Syracuse Football: An NFL receiver sees "great things" ahead for Kyle McCord as Orange QB

what's up friends and welcome to another Edition a live edition of Syracuse Sports you got Brent ax you got Chris Carlson two people that have seen Star Wars it's been an interesting discussion of who has seen these movies and who has not based off of Kyle McCord's uh non viewing of the Star Wars movies as we learned in the All Access show last night and we've got plenty to get into here after a Chris the second to last training camp practice that we'll get to see yes after a while uh the Allen Iverson clip comes to life we are talking about practice I would like to see this football team play another football team I have some thoughts about how good I think they're going to be against other football teams and I'd like to get into those thoughts we're getting over that Finish Line couple more practices this week our last uh practice that we'll get to see and talk to players and coaches will be Friday and then it's game week baby we're getting there man we are 11 days away from the start of the Syracuse football season against Ohio gameweek approaches but a couple of practice notes that we saw today to discuss first Marvin Harrison Jr had some interesting comments about Syracuse though I think we should focus on something else he said I'll put it that way in that fun podcast he had with zier Franklin the former orangeman uh we heard from Nick Williams today defensive uh Edge coach for the orange and Ace recruiter for Syracuse and we are going to answer some questions from our Syracuse Sports insiders who have texted some great stuff to us uh throughout training camp and what a great time to be a Syracuse Sports Insider all you have to do is text the word orange to 315 847 3895 to sign up if you haven't already you get to try it free for two weeks and then it's just 3.99 a month after that and folks this is not a group text you text me I text you you text me anytime about what you want us to ask the players and coaches what we're seeing at practice football is prominent now but basketball is just around the corner we give you the latest that we have discovered if we have breaking news you get it first as a Syracuse Sports Insider and we love hearing your thoughts opinions and you have helped us break news by the way with your terrific tips and insight as well so we'll get to some of your great questions coming up as well Chris today I'm just I'm just going to lead with this here it might not be the lead but it's the lead on my mind in team periods that we got to witness today saw Will nickon out there as the second running back behind laquinn Allen meaning that our guy Yin Willis was on the third team perhaps a blip on the radar screen I hope a blip on the radar screen given how much I've hyped up Willis but it just show that Nixon can play and that he's got a little more experience and that you know they've got some depth in that running back room so I guess that's the good news with my guy getting knocked down to the third team I'll be it temporarily I'm sure yeah I mean it right um the drill seemed to be largely passing focused uh from what I saw uh you you know from or from what I recall it seemed like there were a lot of passing play I do think right that's where the older players generally have the edge right catching passes out of the back field uh pass protect you know older guys usually do that better than younger guys uh it also perhaps speaks to the truth uh of what Fran says that that if guys are close they're going to keep competing every day and they're going to keep sort of readjusting the pecking order every day uh we've heard that three or four running backs are going to play so if that's the case they both got to get reps with the first team you know because you're not switching everybody out uh so yeah I'm not I'm not giving up on youen running back 1B uh yet I am not either I will never give up on this Quest but Fran even set it on all access the one-w punch he's going to provide with the Quinn other reps we've seen in practice where he has been with the twoos like that kid's getting on the field but it does show you there's depth in that room L Quin is going to get the bulk of the carries as he should as a team leader and as somebody who's you know a thousand yards last year and Fran has flat out said he wants and needs 1500 yards out of him this year so that's going to be the guy who's getting 65 70% of the carries but you're going to see both Nixon and Yin on the field uh we saw and again this was just today but it is noteworthy that Zed Haynes was running with the ones out there today he had umari Hatcher on the other side of course OG out there with Dan valari as well so we've talked about the depth at wide receiver the you know Zed brings speed and Hatcher brings experience and so Jackson Meeks brings a little bit of everything right Daryl Gil Jr is a name that you have to continue to include in this conversation and it was Meeks and Gil that were the second Team guys lined up on the outside right so Zed has come in and done exactly what they expected him to we've talked about him a lot the buzz and the speed that