Spring Break
The Daily OrangeThe cost of losing | Sidebar: The time is now
Football's turnaround needs to start in 2008. Or else, as Daryl Gross says, 'you can wreck it into the ground'
By Matt Gelb and Ethan Ramsey
Posted: 4/23/08, 10:27 PM EST Section: The Cost of Losing
|
Related Stories
The cost of losing
Sidebar: Their fair share
Sidebar: Getting a raise
Sidebar: From the top
Delone Carter slices through a hole and cuts back against the grain, his yellow pinnie flapping in the spring breeze and concealing the No. 3 that last ran free in 2006.
A few yards away, Daryl Gross marvels at the rising redshirt sophomore's comeback from a dislocated hip last April that wiped out his 2007 season.
"It's just so nice to see him out there," said Gross, unprompted.
Ten minutes later, though, Carter is still receiving all the reps in a spring practice running drill. Still exploding into a 22-pack of bodies. Still juking on his recovering pelvic joint.
The increasingly perplexed athletic director interrupts himself again.
"God, they're running him a lot," said Gross, with a dash of disbelief.
Questions dart through his mind. Does he have the stamina to keep going? What if he gets hurt again? What's the point of spring ball, anyway?
"I guess they really want to get him some work," he finally mustered.
He is reminded no defender could touch Carter, the only player in the drill sporting a red cross over yellow, not solid orange, blue or white.
No dice.
"If they hit him now, I'll go out and tackle that guy."
Hard to tell if he was joking or not.
Carter, who became the first freshman since 1978 to lead Syracuse in rushing with 713 yards in 2006, can produce more for Gross than just yards, touchdowns and wins in 2008.
He can generate dollars, too.
The football program lost money in 2006, the program's first loss since the government started collecting data from all universities in 1995. Revenues declined from $19.1 million in Greg Robinson's first season as head coach to $14.9 million in his second.
Be the first to comment on this story