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Coach Babers’s first show this year show will be Wednesday night at 7PM because the first game is Friday, (the show will normally be two days before the next game). The show will originate from PressRoom Pub, located at 220 Herald Place in Syracuse's historic Herald Square, each week this season.
This article contains the schedule:
AmeriCU Dino Babers Show Moves to PressRoom Pub - Syracuse University Athletics
You can also listen to the show live each week on the Syracuse IMG Sports Network and Cuse.com. Wednesday's show will be on 99.1 FM and 97.7 FM, as well. The show will regularly air on 99.5FM (Syracuse) 99.1 FM (Utica) and 1200 AM.”
You can also get it on: Listen to The Jim Bohannon Show on WGVA on TuneIn
There hasn’t been any change in the phone numbers, which last year were 315-424-8599 (local) or 1-888-746-2873. You can call to ask questions or submit them via Twitter at: Syracuse IMG Sports (@CuseIMG) | Twitter
Or through Cuse.com, (the SU Athletic website):
Syracuse University
You can (or could last year, anyway), listen to a podcast of the show, probably the next day, at: Search results for babers | Free Internet Radio | TuneIn
I’ve been asked to continue doing the summaries, even by people who listen to the podcasts. I may focus on the major points, rather than trying to record everything.
My Question(s)
“Coach, it’s hard to evaluate Tommy DeVito playing with the second team. He seems to be battling “Murphy’s Law”: a completed pass gets fumbled. A great scramble and throw gets called back for a penalty. Two snaps seem intended for Paschal Chukwu, the 7-2 center on the basketball team. Nonetheless, we’ve scored 117 points with Eric Dungey in there and zero with Tommy. How concerned should we be?”
The Show
(I sometimes re-arrange the comments so that statements made on the same subject are reported together, even if they came at different points of the show.)
Coach commented that it must be a big game because of all the famous SU players who are in town. The 1996, 1997 and 1998 Big East championship teams are being honored. Coach spent the afternoon talking to Rob Konrad, the last #44, and wishing we had somebody like that now. “I might find something I could do with him.”
BC and Wake were tied 21 at halftime. “Tackling Dillon is a “career decision” and Wake runners an offense kind of like ours really well. They also got a blocked kick.”
“It’s been a good week of practice. One certain scout team did very well and other did not.”
Evan called in to ask what the impact on Coach Babers the tradition of the 44’s, Larry Csonka, McNabb and others as well as journalists like Costas, Tirico, McDonough, (and he included Aaron Sorkin), all SU alums, had on him and his program. Coach said something strange. I thought he said “I hope I’m not leading Syracuse football very soon.” Then he made comments suggesting he meant that he hopes that we will now be having some new names to add to the list so we won’t be looking at the past all the time. He said that that “all the media guys constantly promoting the program is a big plus- they make you want to be successful for them….Wear the ‘S” and all the alumni walk up to you.”
At this point Rob Konrad entered the Pub, to applause. Matt: “He’s the one with the muscles.”
Evan had another question: Why don’t we use Ravian Pierce more, since the pros are using tight ends more and more. DB: “Tight ends are 50% throw and 50% run. Ravian is a devastating blocker. He had a block early that really set the tone for the game. He also plays special teams and is one of our most physical players. He hit that punter with one of the most devastating hits I’ve ever seen. Once he decides he isn’t going to kicker and Ravian hit him like he was a football player, not just a kicker. I think that man understands what it is to be a football player now.
Matt asked Coach what his favorite Aaron Sorkin movie or TV show was. It was an easy choice for him, coming from a military family. The line he chose from “A Few Good Men” wasn’t “You can’t handle the truth”. It was ”You want me on the wall.”
I had waited until the first break to call and got in easily this time, (and congratulated the producer on the improvement). Since they had said that they would be interview the Special teams coach, Justin Lustig, in the final segment, I offered this stat from my “Winning Plays” post: people think we have dominated on offense these first two weeks but we’ve outgain Western Michigan and Wagner by just a total of 107 yards in the two games. But our drives have started a combined 750 yards closer to the goal. That’s attribute to the defense, which has produced some turnovers. But it’s also a tribute to the kicking game, including the return units.
I then asked my question about Tommy DeVito, (above). DB: “I don’t see it that way, (117-0). I see “happenings” – some good, some bad. The guy hasn’t played in 2 years. He actually was with the 1st team in the first game. In the second game he was out there with the back-ups. He’s actually worked with the “ones” in practice as much as the “twos”, so the timing wasn’t quite there. I’ve watched him for a year and half. He’s going to be a really good one when the speed of the game slows down for him.”