he's bringing there so we could go to practice on Friday and it could be Meeks with the ones and Zed with the twos but it just goes to show you that a a solid rotation of four or five guys is emerging and not worthy today Chris that Justice Ross Simmons the transfer from Colorado State a kid from Rochester was once again on the bikes meaning you're basically out of practice but they want you to be active and and work on some things he's got a hamstring injury which you want to be careful with you don't want to force it and with 11 days to go here before they they really get at it here they want to be sure with him so I would look for him to kind of him try to work his way back into the rotation as the season progresses but he's lost some rep being out of time there so we saw those four guys that we mentioned kind of a take hold at least on the outside yeah Justin is sort of you know he he's on the bike and then some days he sort of stretches alongside the team before he returns to the bike I think that's sort of what we saw yesterday where we didn't sort of see him on the bike because he was stretching with the team but we didn't see live yesterday so we don't know necessarily how much he really did it was just a short viewing period for us so uh yeah still limited and and you know again like training camp is sort of coming to an end uh he he was he dealt with an injury uh in the spring um too at Colorado State so he is a guy who who is you know he's really been battling injuries and really struggled to get reps on the field for for the last you know nine months um so you know just something to be aware of if he doesn't like the world on fire right away or we're not seeing him on the field right away you know he has he has lost a lot of time has lost some reps but you know there are options at that position so those four that we mentioned at the wide receiver position coming into focus a little bit the offensive line has been pretty much the same I think that line is is locked in it's the names we've been telling you about Savon Washington Mark Petr Jean Ray Reed Jacob Bradford and Darius Weatherspoon so I'd be very Sur we'll talk to Dale Williams on Friday I sometimes coaches you know we talked to Nick Williams today and we asked him kind of how his depth was looking on the defensive line God bless him he gave the ultimate coach Peak answer he's like ah we're all one unit there's no ones there's no twos it's like yeah there is there's there's ones and twos right we kind of know that of course Fidel Diggs and he's not a four Fidel Diggs is not a four I guarantee that he is metaphor right and Dennis Joz Jr and Deon Wilson Jr who you talk to again today the tank right we kind of know some of those guys that at the very least are going to be out there first other guys will rotate in for sure but I love the all for one one forall mentality for coaches but coaches still hesitant to give out those those depth charts uh to other teams out there particularly Ohio with the wandering eyes they have right now but that offensive line seems pretty set defense I didn't see any major changes I know Emily was keeping an eye out here we're going to try and project the depth chart on Friday's pod who the the this the second two safeties will be but we kind of know who the corners are so look we only get to see a of practice they could completely flip the script when we're not there but unlikely I don't know I don't know that You' want to mess with your own team that much you know just just just okay they're gone guys the real team's out there now like well you wouldn't spend 10 minutes you know really trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes I don't really you know France trying to to have a good practice not not worrying about cloaks and daggers I don't think now today Michael Johnson Jr ran with the twos it feels like they've been trying to to use the word that will be on the depth chart when it comes out next week there's going to be an or at that quarterback position they're going to say Michael Johnson Jr or Carlos Del Rio Wilson I don't know I'm not reporting that I just that's my strong indication of what they're going to do at that position but at least today Michael Johnson Jr was getting some reps with the two so we saw a little team period today we should know they were not in pads for the second straight day just kind of those shells as they call them so Fran after emphasizing they're going to be a physical team they're going to hit they're going to hit in practice they have the players have talked a number of times about the training they've undergone the weight they've put on what the training staff has done what they've done in the weight room there have been some very physical practices that we've witnessed and that we've heard about but Fran I think it's been smart to be like okay calm before the storm we're going to take a breath here they had a hard fought scrimmage on Saturday let's not get anybody else hurt you know we know brayan Ingram is out and uh we learned Marcus Washington Jr is now out for the season with a bicep injury he was back over on the bikes today knock on wood they hav't any other serious