SU players are a blur of speed as new head football coach Scott Shafer looks on
/ Tom Eschen
SYRACUSE -- After former SU football coach Doug Marrone left for the Buffalo Bills, new coach Scott Shafer took the reigns, saying he looked forward to representing the "hard-nosed" city of Syracuse.
Tuesday's first spring practice reflected the "hard-nosed" approach, with players admitting they were winded and trying to catch their breath in between the drills because of the fast-paced practice.
"After individual period...and 7 on 7, I was dead dog tired," Charley Loeb, one of the athletes competing for the starting quarterback spot, says. "I don't think that's ever happened to me before, we were running everywhere. Everything we do at full speed, full pace, I was tired...even before the team period of practice started."
Loeb and his teammates say they liked that atmosphere, saying it was an impressive pace for the first practice of the spring season, especially since the players are not in pads just yet. Between installing the schemes and working on fundamentals, the coaches are asking a lot of the SU players at this point, and the athletes say they like the added sense of urgency.
"Coach Shafer with these new coaches are definitely trying to put the pressure on us," John Kinder, another Senior QB competing for the starting job, says. "I feel like that's a great thing because when game time rolls around, we'll be ready, we'll be relaxed and no pressure will be on us."
