Syracuse Football entered an unfamiliar galaxy recently. The Orange experienced a successful season on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football. SU completed its regular season 7-5 after a 6-0 start to the campaign. However, the ‘Cuse lost two of its elder statesmen that had a lot to do with the success Syracuse experienced this year. SU’s offensive coordinator Robert Anae left for the same job at NC State. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Tony White departed for the same gig at Nebraska.
So for the second straight year, Dino Babers was left to fill some voids in the Syracuse coaching staff. SU’s seventh-year head man opted to hire internally for the offense. Babers promoted quarterback’s coach and long-time Anae understudy Jason Beck to command the offense. ‘Cuse’s head coach said he made this decision based on Beck’s track record.
“When you put his record with quarterbacks and some of the quarterbacks and the numbers I’ve been able to do as a head coach in my career, I think it’s a natural,” Babers said.
Beck has developed quarterbacks like Taysom Hill, Bryce Perkins, and Brennan Armstrong between previous stints at BYU and UVA. Garrett Shrader could be the next Beck success story and he had high praise for his position coach and now coordinator.
“He’s my favorite coordinator and favorite quarterback coach I think I’ve had so far,” Shrader said.
Beck is the third different quarterback coach and this is the fourth different offense he’s orchestrated in his career. However, don’t expect many big changes with Beck taking over the offense. SU’s new OC doesn’t plan on doing a whole lot of innovation.
“The way we’ve operated and worked together it’s a change but not a huge change,” Beck said. “I’ve been really involved with game-planning and organization and all those things. I’m different so I’ll do things a little differently, but at the same time nothing too drastic.”
The story is the inverse on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Babers elected to bring in a veteran in Rocky Long. The former New Mexico defensive coordinator has been coaching since the 1970’s and is widely known as the creator of the 3-3-5 defensive scheme. Syracuse ran this system under former DC Tony White for three seasons. Now, the architect is coming in and SU’s assistant coaches are excited to get educated more on the scheme.
“It is very exciting to get a chance to be around somebody with that kind of knowledge and an innovator of this defense, ” Monroe said.
It has been reported that Long already met with Syracuse’s current defensive players and delivered a fiery speech. SU linebacker Marlowe Wax says that speech resonated.
“The speech he did give us it did make you want to go on the field the next day,” Wax said. “He knows a lot, he’s a great defensive mind and we know he’s going to have us prepared.”
We’ll have to wait until the fall of 2023 to see Long’s version of the 3-3-5 defense in action. However, Beck’s offense gets a trial run in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday, December 29th in the Bronx.