injuries we me I mentioned Justice Ross Simmons was working his way back so Fran at this point knows that you know they're coming to the end of camp and it's let's just get through this and really go into game week as as healthy as they can so that's what we saw today we'll have one last practice on Friday one last chance uh to catch up with the players we'll talk to him again during gameweek but kind of one last free for- all at Camp before they kick it into gameweek mode Chris one thing I wanted to ask you about was they change gears a little bit and focus on Kyle McCord here qb1 you talked to him yesterday and we've talked certainly about Kyle and the role he's going to play with this team but it's interesting how he's integrating himself at into Syracuse which is a big life change it's a big attention change as much attention as there is on him in Syracuse when you come from Ohio State and the Fishbowl that you are in there and the circumstances in which he left Ohio State that's going to continue to be a discussion and and people that are keeping an eye on it Marvin Harrison Jr I'm going to get to these comments coming up here shortly at some things to say about him but I just wonder what your takeaway was from spending a little one-on-one time with Kyle and just kind of how all that's developing here in this transfer portal era where somebody comes in transfers in and takes over his qb1 feels like he's been here for a couple of years when in reality he's only been here for about six or seven months yeah I I sort of warned everybody this was going to happen that the longer like training camp goes and like the more I listen to like Syracuse players talk about their optimism the more like I'm GNA like just gobble up all the Kool-Aid just like chug just start Shug in it just give me give me give me give me that orange Kool-Aid um and I felt that way after talking to Kyle um yesterday because you know he said it's such a difficult spot because like right like he had a very tough departure from Ohio State but it doesn't and right right almost unfair right you you go 11 and one as a or or not 11 and one but you lose one game right to the to the national champions on by a play and you get sort of discarded or run out of town and like you have to feel that's unfair right like any normal human being would be like man like what do you guys want from me like what more what more can I do um and he didn't say it but like there's a very like the the the the way he mentioned it was sort of you know you win by 30 points and and the fan base there wants to win by 40 um and I think he he's going to really relish playing here where like if he wins games like that's going to be enough like you know if if if he wins enough games don't worry about buying dinner in Syracuse ever again like lifetime pass right like we're we're not looking for uh Perfection we're looking for a good quarterback and I think he's really uh feeling good that he can be that type of guy here you got to look at it too from his perspective there's got to be some motivation there and I'm going to read the quote here from Marvin Harrison Jr in a second here but now you look at it in Ohio State and look he can go out there and go 12-0 and beat Michigan for all I know this year right but when you look over like you brought in a transfer from Kansas state who's now the starting quarterback there it'd be one thing if it was like some super hyped up number one recruit in the country or another transfer like a Caleb Williams type that wanted to spend another year somewhere goes to Ohio State like somebody that just really look you look at you say Kyle as good as you are like we got to play this guy didn't feel that way did feel like he was the scapegoat for a lot of things that happened and and what happened here's what Marvin Harrison Jr said about it right he was a top 10 draft pick now with the Arizona Cardinals and he said quote now this was on zier Franklin's podcast and there's a couple other things that Marvin said they got a little attention that we wrote about it at syracuse.com but this was the one that really grabbed me Chris and he said this quote this is Marvin Harrison Jr I think Kyle's a great quarterback I really do what happened last year if you're really look at it or a play away from beating a national championship team the situation didn't really work out in his favor and we brought in some transfers from Kansas State and a freshman from Alabama referring to the quarterbacks he wanted to do what was in his best interest for himself go to Syracuse and start over I expect great things honestly right and there was that one clip that was on the New York Giants version the offseason version if you will of Hard Knocks when they're at the combine and there was a wide receivers coach that is basically dumping on a throw that Kyle McCord had that Marvin Harrison Jr didn't come up with right but I'm just real Kyle has been very um he's been he goes to the Tom Brady school of media right and I know that's ironic now because Tom Brady's in the media and is going to give you know stronger opinions from the booth and fox but when Tom was a quarterback everything was pretty