Guess his eyes were upon Texas all along.

After a year as Syracuse’s quarterbacks coach, Major Applewhite accepted the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach positions at Rice on Sunday.

Applewhite’s departure leaves a significant hole for Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson to fill. The quarterback position was one of constant turmoil for the Orange throughout its 1-10 season in 2005 and must see an upgrade in 2006.

‘When I first hired our staff, I said that the problem with hiring good people is that you know you are going to have transition,’ Robinson said in a statement released to The Daily Orange by the Syracuse athletic department on Monday. ‘I am prepared for that. My intent is to go out and replace him with the finest quarterback coach I can get. We will do that.’

The statement offered no timetable for a replacement or suggested any candidates.

Both junior Perry Patterson (six touchdowns, 11 interceptions) and sophomore Joe Fields (zero touchdowns, three interceptions) struggled in 2005 as Syracuse’s passing offense finished 105th out of 117 Division I teams. The new quarterbacks coach at SU will also have freshman Andrew Robinson in the mix. Robinson is the one of the Orange’s highest rated recruits for 2006.

As for Applewhite, the young coach joins another rebuilding program. He jumps from one 1-10 team to another. He jumps from the 105th-ranked passing offense to the 117th. The Owls hired Todd Graham on Jan. 1 as their new head coach.

‘Major Applewhite, just that name speaks for itself,’ Graham said as quoted from Rice athletic department Web site. ‘He’s a winner. Watching him as a competitor at Texas, seeing the type guy he was as a winner and achiever, he brings us instant credibility to where we want to go offensively.’

Applewhite, 27, had a 22-8 record as a starting quarterback at Texas from 1998-2001. He is the Longhorns’ all-time leader in passing yards (8,353), passing touchdowns (60), passing attempts (1,065) and total offense (8,059).

‘I am excited and happy for Major to go be an offensive coordinator at Rice University in Houston, in the state where he played college football,’ Greg Robinson said in the statement. ‘This is a chance for him to better himself in his career. We will miss him because he is a young guy who related well to his players.’

Published on January 9, 2006 at 12:00 pm