Until Tuesday, Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson had been noncommittal on his quarterback situation headed into the final games.

Backup freshman quarterback Andrew Robinson might see some playing time as the Orange (3-6, 0-4 Big East) looks toward the future in its final three games. But Robinson refused to divulge how much he was thinking of playing Andrew Robinson on Saturday at South Florida over senior starter Perry Patterson.

Greg Robinson clarified things as much as possible on Tuesday, without tipping his hand.

Robinson said he used the bye week to audition some of his younger players while resting the experienced ones. Andrew Robinson was one of the freshmen who saw action in practice.

‘Just watching him in practice last week, I see that he is making good progress,’ Greg Robinson said. ‘Right now the game plan is built to beat South Florida. Perry is going to get, I would suspect, 70 percent of the reps (in practice). How the game goes, I can’t tell you that we have spent a lot of time discussing that.’

Greg Robinson has entertained the idea of playing Andrew Robinson throughout the entire season. Robinson saw his first game action on the last snap against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 23 but has seen limited action since.

Still, Greg Robinson says a week of practice with the first team and the constant looks Andrew Robinson has received throughout the year in non-game situations are beneficial.

‘I think that Andrew, throughout the year, has gotten as much work as any young quarterback I have ever been around,’ Greg Robinson said. ‘He gets good quality reps every week. That isn’t the same as being in a game, but it sure doesn’t hurt.’

Andrew Robinson saw only one whole series on the field, and that came in the waning minutes of a 41-17 loss at West Virginia on Oct. 14. He was 0-for-1 passing and was sacked twice. He could see the field more often in the last three games of the season.

With SU’s bowl hopes in peril, Greg Robinson has taken a closer look at younger players. Andrew Robinson is expected to compete with two incoming freshman, Cody Catalina and David Legree, for the starting quarterback job.

The decision not to redshirt Robinson this season was based on Greg Robinson’s desire to give game experience to the player who very well may lead the Orange offense in ’07.

However, Robinson was asked at his weekly press conference whether he regrets not finding more playing time for Andrew Robinson up to this point.

‘I don’t know,’ Greg Robinson said. ‘I don’t know that right now. I think we were more a work in progress as an offense in general that I think it was really more to try and get the pieces together.’

Bye week biddings

Robinson said the bye week was imperative for his team, not just as a time for rest, but as a chance to get away from things. Syracuse is on a four-game losing streak.

‘It has been very intense,’ Robinson said. ‘Working to get this team to play at the level that they have played at has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of physical and mental strength. I thought they needed a little time to just get away. That was important.’

In order to allow his veterans some rest, Robinson substituted numerous younger players at times last week during practice.

Robinson said he looked at backups in the secondary, at linebacker and wide receiver positions. He specifically noted the cohesiveness of the inexperienced offensive linemen he used all week.

‘We took that young corps of offensive linemen and watched their development,’ Robinson said. ‘It has been kind of fun to watch that group this fall to where they look like they can do some of the physical skills that we are looking for.’

Injury updates

The bye week also allotted time for lingering injuries to heal in a handful of Robinson’s starters.

Starting tailback Curtis Brinkley is nursing an undisclosed knee injury he suffered against Louisville on Oct. 21. The injury limited Brinkley to two carries vs. Cincinnati two weeks ago.

‘He was working (on Thursday) but he wasn’t 100 percent and didn’t take all that many reps really,’ Robinson said. ‘I thought that Sunday was more like the Curtis that I remember when he is feeling pretty good.’

Robinson is in a wait-and-see approach with starting fullback Stephen McDonald, who did not travel with the team to Cincinnati because of a foot injury.

Punt returner Bruce Williams has cleared up personal problems that forced him to also miss the game against the Bearcats. He will travel and start on Saturday at USF.

Robinson also said receiver Taj Smith has a spiral break in his collarbone, which might finish up his season.

‘He’s out there every day,’ Robinson said. ‘You want to throw him in there. It seems like he’s chomping on the bit to jump in there, but he really isn’t healed yet.’

Published on November 6, 2006 at 12:00 pm