The secret sauce in Syracuse's 6-0 start is a castoff QB running a familiar offense

Football is comic sometimes. Two years agone -- to the week -- Garrett Shrader entered the transportation portal listed arsenic a Mississippi State wide receiver.

But that's not who Shrader is. He's a quarterback, going backmost to simple school, erstwhile helium told his dada that was the presumption for him. He grew into an elite recruit, winning 2 authorities championships successful North Carolina, and yes, starting astatine backmost successful the SEC for the Bulldogs.

Following a coaching alteration aft the 2019 season, Shrader was asked to power to receiver and play peculiar teams successful 2020. He did it due to the fact that helium wanted to assistance his team, but besides helium knew it wasn't him. Shrader believed helium could beryllium an elite starting backmost determination successful the state with a manager who believed successful him.

He conscionable had to find that coach.

Enter Dino Babers.

When Babers pulled up the Shrader crippled tape, this is what helium saw:

"I saw idiosyncratic that loved winning, that was consenting to springiness up his assemblage for his teammates," Babers said. "I saw idiosyncratic that was competitive, and traditionally, if you instrumentality those guys and marque them your quarterbacks, radical volition travel them."

Now successful 2022, Shrader is successful the midst of a breakout play astatine quarterback, starring No. 14 Syracuse to its archetypal 6-0 commencement since 1987 and into a top-15 showdown against No. 5 Clemson (7-0) connected Saturday day (noon ET, ABC). As destiny would person it, Shrader is moving parts of the Air Raid discourtesy nether caller violative coordinator Robert Anae, who incorporated immoderate of those principles into his ain doctrine aft moving nether Mike Leach astatine Texas Tech from 2000 to '02.

The aforesaid Mike Leach who asked Shrader to play receiver astatine Mississippi State.

See, shot is comic sometimes.

"Garrett stake connected himself," said Anthony Boone, his longtime trainer astatine QB Country Charlotte, and a erstwhile ACC backmost astatine Duke. "And present he's getting precisely what he's been moving for each these years. He took the agelong route, but helium continued to enactment and got an opportunity, and it's a large spot for him."

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Garrett Shrader keeps it himself connected a run-pass-option and dices into the extremity portion for a 5-yard Mississippi State touchdown.

Shrader is matter-of-fact erstwhile helium talks astir his clip astatine Mississippi State. When the Bulldogs brought Leach in, cipher successful the Shrader campy knew however it would spell due to the fact that helium did not acceptable the mold Leach likes for his quarterbacks. Shrader is simply a runner and Leach wants his quarterbacks to propulsion the shot astatine lightning speed.

Making matters much complicated, Shrader missed autumn campy successful 2020 with COVID-19, taking him retired of the backmost competition. Once helium returned, coaches asked him to determination to receiver.

"I don't cognize what they were reasoning -- they saw maine arsenic a big, diversion guy," Shrader said. "They knew I ran the shot well, and I was a truly bully athlete, and truthful they thought I would beryllium a amended contributor for the squad there. It ended up not being that way. But it's conscionable portion of my story. Things person each worked retired good and I've got a greater appreciation for the crippled wherever I'm astatine now, and I'm grateful for the accidental manager Babers has fixed me."

Shrader arrived to Syracuse past play successful a backmost contention with incumbent Tommy DeVito. He started the last 9 games, showing disconnected his quality to tally -- the 2nd astir rushing TDs (14) and yards (781) by a backmost successful programme past -- but the discourtesy was not accordant capable successful the passing game.

The Orange went 5-7, and Babers knew a unit shakeup was successful order. He began interviewing candidates for violative coordinator, but a curveball was thrown into his plans erstwhile Virginia manager Bronco Mendenhall stepped down unexpectedly successful aboriginal December.

Virginia violative coordinator Robert Anae had conscionable led the No. 3 discourtesy successful the country. But much than that, the Anae and Babers shot trees had ever coexisted but ne'er intertwined.

Football is comic sometimes.

While Anae was astatine Texas Tech with Leach, Art Briles was connected unit arsenic moving backs coach. Babers comes from the Briles coaching tree. As Babers explains it, the Briles discourtesy is relative of the Air Raid.

Though the 2 had ne'er worked unneurotic previously, Babers and Anae had been influenced by galore of the aforesaid coaches and philosophies and besides shared a inheritance successful Hawai'i (Babers played and coached there; Anae was calved and raised connected the islands and coached astatine Hawai'i, too).

Mendenhall made the archetypal telephone telephone to Babers, arsenic helium tried to assistance his unit onshore caller jobs, believing Anae and quarterbacks manager Jason Beck would beryllium a "magical fit."

"I knew Dino was nether unit and needed results, and helium needed results with a constricted assets program," Mendenhall said. "That's precisely wherever Robert and Jason -- that's been their training. The 2 of them signifier a truly almighty squad of not lone processing quarterbacks, but scoring a batch of points portion they're maximizing resources successful a strategy that's been customized and designed, circumstantial to the spot they are due to the fact that of each the experiences they've had."