“The turnovers on defense and the fantastic special teams play has given us a short field while they had a long field. This weekend is the first time our special teams will face a team with athletes who are equal to ours or better. This is where coaching comes in and we are fortunate to have Coach Lustig.”
Trivia Question: in 1998, for the only time in SU history we had two first round picks in the NFL draft: who were they?
Liam in Pompey called in for the first time this season but unfortunately, had a bad connection. Matt said he usually asks what the coach thinks about the next opponent so maybe they should talk about Florida State. “They had a tough opponent in their first game and a short week leading to their second game…They are a fantastic football team. Their quarterback, (D’Andre Francois), is really, really good. (Cam) Akers was a freshman All-American. He runs a laser 4.3 and if he gets beyond us, you might as well go to the bathroom. Then they have Jacques Patrick, who is huge, (6-2 2340. It’s a thunder and lightning combination. Tamorrion Terry is a big, (6-4) wide receiver. Their two best defensive players are #99, (Brian Burns, a DE) and #1 (LeVonta Taylor, a CB). It’s easy to remember. Look for those numbers. They are fantastic at the skill positions.”
Matt noted that three FSU running backs had set school rushing records against Syracuse. (not the case, per this: Florida State Seminoles football statistical leaders - Wikipedia )
DB: “We’re not gonna do what we did last year with Akers. We’ve played against fast guys before. We’ll see how it goes.” (I hope is goes better than it did the last time we played against fast guys.)
A fan at the Pub submitted a question: What is the hardest position to recruit? Matt guess it would be placekicker and he guessed right. “He doesn’t translate as well from high school to college as the other positons.” (That surprised me: isn’t it the same ball and the same uprights?) “Also, he’s a kicker. I’m used to aggressive, tough guys. How do you communicate with a kicker?”
What does a coach look for in recruiting? “We start with the frame. Then we look for size and speed.” He talked about Zaire Franklin making it with the Colts. The Eagles had a play made at the goal line vs. Atlanta by Kamu Grugier-Hill, a player Dino recruited to Eastern Illinois who had “zero” stars and now he’s in the NFL as a 6-2 230 linebacker. He said he talked to Al Groh when he was in town for last week’s game and they discussed recruiting and Al said he was doing exactly what he needed to be doing to succeed.
Matt asked how much it was scheme vs. talent. “Game plan and technique are important but if you are going one on one against Michael Jordan or you get wacked by Mike Tyson, it’s not enough. You can make up some of the difference with coaching but nothing is more important than talent.”
Luke in Onondaga wanted him to comment on attendance. Coach thinks we need to “get more people around the university involved as freshman and sophomores so they will be loyal fans as juniors and seniors and beyond. “Young people are crazy. We need people with paint on their faces. If we can get them as loyal fans we’ll get the attention we need and have the impact on the other teams that we want.”
They talked about the hurricane. Some games aren’t being made up and the team will lose them. it may make it harder for them to become bowl eligible. (They might have one less loss as well.)
A Twitter user said he hated Notre dame and hoped that Dino had four graduate assistants studying them. Then he asked if Dino had everything he needed to be successful. DB: “I don’t like Notre Dame, either. In my coaching career I’ve only been on a team that beat them one time. But I swore an oath with this team that we will focus on one game at a time so ask me about Notre dame when that game comes up.” He didn’t really answer the question about “having everything”, which was obviously about budget and facilities. “I used to play and coach in the Western Athletic Conference. Brigham Young won a national championship from there. I asked myself: how did they do that? Everything was geared toward winning. They were all on the same page, totally committed to winning. If we can put a man on the moon, we can win a championship here.”
Introducing coach Lustig, he said “I believe in special teams. It’s 1/3 of the game. If we can be as good as we have been we’ll be very pleased with the results. I don’t tell Coach Lustig what to do but I bother him a lot, trying to find out what he’s going to do.
Lustig said that Florida State would be a big challenge. The guys are buying into what we are doing. (Andre) Szmyt has been awesome. We keep track of the kicking statistics and he had made 50 out of 50 place kicks. We had the first blocked punt for a touchdown here in 10 years. Sean Riley has a knack for blocking kicks.” (Who knew?)
Will we be using the new fair catch rule, as our opponents have done? (Matt called it “dull as dishwater”.) In games where we are a little over-matched we might use it to get to the 25. Florida State has 5 star recruits returning kicks. They are going to be more aggressive. We need be aggressive, too. In the first game we let some punts keep bouncing. We were better in the second game.”
