The Ernie Davis scrimmage in the Carrier Dome on Saturday marks the end of preseason camp and kicks off game preparation.
Focus is on a Strong Finish
8/17/2011 1:02:24 PM | Football
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Second-year Syracuse offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett returns eight starters from the offense that exploded for 36 points in the 2010 New Era Pinstripe Bowl victory. As the team closes the two-a-day portion of training camp and begins to shift its attention to the season-opener against Wake Forest (Sept. 1, 8:00 p.m. in the Carrier Dome), Hackett has the offense focused on pushing harder at the finish.
Second-year Syracuse offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett returns eight starters from the offense that exploded for 36 points in the 2010 New Era Pinstripe Bowl victory. As the team closes the two-a-day portion of training camp and begins to shift its attention to the season-opener against Wake Forest (Sept. 1, 8:00 p.m. in the Carrier Dome), Hackett has the offense focused on pushing harder at the finish.
"It's going really well," Hackett said. "I think we've kind of lost track of the days. It's always up and down. The guys' legs start going down, so you have to pick them back up and fight through the pain.
"This week is that time when they're so dead that you have to keep them learning and keep them pushing themselves. I think they're learning how to fight through the fatigue, which was some of the stuff that we didn't do well last year. They have the mental stuff, now they can understand how it works with the fatigue."
The Ernie Davis scrimmage in the Carrier Dome on Saturday marks the end of preseason camp and kicks off game preparation.
"I want to make sure that we go out today and are smart in the afternoon," said head Coach Doug Marrone. "I want to make sure that we're smart on Thursday in what we do. Obviously Friday we're going to back off a bit, and I'm really going to try to get a lot done on Saturday."
Marrone and the coaching staff have specific areas of interest they will be evaluating during the scrimmage as they prepare to finalize the travel roster.
"I want to make sure that we're right on our special teams," Marrone said. "There will be a big emphasis on that. If we have a lot of the young players out there, it's not an indication that something is wrong with the older players. I want to walk away from Saturday with a good feel of who is going to be on the travel team and who is going to contribute during the year."
SU kicks off the 2011 season on Thursday, September 1 against Wake Forest in the Carrier Dome (8:00 p.m., ESPN3). Individual and season tickets are available online and at the Dome Box Office (1-888-DOME-TIX).
Sunday, April 12
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Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11
