When Mike Williams abruptly left the team, Syracuse’s passing game got shook up. The scheme ran through Williams. Now with him gone, SU is relying a handful of wideouts to pick up the slack. Here’s what sophomore wideout Van Chew had to say about the Orange’s passing game, Rutgers’ secondary and more:

What have you seen on film about Rutgers’ secondary?

I’m seeing very experienced DB’s. We have to basically break down their film by breaking down their technique and seeing their weaknesses and their strengths. Their coverage was mostly man and they have very good jam techniques. We have to find a way to get off the jams and into our routes.

How difficult is it for a receiver to get off a jam?

You just have to be real prepared for it. You have to use your hands. If you don’t use your hands and they get inside of you, you can’t do anything about it. Every day we work on techniques to get off the jam so we can be better skilled at it.

What would you say is your best strength at wideout?

I’d say my strength is catching the ball and being a possession receiver and using my quickness when I get off the ball. Sometimes I surprise DB’s because they see that I’m a skinny person, and think they can just jam me. I just use my quickness to go around them.

What kind of packages have you been working in?

Basically in third-and-medium plays, I go in and try to convert third downs.

Do you prefer playing in the slot, out wide or is it more of an interchangeable type of thing with the receivers?

All of our receivers are interchangeable, so we can play inside or out. I like playing outside because in high school I played outside. On the outside, you don’t have to worry about linebackers and trying to get past them or blocking them. You know they’re there so you have to catch it and try to protect yourself before they smack you.

How do you replace a playmaker like Mike Williams as unit?

We just have to rally behind each other and encourage each other and play as a whole. Everybody says that Mike was our only receiver and we’re basically overshadowed by him, so we need to come together as a group and tell everybody that we do have receivers that can make plays.

Has it been difficult to grasp the spread offense?

It’s kind of been easy because in high school we ran kind of the exact same offense with the same tempo. So I’m used to it. Instead of going into the huddle after a play is done, we have to run back to the line of scrimmage and keep our eyes to the sideline to look for the signals. It’s like a whole new language.

When was the last time you huddled for an extensive period of time?

Aside from last year, the last time was Pop Warner when I was 12 years old. It was kind of hard to adjust last year because you have to listen to the quarterback in the huddle to say the play and sometimes you don’t know what they’re saying. I like the signals.

Is it hard to log all these signals in your head?

At first it was, but once you get used to all the signals it’s like second nature. At first, it was like Sign Language 101 when we had to learn the signals in the spring. The wide receivers had to quiz each other with the signals. It was fun.

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on November 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm