Forget those redshirt comments, A.J. Long is in the hunt (along with Austin Wilson) to be Terrel Hunt's backup.
In early March, A.J. Long said he expected to redshirt in 2015 and prep for a season at the helm in 2016.
In late March, Long said that his redshirting comments were taken out of context and that, "I could very well be starting this year, but there's a lot of things I have to take care of in order for that to happen."
Based on the way Tim Lester is taking about the Syracuse Orange QB depth chart for 2015, it certainly sounds unlikely that Long will actually redshirt at all.
According to Lester, Austin Wilson and Long are going to battle it out for the backup spot all fall. Even though Wilson is currently listed higher on the depth chart, the order is far from decided.
"I'll really let those two kind of battle it out because no one's taken it," Lester said.
Lester says Wilson's best attribute is arm strength but lacks the mobility that Long and Terrel Hunt bring to the table. He's also struggling at reading defenses, which could be his undoing.
Conversely, the OC thinks Long is capable of reading defenses well but needs to do a lot of work on his mechanics. Sounds like the redshirting concerns came from Lester's interest in breaking Long's form down and building it back up.
Of course, the cast on A.J.'s arm complicates issues, or simplifies them depending on how you look at it. However it certainly sounds like Syracuse will continue looking to both backup signal-callers for the time being as potential options if and when they're needed.
