Anae, Beck Home Run Hires for Syracuse
Entering the offseason, everyone knew there would be changes on the Syracuse football coaching staff. The question was how much change. Dino Babers made the correct decision to fire Sterlin Gilbert, putting Syracuse in the market for an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Sometimes while looking, unexpected events occur that play out in your favor. That is exactly what happened for the Orange as Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall elected to shockingly retire at the end of the season.
Suddenly, two highly respected coaches with a history of developing quarterbacks and leading potent offenses became available. Syracuse was able to convince both former Virginia offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck to come lead the Orange offense. Syracuse could not have found better coaches to fill those vacant positions.
Anae and Beck are ideal coaches to help improve the Syracuse offense that really struggled down the stretch of last season. The perfect choices to get the most out of Garrett Shrader given their history. Look at their time at BYU. The Cougars offenses averaged 494 yards and 461 yards of offense under Taysom Hill. In Anae's first year, both Hill and BYU's starting running back ran for over 1,200 yards with 17 combined rushing touchdowns. Hill also threw for over 2,900 yards with 19 passing touchdowns.
The coaching combo had similar success at Virginia with Bryce Perkins, also a running quarterback. Perkins threw for over 2,600 yards with 25 passing touchdowns while rushing for 900 with nine more scores in 2018. In 2019, Perkins threw for over 3,500 yards with 22 touchdowns while running for over 700 with 11 scores. The point is, Anae and Beck have a history of developing quarterbacks with similar skill sets as Garrett Shrader. That should excite Syracuse fans.
Taking a deeper dive at Anae's time at both BYU and Virginia, we see a play caller that alters his approach based on the talent he has on the roster. Another sign of a good coach. At BYU in year one of Taysom Hill, the Cougars ran the ball 60% of the time. The next year, with Hill only playing in five games before suffering a season ending injury, BYU ran it only 55.5% of the time. At Virginia with Bryce Perkins, the Cavs ran the ball 58% of the time in year one while just 46% of the time in year two as Perkins developed as a passer.
Fast forward to the 2021 campaign when Virginia had a prolific passer in Brennan Armstrong, and the Cavs threw the ball 62% of the time. That was the strength of the team.
Armstrong, however, was not an overnight success. In his first year as a starter, he threw for just 2,117 yards with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, completing 58.6% of his passes. One year later, he threw for 4,449 yards with 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, completing over 65% of his attempts.
Anae and Beck can develop quarterbacks. that has been proven by their history. They are highly respected coaches across the sport and with their players. They develop quarterbacks. Anae tailors play calling to his roster. They have had dynamic, potent offenses. You can't ask for much more from these hires from a Syracuse perspective. And, frankly, from Garrett Shrader's. The offense could be fun to watch in 2022.
