS tape. Maybe he could be the next Zach Mahoney.
But Shrader is easily the best at this point in their careers. A big key is to keep him healthy, if we can. He’s coming off off-season surgery and Babers said in fall camp that he was “one a pitch-count”. Two years ago, Shrader and Sean Tucker had a great two-man game going. It was simple, yet devasting; Shrader would take the snap and either hand off to Tucker, who went in one direction, or pull it out and keep it, going in the other direction. Against Florida State they combined for 239 yards rushing and 2 scores, mostly on that play. Against Wake it was 331 yards and 3 scores. Against Virginia Tech, it was 286 yards and 4 scores. Last year, with Robert Anae calling the shots, we rarely used that play. I wondered if it would return now that he’s gone. It was suggested to me that we were avoiding planned runs to help Shrader avoid being hurt. I wondered: on what type of play is a quarterback most likely to get hurt: a designed run where he’s expecting contact and might be the one to initiate it, a scramble where he might get hit from any direction or passing from the pocket, his concentration focused on the receivers and defenders downfield while he trusts in his teammates to protect him? Something to ponder…
Garrett Shrader was a four star recruit out of Charlotte, North Carolina, rated the #13 dual threat QB in the country. He opted for Mississippi State, where he got to play in 10 games as a freshman in 2019, starting four of them:
My comments from my 2021 preview: “What I see is an aggressive, confident, tough runner with a Dungey-like penchant for leaving his feet or lowering his shoulder. He loves to pull the ball away from the running back and run right up the middle, into the teeth of the defense… But defenses can adjust to that and some of his determined runs end at the line of scrimmage. He takes a lot of big hits, which can end a season pre-maturely. But DeVito stays in the pocket and he hasn’t been on the field at the end of the last two seasons. He also showed a tendency to make unexpected laterals to try to extend plays. He has a good arm and sees the whole field – but not everything in it. He isn’t afraid to throw into coverage and there’s one play where he throws the ball right to a linebacker, much as DeVito famously did in the 2018 UNC comeback. (Fortunately it was dropped.) But others weren’t. Still, he made some nice sideline throws and showed he can throw on the run. He’ll be an exciting player but sometimes it’s the other team’s fans that will be excited. People had said that he reminds them of Eric Dungey and I can see the resemblance. He might also be a Troy Nunes, who was famous for making both great and terrible plays.”
Then Mike Leach became the coach at Starksville and he wasn’t looking for a wild dual-threat quarterback, (triple threat if you count turnovers), so he converted Garrett into a back-up tight end who caught one pass for 8 yards and played on special teams. Garrett decided to find a place where he would have a chance to start.
Shrader won the quarterback job here from Tommy DeVito after the third game of the 2021 season and has been the #1 man since. He’s not been a turnover machine at all, throwing 26 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions. His completion percentage improved as he got more used to our offense: 53% in 2021 to 65% in 2022. He was a ferocious runner in 2021, gaining 781 net yards at 4.5 a clip and rushing for an impressive 14 touchdowns. He was more conservative in 2022 gaining 444 yards but only at a 3.0/carry rate but he did score 9 times. He has showed himself to be quite a leader, combing back from injuries to play hurt but fairly well. He’s a big guy who tends to think that that (and a luxuriant beard) will protect him but he’s learned to take care of himself on the field and could have a big year if he can stay fully healthy.
His 2022 highlights:
Garrett Shrader 2022 Season Highlights | Syracuse QB
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson is another big quarterback, although he’s lost 10 pounds since last season. He was a four-star recruit out of Georgia, rated as the #31 quarterback prospect in the country, per 247. He went to Florida, where he found the quarterback room a little too crowded. He came here last year and, with Justin Lamson injured, became the back-up quarterback. His chance came in the Notre Dame game and he looked pretty good, playing with some confidence and showing a strong arm but with good touch, something young quarterbacks are often missing. The next week he was overwhelmed by Pittsburgh’s aggressive front line and didn’t play very well. But we held out hope that he could develop into a good college quarterback and potentially replace Shrader, both as a fill-in and a successor. Despite his size, he wasn’t much of a runner, getting 43 yards on 25 carries, (including sacks) in the two games.
The Notre Dame game, (Carlos comes in at the 14:20 mark):
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse Condensed Game | 2022 ACC Football
The Pitt game, plus commentary:
HIGHlights and LOWlights from Syracuse Football's Loss to Pitt
RECAP: No. 20 Syracuse Football falls to Pitt 19-9
Braden Davis is the third four-star transfer, (44th best QB), Babers has brought in from an SEC school in the last three years. Davis is a tall (6-5) somewhat skinny (200lbs) native of Delaware who went to South Carolina and was red-shirted before deciding he’d rather be at Syracuse. He committed right after Lamson left so he may have been a replacement for him or maybe Babers wanted him all along. He’s seen as another athletic, dual threat quarterback. He’s said to be very athletic: an Instagram post showed him in orbit above the earth. His arm strength and passing mechanics have been questioned. He’s got a good pedigree: his father is Antone Davis, who played for the Eagles, Falcons and Packers in the NFL from 1991-99. But Antone was not skinny: 6-4 330. He played guard and tackle, not quarterback. Ironically he may be here because LaNorris Sellers, who had committed to us, switched to South Carolina.
His high school highlight film:
Braden Davis, 2019 Highlights, Middletown High School
It’s from when he was a sophomore in 2019 but it’s easily the best of the highlight films I could find. I think he needs to build himself up and work on his technique, (and get better highlight films). If he does that, he could be a factor in a year or two. I like his attitude: “What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality.” I hope they all see it that way.
Luke MacPhail: He’s never played a game so I might as well repeat what I’ve said in my previews the last two years:
“He is a ‘pro-style quarterback’. He was “the fifth most productive passer in Massachusetts history in touchdowns (85) and yards (7,195)” and the “All-New England Player of the Year”, which sounds pretty good to me. Here are his highlights:
Luke MacPhail Senior Highlights
He’s got good size, can make all the throws, can scramble to buy time and throw on the run and runs the ball with determination and some speed. I like how his long throws have some air under them and gives his receivers time to run under them. He also hits guys in stride. What more do you want?”
While I hope we don’t get down to having Luke in there, (as Shrader, Del Rio Wilson and probably Davis would all have to be hurt), it wouldn’t surprise me if Luke surprised people if he did get in there. Luke was a 2-star, the 100th best pro style QB, per 247. It would be interesting to see where Babers would if both Shrader and Del Rio Wilson went down: Luke McPhail, the possibly underrated preferred walk-on who has been with the program for three years and knows the offense or Braden Davis, a high recruit with a lot of developing to do physically and in terms of fundamentals who basically just showed up.
Having three four stars for one position does make me feel good. Imagine the reaction if Dino had recruited them all in one season! He didn’t do that but all three are in an Orange uniform anyway.