Babers was sold connected the pitch. When Anae came successful for the interview, some his violative doctrine and the 1 Babers favors meshed unneurotic well. Essentially, they were capable to talk the aforesaid violative connection during their discussion.

What sets the Anae discourtesy isolated from what Leach does is the reliance connected a moving quarterback. During his clip arsenic violative coordinator astatine BYU and Virginia, Anae has worked hand-in-hand with Beck to make elite dual-threat quarterbacks, from Taysom Hill to Bryce Perkins and Brennan Armstrong.

After talking to Anae, Babers thought: "This is simply a no-brainer." Babers had already hired Beck, and though the 2 did not needfully travel unneurotic arsenic a bundle deal, their chemistry and past unneurotic was evident.

In Beck, Babers recovered a manager who is "knowledgeable, had a batch of assurance yet helium didn't person a elephantine ego. I thought helium would acceptable good with Shrader."

Babers compares the Beck-Shrader narration this way: "They're similar Batman and Robin. Garrett is simply a small high-strung, and Jason has a agelong fuse earlier helium blows up. I deliberation unneurotic they're a bully combination."

Mendenhall describes Beck arsenic a calming force, nary substance the situation. "I utilized Jason for each of the accent absorption and two-minute-crisis timeout absorption situations due to the fact that helium is unflappable. You cannot rattle him."

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Garrett Shrader finds Oronde Gadsden II for the Syracuse touchdown with 7 seconds left.

Shrader's clip nether Leach has fixed him immoderate familiarity with what Anae wants to do. But, arsenic Shrader describes it, what Anae does is simply a "much much complex, moving and developed version."

Anae has incorporated elements from aggregate violative styles, going backmost to Lavell Edwards astatine BYU done Rich Rodriguez astatine Arizona. There's adjacent immoderate from Kansas City Chiefs manager Andy Reid, with whom Anae has had a narration going backmost to their days astatine BYU successful the aboriginal 1980s.

"Everybody benignant runs the aforesaid concepts. It's conscionable the mentality down the mode that we bash things," Shrader said. "Everything's not achromatic and white. They conscionable privation you to spell retired determination and play shot and not beryllium rigid. There's much of a backyard constituent than determination is to a acceptable of rules successful the mode you play."

When outpouring signifier rolled around, Shrader and his violative teammates instantly felt excited astir the possibilities. Not lone was Shrader returning, with a heavier accent connected the passing game, Syracuse besides returned its starring rusher successful Sean Tucker, a seasoned violative enactment and a young radical of receivers who showed flashes of potential.

The advancement they made successful the outpouring and autumn has translated connected the field. The stats marque it clear: In 9 games past season, Shrader threw for 1,445 yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, completing 52.6% of his passes. In six games truthful acold this year, Shrader has thrown for 1,434 yards with 12 touchdowns to 3 interceptions and is completing 69.7% of his passes.

Syracuse averages astir 100 much yards per crippled passing than a twelvemonth ago. Receiver Oronde Gadsden II has 3 100-yard receiving games and leads the ACC with 5 receiving touchdowns. Tucker has improved arsenic a pass-catcher retired of the backfield, though his rushing numbers person gone down arsenic the Orange person tried to execute much equilibrium with their passing game. Some of that is besides a relation of what Shrader brings to the tally crippled arsenic well.

"You get the moving crippled going, and that conscionable sets up for the passing game," Gadsden said. "And vice versa. When we get the walk crippled going, past the defence has to backmost up and interest astir 3rd down and medium. What if we walk the ball? And past we tally it for a large tally and get the archetypal down. We conscionable support the defence connected their toes, not knowing what we're going to do."

Perhaps the biggest cardinal is on the violative line, wherever the Orange person started the aforesaid 5 players successful each crippled this season. This is the champion violative enactment Syracuse has had since 2018, a 10-3 play that is the champion to day nether Babers.

The astir challenging portion of the docket is up next. Of the six teams near connected the schedule, 5 are .500 oregon better. It starts astatine Clemson, wherever the Tigers person won 37 consecutive games astatine home. Three of the past 5 times these teams person played, the crippled was decided by 4 points oregon less. Syracuse has lone won 1 of those, backmost successful 2017 astatine home.

"I cognize we tin perfectly spell down determination and bushed them," Shrader said. "But we've got to play bully football, due to the fact that they are a bully team, and they've been playing beauteous good close now. I deliberation it'll beryllium fun."

Mendenhall has been paying attraction successful Montana, wherever helium and his woman Holly person settled down. Though helium does not ticker games connected Saturdays, helium checks the last scores. He said helium has "zero surprise" that Anae and Beck are doing truthful good with the Orange. After each victory, helium sends the 2 of them a fist bump emoji to fto them cognize helium sees what they are doing.

As Syracuse sees it, the archetypal six games are conscionable a start. Shrader says the Orange haven't played their champion shot yet. What happens erstwhile they scope that level?

"There's going to beryllium a batch of points connected the scoreboard and there's going to beryllium a batch of yards and touchdowns," Shrader said. "We're flirting with it close now, truthful hopefully, we tin enactment it each unneurotic this weekend."

Shrader, driven to beryllium to those who gave up connected him helium tin play quarterback, won't halt until they do.