This article contains the schedule:
AmeriCU Dino Babers Show Moves to PressRoom Pub - Syracuse University Athletics
You can also listen to the show live each week on the Syracuse IMG Sports Network and Cuse.com. Wednesday's show will be on 99.1 FM and 97.7 FM, as well. The show will regularly air on 99.5FM (Syracuse) 99.1 FM (Utica) and 1200 AM.”
You can also get it on: Listen to The Jim Bohannon Show on WGVA on TuneIn
There hasn’t been any change in the phone numbers, which last year were 315-424-8599 (local) or 1-888-746-2873. You can call to ask questions or submit them via Twitter at: Syracuse IMG Sports (@CuseIMG) | Twitter
Or through Cuse.com, (the SU Athletic website):
Syracuse University
You can (or could last year, anyway), listen to a podcast of the show, probably the next day, at: Search results for babers | Free Internet Radio | TuneIn
I’ve been asked to continue doing the summaries, even by people who listen to the podcasts. I may focus on the major points, rather than trying to record everything.
My Question(s)
“Coach, it’s hard to evaluate Tommy DeVito playing with the second team. He seems to be battling “Murphy’s Law”: a completed pass gets fumbled. A great scramble and throw gets called back for a penalty. Two snaps seem intended for Paschal Chukwu, the 7-2 center on the basketball team. Nonetheless, we’ve scored 117 points with Eric Dungey in there and zero with Tommy. How concerned should we be?”
The Show
(I sometimes re-arrange the comments so that statements made on the same subject are reported together, even if they came at different points of the show.)
Coach commented that it must be a big game because of all the famous SU players who are in town. The 1996, 1997 and 1998 Big East championship teams are being honored. Coach spent the afternoon talking to Rob Konrad, the last #44, and wishing we had somebody like that now. “I might find something I could do with him.”
BC and Wake were tied 21 at halftime. “Tackling Dillon is a “career decision” and Wake runners an offense kind of like ours really well. They also got a blocked kick.”
“It’s been a good week of practice. One certain scout team did very well and other did not.”
Evan called in to ask what the impact on Coach Babers the tradition of the 44’s, Larry Csonka, McNabb and others as well as journalists like Costas, Tirico, McDonough, (and he included Aaron Sorkin), all SU alums, had on him and his program. Coach said something strange. I thought he said “I hope I’m not leading Syracuse football very soon.” Then he made comments suggesting he meant that he hopes that we will now be having some new names to add to the list so we won’t be looking at the past all the time. He said that that “all the media guys constantly promoting the program is a big plus- they make you want to be successful for them….Wear the ‘S” and all the alumni walk up to you.”
At this point Rob Konrad entered the Pub, to applause. Matt: “He’s the one with the muscles.”
Evan had another question: Why don’t we use Ravian Pierce more, since the pros are using tight ends more and more. DB: “Tight ends are 50% throw and 50% run. Ravian is a devastating blocker. He had a block early that really set the tone for the game. He also plays special teams and is one of our most physical players. He hit that punter with one of the most devastating hits I’ve ever seen. Once he decides he isn’t going to kicker and Ravian hit him like he was a football player, not just a kicker. I think that man understands what it is to be a football player now.
Matt asked Coach what his favorite Aaron Sorkin movie or TV show was. It was an easy choice for him, coming from a military family. The line he chose from “A Few Good Men” wasn’t “You can’t handle the truth”. It was ”You want me on the wall.”
I had waited until the first break to call and got in easily this time, (and congratulated the producer on the improvement). Since they had said that they would be interview the Special teams coach, Justin Lustig, in the final segment, I offered this stat from my “Winning Plays” post: people think we have dominated on offense these first two weeks but we’ve outgain Western Michigan and Wagner by just a total of 107 yards in the two games. But our drives have started a combined 750 yards closer to the goal. That’s attribute to the defense, which has produced some turnovers. But it’s also a tribute to the kicking game, including the return units.
I then asked my question about Tommy DeVito, (above). DB: “I don’t see it that way, (117-0). I see “happenings” – some good, some bad. The guy hasn’t played in 2 years. He actually was with the 1st team in the first game. In the second game he was out there with the back-ups. He’s actually worked with the “ones” in practice as much as the “twos”, so the timing wasn’t quite there. I’ve watched him for a year and half. He’s going to be a really good one when the speed of the game slows down for him.”