straight and forward pretty vanilla didn't Rock the Boat kind of told you what you wanted to hear I think Kyle had some funny moments on acc access you see a little bit of his personality shine through but I was kind of struck when he was at media the other day and he's like okay do I have anything else and they were like no you're good he's like all right I'm done right like he just it's not the part of the job he relishes right but he understands the role he plays as a leader and a quarterback but man as a competitor he's got to have that burnning fire here so he has Z hannes and he has Jackson Meeks and he has OG and he has these receivers he's connected with every story we've heard from you know they've saying all the right things from the players the coaches everybody we've talked to about the extra time he's putting in the leadership he has showed uh when we ask who are the offensive players that are giving the defense headaches right Kyle McCord is the first name out of most people's mouths along with zed hannes right so that's why I'm kind of sick of Camp Chris like we've heard and seen so much you do have that glass of Kool-Aid next to you and it's look in Camp we've been spoiled I don't think I've seen him miss a throw there's been some drops but the the throw throws are pinpoint he looks the part right they've said Ross Douglas said yesterday the wide receivers coach that Kyle has more Mobility than people give him credit for he's not going to be running the triple option as he said but he's healthy and he can escape play so it's like man I gotta see it now and I gotta see it at Syracuse I watched the film at Ohio State I saw everything but Chris that's the margin of error at Ohio State and sometimes I look at it I'm like man I'm kind of bummed that Syracuse doesn't have this year year out Ohio State Michigan Auburn Alabama type rivalry right oh it's probably not healthy like as a human being it is that's the other side of it right the other side of it is Kyle McCord comes One play away from beating the the team up north as they say in Ohio and that's his legacy there like that's it it's so Cutthroat and so cut and dry you didn't beat Michigan and we're done with you right and I just I don't know if I could even as a fan be that obsessed with one thing I just I I could do it so I I give him credit for coming out of that pressure cooker and and getting a second chance here at Syracuse to show his stuff and he did say right he said nothing about Ohio State he's like hey I saw college football sort of at its at its peak I'll always have that I'll always remember that I'll always appreciate that um I'm happy in Syracuse now where where I go out and people talk to me about other things right they they they try to suggest restaurants to me uh they try to ask me where I've been he was really appreciative about you know Syracuse people treating him like a human being uh rather than a uh football tossing robot which admittedly he does appear sometimes because he does come from the that Brady school you know he he he he does come out of the the quarterback lab in terms of of how he carries himself but he was really complimentary about our area and how we've treated him since he's gotten here the quarterback lineage at Syracuse is always fascinating to talk about too because it's not a position historically that Syracuse has dominated right I mean you have Don mcferson and you have Donovan McNab and you have Marvin Graves and you have look Todd philcox God love him spent 10 years in the National Football League right and you have individual players that have had individual Good Seasons here but look at this run in the last decade Chris you've had Ryan nass who by all means was a a great quarterback great Pro style quarterback the 2012 season some projected him to be a first round pick in the NFL he didn't go to the fourth round and sat behind Eli Manning who had the longest start streak in NFL history and just wasn't going to bump Eli Manning out of the way but still was in the NFL for a few years made some NFL paychecks now works in finance and is doing well right but by all means checked every box you had Eric dunie who passed the torch to Tommy DeVito and while Tommy DeVito had mixed results here before having to transfer to Illinois came in as a fourstar high-rated within that 6-h hour window New Jersey Prospect right like that felt like what you had to do that box you had to check into the era of transfers Garrett Shader transfers in competes beats out the veto had some injury issues right but the way he beat Wake Forest last year and the way he went out you look at the numbers he's in some top five categories even in a short period of time when he was here at syu people appreciated how he played the game like you're going to look back fondly on Garett Trader right so there's a mix there of traditional recruits transfers some guys that maybe didn't live up to the hype and in comes Kyle mcord where the clock is ticking as a transfer who you know is only here for a certain period of time but Chris you said it if you win here and you are part of what will be viewed as a transformation of Syracuse football you'll never buy another