Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Terrel Hunt resumes role as Syracuse leader

The frustration that Syracuse quarterback Terrel Hunt felt last season has given way to a new sense of excitement and hope.

Now that he is back on the field for spring practice, Hunt has reclaimed his spot as the leader on offense -- a spot he has no plans to relinquish.

“It feels like I never left," Hunt said in a phone interview with ESPN.com. "I earned my teammates’ respect throughout the years I’ve been here. As long as I continue to work hard, they’re going to respect me. The minute I slack, they’re going to let me know. I feel like I haven’t missed a beat.”

Hunt broke his leg last October and was forced to miss the final seven games of the season. With Hunt out and many other injuries making an impact on the team, the Orange struggled to 3-9. The injury provided its own set of frustrations to Hunt, but it also provided him an opportunity to grow as well.

During games, Hunt would sit in the coaches’ box with quite a different view of the playing field.

“The game’s a lot slower up top,” Hunt said. “You can see all the little tendencies that may give away a Cover 4 or a Cover 2, little things like that. It’s definitely a blessing in disguise. As a player, everything moves so fast and sometimes you forget the coaches are up there and see everything. They see way more than you do. It helped me a lot to recognize defenses and understand the tendencies.”

Hunt watches film in an entirely different way now because he knows what to look for and how to evaluate what he is seeing. Already that has translated on the field during the first set of practices.

“The first day, I was talking football with my coach and there was one play where I threw a post, and he was like, ‘Why did you go there?’” Hunt said. “I told him they were playing low over the top and it was Cover 4. It was a one-on-one matchup outside, and he said, ‘Good job.’ Even if you don’t complete it, just the fact that you’re thinking that goes a long way.”

As for his physical health, Hunt tried to stay as active as possible while he was rehabbing. He lives on the third floor of his building, so when it was time to go downstairs, he’d use his arms to swing himself down – ensuring a good arm workout. On his way up, he’d walk on one leg, then he eventually put pressure on his broken leg when it was more stable.

The strength and conditioning staff had him do work with medicine balls to maintain his balance. His strength exercises also required more reps with lighter weights. So far during practice he has felt no pain, though he acknowledged there remains soreness once he hits the sideline.

But it is nothing he believes will slow him down. Hunt has a new offense to master, one that he says he loves because “it creates a lot of mismatches.” The goal, of course, is to get back to a bowl. Motivation is not difficult to come by, either.

“If one of us is slacking on a run or bending over during a run, we yell 3-9, 3-9!” Hunt said. “Nobody ever wants to go back to that because you feel like a failure.”

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