The secret sauce in Syracuse’s 6-0 start is a castoff QB running a familiar offense
By Andrea Adelson, ESPN
Football is funny sometimes. Two years ago — to the week — Garrett Shrader entered the transfer portal listed as a Mississippi State wide receiver.
But that’s not who Shrader is. He’s a quarterback, going back to elementary school, when he told his dad that was the position for him. He grew into an elite recruit, winning two state championships in North Carolina, and yes, starting at quarterback in the SEC for the Bulldogs.
Following a coaching change after the 2019 season, Shrader was asked to switch to receiver and play special teams in 2020. He did it because he wanted to help his team, but also he knew it wasn’t him. Shrader believed he could be an elite starting quarterback somewhere in the country with a coach who believed in him.
He just had to find that coach.
Enter Dino Babers.
When Babers pulled up the Shrader game tape, this is what he saw:
“I saw somebody that loved winning, that was willing to give up his body for his teammates,” Babers said. “I saw someone that was competitive, and traditionally, if you take those guys and make them your quarterbacks, people will follow them.”
“Garrett bet on himself,” said Anthony Boone, his longtime trainer at QB Country Charlotte, and a former ACC quarterback at Duke. “And now he’s getting exactly what he’s been working for all these years. He took the long route, but he continued to work and got an opportunity, and it’s a great spot for him.”