drink in this town again right the people are so hungry to see it and I think people View mcord and I don't want to put too much pressure on the but it just comes with the territory at the position he's in he's not it won't bother him after Ohio State whatever whatever we can do whatever we can do he's not going to feel it that's it that's the beauty of this and that's no offense to the passionate Syracuse fans out there but you guys can't touch Ohio State and and just the the Rabid fan base that they are the this is all I I don't want to undercut it here but compared to that this has got to be let's just say an easier stroll in the park this is what I this is what I was talking about with like be drinking the Kool-Aid right like like Fran is talking about I want little leag Kyle I want free and easy and running Kyle and like what better like what better place for him to get it after after getting out of that pressure cooker and coming here yes any starting college quarterback feels pressure but like he is going to feel so unburdened by playing here uh that I right I'm just talking myself into it that he's just he's going to be gunslinging and and and we're going to have a blast I'm that's that's what I'm talking about drinking the Kool-Aid like I'm convincing myself that this is like what's going to happen now it's there's a lot on him there's a lot on him staying healthy we've talked about the un uh the shaky nature up with it of the the backup quarterback position and I mentioned Ryan Nassib he's the last guy that's gone start to finish that didn't have to be replaced either by performance or by injury and that was over a decade ago so just a reminder about how big it was that Syracuse got mcord where he's coming from and everything just in a short period of time I'm just fascinated by the transfer portal area you bring in all these new people and it's like you got to get it going as quickly as you can time is not on your side so what do you do to accelerate that process and get everybody on the same page there so Marvin Harrison Jr we mentioned the mcord comments he was on zier frankland's podcast which was interesting because they're all in their uniforms I think there was like a joint practice practice yeah so the Colts and the Cardinals have a joint practice and then they just sit in front of the mics still in their pads and they do a podcast so I would encourage you to go check it out uh I wanted to play a clip here on the show I just beforehand I had some technical problems I couldn't get the audio downloaded but I would encourage you to watch it context is everything sometimes what you read and print doesn't necessarily translate to how they're saying it so this was set in a very cordial manner that everybody laughing about it right it's kind of you know revisionist history but Marvin Harrison Jr is there with zier and was asked on the podcast about you know was Syracuse ever on the radar were they in the top five schools and Marvin Harrison Jr responded quote not a chance that he would have considered Syracuse as a college football program so then zier kind of goes back and forth everybody's yeah everybody's laughing and of course zier he's going to stand up for the Q and he mentioned some wide receiver that had come through here and then they even actually got into Kion Anthony are you listening like the Legacy because of course Marvin Harrison Senor was one of the greatest wide receivers in Syracuse history the last Syracuse receiver to get picked in the first round by the way in 1996 which was part of the reason why Marvin Harrison Jr kind of jab those guys on the podcast and say well who are they send into the league why would I go there and look you may hate to say it guys that's why we've seen a coaching change here recently that he made a good point like he wasn't going to come to Syracuse just to continue a legacy he was on that level of and he could pick wherever he wanted to go in the country I think it worked out pretty well for him he was a top 10 pick out of Ohio State and he's regarded as somebody that could be the Rookie of the Year in the National Football League this year I think Caleb Williams is the bet in favorite there but don't count out Harrison this guy's going to step right in and make an immediate impact here so Chris that's my long-winded way of saying if you see that quote from Marvin Harrison Jr Syracuse fans might kind of grit their teeth and get a little saly about that don't just don't like we knew it wasn't going to happen there's no use crying over spilled milk here we talk about this with other recruits and why didn't Brianna Stewart or Mike Hart or Greg paulus or you know fill in the blank of either leges or not that didn't for whatever reason come to Syracuse you're not going to get them all and I think it worked out better for everybody in in a lot of ways you know I mean number one like the the clip right everything was in good fun right like like zier played for Lal College in Philly and Marvin Harrison Jr his freshman year he played for uh zier alma mater but then he transferred to St Joe's Prep to go play with Kyle and they're like you know it's a huge rival so like zier's