Syracuse Football: Battle may be brewing for No. 2 spot at quarterback

Syracuse football is just getting underway with its pre-season camp ahead of the 2022 campaign that begins in early September.

Unless something unforeseen transpires, I’m getting the sense that quarterback Garrett Shrader, who started the bulk of games in 2021 for the Orange, will be the starting quarterback to commence this coming season.

However, the door seems relatively wide open at this juncture as it pertains to who will be Shrader’s primary back-up at the No. 2 slot when ‘Cuse kicks off its 2022 stanza by hosting Louisville on Saturday, Sept. 3.

With redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Lamson unfortunately sidelined, the No. 2 quarterback on the Orange depth chart is expected to be one of JaCobian Morgan, Michigan transfer Dan Villari or Florida transfer Carlos Del Rio-Wilson.

It will be interesting to see which Syracuse football QB ends up at No. 2 on the depth chart.

According to Stephen Bailey of 247Sports, ‘Cuse head coach Dino Babers discussed the team’s quarterback room in a recent session with media members.

Babers said that a foot issue caused Rio-Wilson to miss a practice, although Bailey reported that Rio-Wilson is getting a good amount of reps.

Coming out of high school, both Rio-Wilson and Villari were highly ranked by recruiting services. Morgan, meanwhile, has been with the Syracuse football program for several years now.

Per the 247Sports article, Babers said that all three of these quarterbacks need additional reps before a decision can get made about who will serve as Shrader’s primary back-up at quarterback.

Babers says as far as Shrader’s progress during the early stages of the Orange’s pre-season camp, the top priority is for him to further mesh with new offensive coordinator Robert Anae and new quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, both of whom joined the ‘Cuse from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Virginia.

Several national pundits have said lately that they believe Shrader is primed to fare better in the team’s passing game due in part to Anae and Beck coming on board.

Those new Syracuse football assistants played a huge role in Virginia boasting an explosive passing attack during the 2021 term. Shrader has already shown that he can be effective on the ground, and the Orange possesses an All-American running back in Sean Tucker.

If Shrader can get on the same page with Anae and Beck, and I think he will, then Syracuse football should own an offense with much better balance in 2022.

That, in turn, could make the ‘Cuse an extremely dangerous group despite a potentially brutal schedule for Syracuse football this fall.