There's so much to digest from Syracuse's 47-0 win over Rhode Island. Hear how Scott Shafer and some of the players reacted to the season opener.
Scott Shafer on Terrel Hunt's injury:
First and foremost, keep your prayers out there for Terrel. Tough deal. Tough deal.
He told me he didn't think it was a contact thing. He just cut really hard and that Achilles just popped on him.
They said it was an Achilles injury and it's "not good".
Terrel's deal is not good so just keep your thoughts and prayers out for him and his family. He'll be okay. He'll work through it. He's got a bunch of brothers who love him. We'll take good care of him.
On freshman quarterback Eric Dungey's debut:
Eric Dungey did a nice job. We really didn’t anticipate or want to throw him to the wolves like that so quick but God love him. He’s a great kid. He works extremely hard. He’s going to have good future here.
I said (to Dungey) this is what we brought you in here to do. And I said, go have a blast man.
On a bittersweet win:
It's a great victory. Unfortunately, football is a contact sport. It just kills me with Terrel. We just love him so much. And now we got a hell of an opportunity in front of us to go up against a Wake Forest team coming in here next week.
On getting contributions from the freshmen:
This freshman class, they have not acted like freshmen since the day they got on to his campus. Very mature group, very focused group, very close group. They did a great job listening to the upperclassmen when they got in here. They said which way do we go and how hard can we go. They never batted an eye. First time we’ve had every freshman just kill it on the run test. It was just easy. That’s never happened since I’ve been in here, which tells you the preparation they put into it before they got to campus.
On the fanbase:
Let me start off by saying thanks to our fans, the loyal fans that have been there especially the last seven months and the support they’ve given me, my coaches, and our players. Today, I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate the Syracuse fans.
Eric Dungey on his debut:
I wasn’t expecting to go in that early. Terrel is like a mentor to me, so hearing the news about him was hard. I know he’s going to be there helping me out and helping me learn. I got a great coaching staff helping me out along the way as well.
On Shafer's guidance:
He was just taking all the pressure off of me, keeping me calm, telling me he believes in me. All the things that I needed to hear, he said it all.
Syracuse linebacker Zaire Franklin on the new-look defense:
All our young guys definitely felt like they had something to prove, not only to the coaching staff but to themselves and other people looking on. I still feel like I have a lot to prove and showcase my abilities. I think defensively we came out with a chip on our shoulders.
On Hunt's injury:
When we found out the news about Terrel, it just crushed me. It was hard for myself to get back into it because of how close I am with him.
Running back Jordan Fredericks on his 100-yard debut:
I had no idea what the turnout would be. I’m truly grateful for what I’ve done tonight and I want to thank my offensive lineman like I always do. They created the holes like always, and I just used by feet and got the job done.
On Dungey's performance:
Coming in as a true freshman, also as quarterback, you have to be almost the principal of the team and he stepped up. He was assertive, he made the right calls at the line, and I just felt like he’d been there for two years already running this offense. It was pretty great. I felt comfortable being back there with him.