giving him crap for you know transferring to the other school and so there's a little bit of you know there's a little bit of trash talk there um and like the reality is like right that that's what Fran Brown is here to try to like change the the idea that a that a legacy player would view Syracuse as like a no-o like from the start uh just because of where they are in the pecking order and their history of producing NFL guys like if youve watched the last 20 years of Syracuse football like yeah that makes sense and yeah that's what needs to change and where I give Marvin Harrison Jr credit and what you said about Fran is is right on point Chris but where I give him credit is I don't think he ever flirted with Syracuse he didn't put him in the to no he didn't drag he didn't drag it out he didn't drag it out anybody so Kion Anthony he is free to do whatever he wants to do and go wherever he wants to go but it does change the conversation a bit when you're visiting Syracuse Syracuse is in the top five you haven't shut it down like you have put it in play that the son of one of the greatest players in the history of Syracuse basketball and one of the great one anddone players in the history of the sport could come here it' be one thing if he's like no don't want to do it want to forge my own legacy and go somewhere else Syracuse is on the fishing line so if for some reason he doesn't pick Syracuse I would kind of understand and again I I would wish him well wherever he goes and wherever he does but that's different than Marvin Harrison Jr's like nope not not not not my top five not considering it not my dad nothing again Syracuse but I'm going down my own way here so I just wanted to read the Kyle m Bo quote too and again Chris and I both would encourage you watch the clip it's in good nature it's good fun it's a fun podcast um there there's great camaraderie with these guys it's a lot of fun yeah Z great to listen to Z's awesome Z's great so and again if you know what on Zer show it's it's all in good fun and he does stick up for the cuse there for those of you like oh he's got to defend Syracuse's honor he did right but yeah he mentioned Steve ISM he mentioned too he's like we got good wide receivers but uh in Marvin Harrison Junior's defense like yeah none of those guys got drafted number four overall and wouldn't you have come in off a one and 10 season the the 1 and 10 2020 season that Sy said like yeah can you blame him for looking elsewhere in that case but I don't know that gets people a little stirred up sometimes so I just wanted toh get into that but I I I I liked what he said about Kyle McCord he's he's drinking the Kool-Aid on that that's somebody that's playing with McCord has some insight into him and expects good things here at Syracuse and if you remember the all access show Kyle just calls him up you know and he picks up the phone like that's not a guy who's just like you know saying the nice thing about his buddy like they you know they have a relationship that has persisted Through The Years by the way they did that didn't they say like who's the most famous person in your phone yeah yeah Kyle McCord went to the Payton Manning Camp so if he's got pton Manning's number in his phone like nothing against Marvin Harrison Jr I think that would probably qualify maybe Payton's stingy with his phone number may maybe Kyle's just like yeah you know what like I'm going to I'm going to go with the guy who I know will find this amusing rather than take take the risk with Payton man see still a teammate at heart right I'm gonna say this is my guy and uh he picked right up and answered and that that was a fun moment on the allais show we did a review of the second episode of all access on last night's pot if you guys missed that I would go check that out we had a lot of fun reviewing that episode in which we learned Kyle McCord has not seen Star Wars which uh it's okay nobody's perfect we half your material is going to like not work on him it's just he's I got to be careful with the references what are you talking about exactly we had some great questions and comments from our Syracuse Sports insiders Chris I wanted to highlight a few of them uh starting with Nate who says are they keeping the same uniforms this year would love to remove the block s from the helmet I know there is typically some rebranding with new coaches in charge just wondering if you've heard I don't think there's any new uniforms in the mix alternate uniforms in the mix Chris I know you've written about this at times I've written about this at times it's a real process to get new uniforms the design every it takes months like they actually have to plan these things almost a year in advance just soup to not start to finish that process is just that it's a process it's not to say there won't be I just haven't heard of any Of You' have heard any uniform changes or I would love to see the McNab look from the 90s come back kind of an old school feel maybe against pit one day or like a Virginia Tech in a Big East reunion type of thing I just haven't heard anything in in the works there I have also not heard anything uh again doesn't mean it's not happening um