2013 ACC Football Kickoff: Day 2 Recap

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ACC Digital Network: Coach Shafer: One-on-One

GREENSBORO, N.C. – On Monday it was Orange first-year head coach Scott Shafer's turn to make the media rounds at the 2013 ACC Football Kickoff at the Grandover Resort.

Shafer made the same stops seniors Macky MacPherson and Jay Bromley did yesterday and addressed several questions throughout the day. Chief among them was the status of the quarterback position. The Orange has six signal callers on the roster. Four –Drew Allen, Terrel Hunt, John Kinder and Charley Loeb – are in the mix to replace Ryan Nassib as the starter. Shafer doesn't know who will win that position battle, and none of the four have much game experience, but Shafer is happy with the makeup of the group.

"I've always believed that you win with character," Shafer said. "Character backed up with unselfishness. The thing I like about our quarterbacks is that's what I think we have. I think we have unselfish young men of high character that can help lead this offense into the ACC. What they don't have in experience hopefully they can make up for by being good leaders as they start to get a feel for the college game."

Other topics Shafer addressed during the day:

The atmosphere in the Carrier Dome:
" I believe we have the most underrated fans in the country, I really do. When they get in there and they get fired up and get rollin' it's a fun place to play in. On third down it's a nightmare for quarterbacks. I remember Geno Smith a few years ago when we had West Virginia in there. Our crowd had that place shaking.

"I'm excited to call that place home."

Recruiting:
"You really never know until four or five years down the road. People get excited about recruits early, but it's really at the end of the line that I'm most concerned about. I asked the question earlier to another group. If you say 'who's the last five-star recruit Syracuse signed in football?' The room would be silent. But if I said 'who was the last great player to play at Syracuse that you really liked?' You'd go around the room and people would be chirping: 'Donovan McNabb, Dwight Freeney, Chandler Jones, Arthur Jones, Rob Moore back in the day.' Hell, Jim Brown and Ernie Davis – way before our time. So we have great tradition.

"We always want to understand who we are, embrace it and not apologize for who we are. Once you know the formula you know how to work the formula. We want to get back to working that formula that's worked in the past – recruiting kids that have a chip on their shoulder that are underrated. Kids that want to play at Syracuse and don't apologize for wanting to play at Syracuse and wear this helmet."

His impression of the coaches in the ACC:
"It's interesting for me to meet the different people and learn the backgrounds they come from. A lot of good ball coaches in this conference. A lot of guys passionate about where the ACC is and where we want it to be. At our conference (meeting) about a month and a half ago, Coach (Dabo) Swinney was talking about 'hey we really need to take this conference to where we go head-to-head with the SEC' and he's right. You only live once, man. Demographics show that we are in the same pool as they are, both for recruiting and competing on the field."

Other notes from the final day of ACC Kickoff:

MOORE LEADS ORANGE GOLFERS
The 11th annual Skeeter Francis Golf Championship took place Monday morning on the Grandover East Course. The tournament, named in honor of former Wake Forest SID Marvin "Skeeter" Francis, featured several ACC coaches, student-athletes, media, bowl sponsors and staff.

Syracuse Director of Athletic Communications Pete Moore was the top Orange finisher. His group, which also consisted of Harris Prevost (Grandfather Mountain), Bryn Renner (North Carolina) and Bob Sutton (Burlington Times News) carded an 8-under 64 to tie for second place.

The foursome of Chris Geiger (WSTM-TV), Chris Duzan (Raycom Sports), Alex Farmartino (Raycom Sports) and JD Howell (ESPN Blacksburg) fired a 63 (-9) to win the championship by one stroke.

CLEMSON, MIAMI ARE THE FAVORITES
The results of the 2013 ACC Preseason Media Poll were released Monday afternoon. Clemson is the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Division and defeat Miami in the Dr. Pepper ACC Football Championship Game. The Tigers garnered 112 out of 120 first-place votes. The Hurricanes received 65 first-place nods and were the media's choice to win the Coastal Division.

Clemson star QB Tajh Boyd was the overwhelming choice to repeat as ACC Player of the Year. Boyd received 105 of the 120 votes cast for the honor.

Syracuse was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Division.

Click here for the full results of the 2013 ACC Preseason Media Poll.

All fans are invited to join 'Orangenation Rising,' a state of mind where passion, tradition and die-hard loyalty intersect, by renewing their season tickets or purchasing new 2013 season tickets. Tickets are available online (SUAthletics.com), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX), or or by visiting the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B). Season tickets start $99. Individual game tickets go on sale on Aug. 1.

Syracuse University Athletics

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