“The turnovers on defense and the fantastic special teams play has given us a short field while they had a long field. This weekend is the first time our special teams will face a team with athletes who are equal to ours or better. This is where coaching comes in and we are fortunate to have Coach Lustig.”
Trivia Question: in 1998, for the only time in SU history we had two first round picks in the NFL draft: who were they?
Liam in Pompey called in for the first time this season but unfortunately, had a bad connection. Matt said he usually asks what the coach thinks about the next opponent so maybe they should talk about Florida State. “They had a tough opponent in their first game and a short week leading to their second game…They are a fantastic football team. Their quarterback, (D’Andre Francois), is really, really good. (Cam) Akers was a freshman All-American. He runs a laser 4.3 and if he gets beyond us, you might as well go to the bathroom. Then they have Jacques Patrick, who is huge, (6-2 2340. It’s a thunder and lightning combination. Tamorrion Terry is a big, (6-4) wide receiver. Their two best defensive players are #99, (Brian Burns, a DE) and #1 (LeVonta Taylor, a CB). It’s easy to remember. Look for those numbers. They are fantastic at the skill positions.”
Matt noted that three FSU running backs had set school rushing records against Syracuse. (not the case, per this: Florida State Seminoles football statistical leaders - Wikipedia )
DB: “We’re not gonna do what we did last year with Akers. We’ve played against fast guys before. We’ll see how it goes.” (I hope is goes better than it did the last time we played against fast guys.)
A fan at the Pub submitted a question: What is the hardest position to recruit? Matt guess it would be placekicker and he guessed right. “He doesn’t translate as well from high school to college as the other positons.” (That surprised me: isn’t it the same ball and the same uprights?) “Also, he’s a kicker. I’m used to aggressive, tough guys. How do you communicate with a kicker?”
What does a coach look for in recruiting? “We start with the frame. Then we look for size and speed.” He talked about Zaire Franklin making it with the Colts. The Eagles had a play made at the goal line vs. Atlanta by Kamu Grugier-Hill, a player Dino recruited to Eastern Illinois who had “zero” stars and now he’s in the NFL as a 6-2 230 linebacker. He said he talked to Al Groh when he was in town for last week’s game and they discussed recruiting and Al said he was doing exactly what he needed to be doing to succeed.
Matt asked how much it was scheme vs. talent. “Game plan and technique are important but if you are going one on one against Michael Jordan or you get wacked by Mike Tyson, it’s not enough. You can make up some of the difference with coaching but nothing is more important than talent.”
Luke in Onondaga wanted him to comment on attendance. Coach thinks we need to “get more people around the university involved as freshman and sophomores so they will be loyal fans as juniors and seniors and beyond. “Young people are crazy. We need people with paint on their faces. If we can get them as loyal fans we’ll get the attention we need and have the impact on the other teams that we want.”
They talked about the hurricane. Some games aren’t being made up and the team will lose them. it may make it harder for them to become bowl eligible. (They might have one less loss as well.)
A Twitter user said he hated Notre dame and hoped that Dino had four graduate assistants studying them. Then he asked if Dino had everything he needed to be successful. DB: “I don’t like Notre Dame, either. In my coaching career I’ve only been on a team that beat them one time. But I swore an oath with this team that we will focus on one game at a time so ask me about Notre dame when that game comes up.” He didn’t really answer the question about “having everything”, which was obviously about budget and facilities. “I used to play and coach in the Western Athletic Conference. Brigham Young won a national championship from there. I asked myself: how did they do that? Everything was geared toward winning. They were all on the same page, totally committed to winning. If we can put a man on the moon, we can win a championship here.”
Introducing coach Lustig, he said “I believe in special teams. It’s 1/3 of the game. If we can be as good as we have been we’ll be very pleased with the results. I don’t tell Coach Lustig what to do but I bother him a lot, trying to find out what he’s going to do.
Lustig said that Florida State would be a big challenge. The guys are buying into what we are doing. (Andre) Szmyt has been awesome. We keep track of the kicking statistics and he had made 50 out of 50 place kicks. We had the first blocked punt for a touchdown here in 10 years. Sean Riley has a knack for blocking kicks.” (Who knew?)
Will we be using the new fair catch rule, as our opponents have done? (Matt called it “dull as dishwater”.) In games where we are a little over-matched we might use it to get to the 25. Florida State has 5 star recruits returning kicks. They are going to be more aggressive. We need be aggressive, too. In the first game we let some punts keep bouncing. We were better in the second game.”
Doesn't look like the the podcast link has his radio show