usually though we do hear sort of Rumblings and people are like well you can't tell anybody but uh you're in the right Ballpark and haven't heard anything even to that sort of of you know that would lead us in that direction so uh I wouldn't expect it and uh if it happens we'll all be surprised my guy ad in nor Syracuse says Bren if Nixon is getting reps ahead of Willis it's got to be because of Nixon's experience and probably in the blocking protect the quarterback piece if there's a bigger fan of Willis than me it is Ed who uh texts about him a lot that's definitely what it was we we brought it up earlier in the Pod I I Willis is getting on the field one way or the other and Nixon's getting on the field right so but I think that's that's probably a fair thing to point out there just a little more experience and look you got a couple sons of coaches getting out there not because they're the sons of coaches these guys can play they' played elsewhere Nixon at Washington and MJ Jr at a couple different spots was a highly regarded quarterback coming out of college these these guys can play a little bit and they've said they're going to put guys on the field that can play I think in both in both in both cases right I think their Co their fathers gave them very honest appraisals of what the playing time situation would be here like it's not like they're elevated to starters it's not like they're coming into starters but I'm sure they're their dad said yes you are good enough that like you're going to see the field here and you know that matters to us and both positions have need Syracuse needed another quarterback while Malachi James has opened some eyes with his speed there's just a lot of uh to steal a phrase from a great movie a lot of youths yeah in in in the running back room they needed somebody with just some playing experience in I happen to know a guy right you start in your circle like I know a kid that can come in and play right um I didn't have the name on this apologies to our Syracuse Sports Insider who sent in this question that I can't give you a shout out here but it said Brent after the spring game and Fran's comments I'd be interested in what he wants the pregame walk to be does he Envision a team entering the field uh kind of starting a tradition with a song now it's interesting because Fran did bring that up the other day didn't say what but he did say there is some music they have in mind that they want to enter the field with he does want the quad walk to become a thing yeah he wants that to be a thing they tried it in Spring didn't really go the way he wanted it to he wanted the band there and look spring practice spring the spring game is is uh it's a walkthrough in a lot of ways so maybe they learned a little bit from that there's four home games to start the year it's going to take a while to build New Traditions to let people know this is what he wants to do but Fran has noted he does want to have that kind of quad walk and they they kind of walk in past the Ernie Davis statue and on through and they're going to try and establish that so to answer your question the answer is yes I'll be curious about music and pregame traditions and I've heard a lot Chris about Syracuse really wants people to have the app handy and they want to try and kind of do like a light show kind of a modern thing they tried that a little bit last year but you know I brought up the lack of a true rival one thing that and it's not for lack of effort they have tried some things right the train horn and they run in at the beginning and smoke a little bit my but a little bit of smoke right but Syracuse doesn't have like a Clemson running down the hill or Virginia Tech you know playing Metallica like they just for whatever reason that has slipped through the cracks through the years and they don't have that man you have got to be there at the beginning of the game for this and it does look like Fran is trying to to start something a little bit so appreciate the effort it is hard it's I I I just think those things are harder than we think it is you know like you like when you force it you feel you you people feel that it's forced and there's so many different demographics that they're trying to like keep happy right you've got your students that don't like the same music as us townies who don't like the same music as the players right so like you know how do you get something that works for all three and you know I just think it's it happens naturally or it just doesn't happen it's harder than like we we're all just like why can't they do it I do think it is harder than we think yeah it's hard you want it to be organic too you hit the nail on the head there it's like hey guys today we're starting a Traditions are born they're they're they come from lore and maybe you know back in the day somebody started something and they've been doing it they've been doing that since the 1920s like somebody's got to have the idea and they come from winning that's the other thing like like when it's winning it's like oh remember that cool thing we did when we won the game yeah let's do that again born out of that that was Rob by the way had that question so sh shout out to Rob on that uh one more here Chris from mikeyp who says is Big Spoon the lock to be protecting McCord's Blind Side as has been alluded to previously I think so I mean Washington has spent some time at left tackle Nick Williams brought him up today as somebody who is he said have you seen how big this oh here I've got the clip right here this is uh Syracuse Edge coach Nick Williams well have you seen uh Sav On Washington you seen him he's huge so it was a premium that we went and got big guys big D lineman that can hold a point and strike blockers but coach Dale does a great job with his old line so it was important that we got big in the trenches and um I think we we checked that box they play hard and we look good we look good while you always have to to keep a little window open that things can change Chris like that offensive line has been pretty consistent and it does look like big spoon is it's going to be protecting Kyle's blindsight yeah again like right unless they're trying to pull the a big surprise and and pull the wool over our eyes this has been like five or six practices now where we've seen the the first string with you know weather spoon on the left and and Savon on the right man I have walked into practice three or it happened again today he was walking out I was walking in Savon Washington Pur Nick's comments like man that dude is huge like he just these are football players they're all big in one sense but that guy like he is hard to miss it's gonna be I would love to just be sitting on campus and watch him walk through campus and have people just gawk at him like my God look at that he's a large man right so that's who you want on the offensive line uh a blinds side or not that shows the size that has been added the dep that has been at on the offensive line and it's as simple as this Chris and I'll kind of close with this on this note people have been asking me certainly here on the show in Syracuse Sports insiders but just you know in the produce section at Wegman's and just out getting ice cream and just friends of mine like hey how they looking and I'm like they look like a football team like they look like a football team that's the best compliment I can give them because frankly in past years like they kind of look like a football team here there a little bit of this little bit of that everywhere you look particularly at that position they look like a football team yeah they're going to right I know it rub people the wrong way sometimes when when Dino babers would talk in awe o of like how Clemson looked or Florida State looked before the game but that was like true like like you know there was just a huge size differential in a lot of games um and that is certainly a lot less likely to happen and it's going to be a lot less obvious you know Syracuse is is outside it's at least going to be in the ballpark you know with a friend Brown Team all right Chris deep breath we got one more left there's a couple more practices overall but for us and watching practice and getting to talk to players Friday's it and then we're locked in the game week and it'll be time to talk about some real football Syracuse gets ready for Ohio so we will be back on Friday with another pod we're going to project the depth chart I would plug a couple of things uh one is uh our friend Emily ler has got some good things coming later this week that I would keep an eye on syracuse.com up in the morning be up early in the morning be up early in a couple days maybe it's a one day this week that's not today or tomorrow I would be up early and have syracuse.com ready to go get nice strong cup of coffee and get up early and check that out uh we're going to project the depth chart later on this week on the Pod Chris is working on a couple of things you're going to want to check out uh Emily's got a new uh Syracuse football new uh newsletter that comes out Monday mornings you can sign up for that at syracuse.com newsletters my newsletter Syracuse Orange Sports comes out on Thursday mornings so check that out and uh of course everything going on with our Syracuse Sports insiders keep sending us your questions your comments your opinions your all the great questions that we highlighted tonight like just what's on your mind when it comes to Syracuse Sports what do you want us to check out what are you thinking you you have given us tips to chase down that's the beauty of being a Syracuse Sports Insider the back and forth communication and all the stuff you guys get first some of which you get exclusively the direct connection that you get to us 315- 847 3895 that's the Syracuse Sports Insider text line text the word orange to that number if you haven't already that'll sign you up two weeks free to become a shc Sports ins sat and that's just $399 a month after that and with the season coming we're only going to be ramping things up and you are going to want to be on board that's it for this edition of Syracuse Sports Chris we thank you as always we thank our Syracuse Sports insiders we thank you guys for checking out the show we'll be back on Friday for one last training camp show until then you guys have a great rest of your week