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On Monday, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said quarterback Garrett Shrader throws okay, but that he’s not as accurate as Robin Hood with a bow and arrow in his hand. Babers also said that he understands what Shrader does give SU — the ability to make and extend plays with his legs.

“He makes the wide receivers better because those extended plays give them an opportunity to do a double move and make a bigger play,” Babers said after the Orange’s loss to Clemson. “Good quarterbacks make the other guys better.”

Shrader threw a season-high 37 times against the Tigers, followed by 34 attempts against Virginia Tech on Saturday. But the increased pass load hasn’t been an issue for the dual-threat, as he finished with 236 yards passing and 174 on the ground. He carried Syracuse to its first win since Sept. 24 and its first Atlantic Coast Conference win.

These are the key plays from Shrader, starting with arguably the best play of his short SU career:

Game-winner

Miscommunication at the offensive line has proved costly for the Orange in the past, completely halting their overtime series against Wake Forest that could’ve ended the game. But Shrader has shown that, even if his teammates in front of him miss any of their assignments, he has the ability to think on the fly and make up for their mistakes.

Right guard Carlos Vettorello is completely confused after a miscommunication with center Josh Ilaoa following the snap, allowing defensive lineman Jordan Williams to smash Shrader to the ground. But with a little glance to his left, Shrader sees the pressure coming and heaves the ball up to 6-foot-6 wide receiver Damien Alford.

“He’s got those big body ball skills,” Shrader said of Alford. “Lining up right, being in the right spot, running the right routes and just continuing to learn how to get open is the biggest thing.”

Shrader knows Alford is going to beat the much smaller defensive back in front of him, and he shows his trust by blindly putting up the ball for his receiver. This trust with his receivers is just starting to click for Shrader, most likely because he’s taking all the first team reps now that Tommy DeVito is no longer on the roster.

But Shrader knows with receivers like Courtney Jackson, Anthony Queeley and Alford, the chemistry still needs to increase because, on some plays, it looks like the ball is “going to nobody.” Still, Shrader said that the unit is improving every week.

“I have a lot of faith in all those guys and they’re only getting better,” Shrader said. “The biggest thing for us is just to continue getting on the same page.”

Fake and follow

Syracuse’s success in the run game is reliant on the quarterback’s ability to carry out a fake in order to manipulate the defense to go another way. And with SU’s main running back, Sean Tucker, running on 38.4% of the Orange’s offensive plays, it’s even easier to confuse the opposition by faking handoffs or tosses.

“Every time they load the box and take that away, that’s when I run,” Shrader said. “I only had one or two called run plays.”

But carrying out a fake doesn’t just make the defense shift toward Tucker or Cooper Lutz, it also creates enough time for blockers to get in place for Shrader if he decides to keep it. Directly after the snap on this play, Shrader uses a shuffle to fake a toss to Lutz before taking off.

Offensive linemen Matthew Bergeron and Kalan Ellis create a path for Shrader as Ellis gets rid of the defensive end and Bergeron heads downfield. Like a running back, Shrader maintains his distance from the blockers in front of him, even slowing down as Queeley flushes out a defensive back. He thinks about cutting up the right sideline, but stays inside of Queeley to get into the end zone.

Taking the first read

Syracuse threw 34 times against the Hokies, whose defense has allowed an average of 203 passing yards per game this season, and it was successful. Most of Shrader’s first reads were open, including his game-winning throw.

But if Shrader wants to be one of the better quarterbacks in the ACC, he can’t force the ball to his first reads on every play. In this clip, Shrader’s head doesn’t move at all after the snap, meaning that he’s only looking at one player to throw the ball to. He finds Jackson open for a first down, yet misses a wide-open Queeley on a comeback route near the right sideline.

Still, there are times when a quarterback should stick to their first read, especially in the red zone. The Orange entered the game without a passing touchdown in the red zone the entire season, but Shrader erases that with this throw to Jackson, cutting VT’s lead to two.

While he’s dropping back, Shrader keeps his eyes on Jackson, waiting for him to make his break to the right edge of the end zone. At times, Shrader would wait for his receivers to get separation before throwing the ball, but on this play he wastes no time, knowing that it’s third-and-goal. He leaves the game in the hands of his receivers, throwing a ball that Jackson catches with ease.

“He throws a very catchable ball where if it’s not exactly right, guys can make an adjustment to make him look a little better,” Babers said about Shrader.

Published on October 25, 2021 at 10:06 pm

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