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Three Syracuse Quarterbacks Get First Team Reps in Practice

Could the freshmen quarterbacks see extensive action for the first time this season?
Mike McAllister|
Three Syracuse Quarterbacks Get First Team Reps in Practice
Three Syracuse Quarterbacks Get First Team Reps in Practice

Even before JaCobian Morgan went 7-7 against Wake Forest including his first career touchdown pass, Syracuse fans have been clamoring to get a look at their freshmen quarterbacks. Starter Tommy DeVito got hurt against Duke, and Rex Culpepper has been less than stellar since taking over the starting job. That has led to Orange faithful looking to the two true freshmen as a potential spark for the offense. 

Syracuse fans may be getting their wish. On his radio show this week, Orange head coach Dino Babers stated that both JaCobian Morgan and Dillon Markiewicz received first team reps this week along with Culpepper. This is the first time Babers has acknowledged such a split of first team reps, and it could signal each will have their own packages in Saturday's game against Boston College. At the very least, it would suggest that Culpepper will be on a short leash if he continues to struggle. 

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Culpepper is completing just 43.5% of his passes on the season, and averaging just 157 yards passing per game as a starter. His passing yards has decreased in each start. Rex's touchdown to turnover ration is 5:7. In an offense that is quarterback friendly, those numbers are unacceptable. The offense cannot be successful with that kind of quarterback play. 

With what Morgan showed last week, albeit against backups running a vanilla defense, it will be interesting to see if he can do it against a defense playing their starters and attempting to confuse. 

Markiewicz has not played at all this season. Could the Boston College game be the one he makes his season debut?

It makes no sense to continue to go back to Culpepper if he struggles yet again. Playing Morgan and Markiewicz accomplishes a few things. First, it could give the offense a bit of a spark. Second, it makes Syracuse better next season. Giving Markiewicz and Morgan real game experience this season will help them next year. Third, it helps to show whether or not either one has the potential to be the starter at some point. 

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Mike McAllister
MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting.  EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans.  After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years.  Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports.  Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College. 

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