Syracuse University Football just keeps on coming through

[Orangeyes]

Last evening around 6:30 PM in pops LBC Clark Lea along with starting QB Terrel Hunt.

Tomcat, a friend Carlos and my wife were all in the room at the time.

Wow.

Terrel had made a statement in a preseason piece by Rayco that one of the main reasons he came to Syracuse was because his late mother Katrina loved the Ernie Davis statue. He said she had taken hundreds of photos of it on his visit here.

After his mom's death and many hospital visits Hunt related that it's very hard for him to go into hospitals even for MRI's. Coming to see me he had some apprehensions. My wife related that I had very similar feelings about these institutions. I saw my mother given last rites three times over the course of my first 15 years.

Floyd Little has been a great influence on Terrel and he has related many Ernie stories that has inspired Hunt.

There was so much more exchanged between all of us but the central theme was people reaching out and caring for each other. I am so humbled that the football program that I have loved all my life has really, really reached out in my darkest hour and lifted and inspired me to get better.

This is a gift that I share with all of you because they are doing this for us, the little guys who never turned their back on the team they love.

Orange forever and ever amen.

Thanks to my team and the university I love.

 

[Cheriehoop]

That is so great! Happy to hear all the support you are getting. Rest up and keep up recuperating. Love seeing you posting again.

 

[Orangeyes]

That is so great! Happy to hear all the support you are getting. Rest up and keep up recuperating. Love seeing you posting again.

Cherie as I understand it, a week ago today when I went through emergency surgery you were there to help Dianne through those trying hours. I can't thank you enough for all you have done in providing support for us. Tomcat was there too and has been throughout, I'm simply blown away by the generosity of your time and hearts. I owe you guys big-time.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Awesome, only thing you owe us is to get better and quick! The daily articles are not the same. sorry Tomcat!

 

[orange79]

Fabulous!

But would you please get OUT of there?????!!!!!

 

[anglerman]

You're a great person Dan. You dserve the treatment you're getting from the football program. You're probably SU's greatest fan. Thanks for all you do to make this a fantastic forum!

 

[sutomcat]

OE did a great job recapping the visit by Coach Lea and Terrel. I will try and fill in a few morsels here and there.

Coach Lea brought a hand written card for Dan, which contained a moving message to Dan thanking him for his contributions to the football program and urging him to get well soon.

Dan and I know Coach Lea because we played in a foursome with him last year at the annual Syracuse football golf outing at the Seneca Falls Country Club. While on the subject, that event should be coming up soon. Haven't seen an invitation yet but it was held on June 10th last year and I think it will be held around then again this year. The staff thinks it is happening again and I know it is typically held on a Monday afternoon.

Anyway, if you like SU football, you should consider attending. The coaches are very gracious fielding questions, it is a relaxed atmosphere, there is a great auction of cool SU stuff, the food is good and everyone is talking Syracuse football. It is one of my favorite events of the year.

Back to the visit. Coach Lea said Lynch and Davis are having terrific springs, Hodge is looking very good in the middle, the youngsters are developing well and he is really excited for the incoming class of linebackers, all of whom have a chance to be great players. Said he thought Marquis Spruill got a raw deal not getting invited to the combine, a big group of juniors leaving early hurt him, as did his weight before his junior season, when pro scouts saw 215 and decided he was not NFL material. He is up to 230 now and Terrel Hunt says he is an athletic freak who is running sub 4.5 40s. Coach Lea thinks he will make an NFL team next season...

Terrel confirmed that Brisley has taken his game to another level. Said it seemed that everything changed for him after his big game in Houston and he is playing with a lot more confidence. "Seems every practice I throw him a short pass near the line of scrimmage and the next thing you know, he is standing 70 yards away in the endzone".
He said all the receivers are playing markedly better, there is heavy competition among all of them and it is driving them all to become better players.

He loves the uber fast offense they are playing now ("it is a lot of fun") and is pushing the staff hard to re-institute a walk through campus to the Dome on gameday. Wants to bring the team closer to the fans and get some new traditions going. This would include a stop to the ED statue for a good mojo touch of course...

Hunt also LOVES the new uniforms, says the rest of the team and the incoming recruits are all excited about them, says the coaches got them a great present and they need to play really well to show their thanks.

 

[oldpinepoint]

I'm in for this tournament if we can get 4some together.

 

[Libero2]

Orange forever and ever amen.

Thanks to my team and the university I love.

OE, happy to hear you are on the upswing. Your whole story is moving, but I just wanted to highlight your last words here.

Being a part of this community is an amazing experience, and we are forever bonded together by the love of Orange, and the love they have showed all of us over the years. Obviously they show their love in different ways than we show to them, but that doesn't mean they love us any less. I also think I'm going to start using your last line more often, as it embodies a spirit that we all share.

Keep fighting OE, you will be back on your feet in no time.

Orange forever.

 

[Trueblue25]

Keep it up OE.


God I love TH more and more.

 

[orangenirvana]

Awesome.

 

[sutomcat]

I'm in for this tournament if we can get 4some together.

I think there are a bunch of people like you. When the date is announced, we will pin a thread about it so everyone interested can make a post and we can pair people together. It really is a good event and the food is good too (steak sandwiches at the turn, yum).

 

[domedog]

Dan, it is truly fabulous that you are getting the attention you deserve from the SU family. I wish I still lived around Syracuse, because if I did, I am sure that we would have become friends. Keep on getting better. You are our spiritual leader.