The battle for the backup quarterback spot is wide open, Syracuse quarterbacks coach Tim Lester said, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some hierarchy.

Mitch Kimble and A.J. Long have been essentially even since Kimble’s return from a back injury, but Austin Wilson has lagged a bit behind. He struggled to start the spring, Lester said, and didn’t play in the first half of Saturday’s Spring Game because he has statistically been the worst of the four quarterbacks this spring.

“A.J. and Mitch have had better numbers throughout camp,” Lester said, “so that was the order by the numbers.”

But when Wilson finally did get his chance, he was flawless. He completed all six of his passes for 124 yards and led the offense on back-to-back touchdown drives during the second half. Wilson helped his side rally after blowing a lead and beat the defense 34-27.

He was helped by some spectacular offensive plays after the catch by wide receivers Jeremiah Kobena and Ashton Broyld, who both scored their touchdowns on screen passes.

But Wilson looked poised managing the offense after it had sputtered to three straight three-and-outs to start the second half with Long and Kimble under center.

“Ashton made a lot of great plays out there, so did all my other guys. They were all just doing what they had to do,” Wilson said. “They made my job easy.”

Wilson also had the benefit of the offense setting things up for big plays in the second half. Kimble and Long did much of the dirty work and by the time Wilson came in, the Orange could open its playbook up and Wilson responded.

But it’s still just one practice and Lester isn’t ready to make any judgments on his backup quarterback. Lester needs to see incoming freshman quarterback Alin Edouard, and also see who keeps improving into the summer and beyond.

Said Lester: “Camp will tell us a lot more.”

Published on April 19, 2014 at 5:03 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2