AKRON, Ohio — Ryan Nassib stepped onto the field of Akron’s InfoCision Stadium on Saturday and allowed himself, at least for a second, to take in the past year and a half.

The clichés of hard work and biding his time had given way to another cliché — this was his team now.

And it felt good.

‘It’s one of the greatest feelings,’ Nassib said. ‘… It’s the greatest high you can ever get. It was weird going out there for the first snap. It was a little bit of a shock. But it’s fun. It’s everything I worked for.’

Optimism and winning often lead to overreaction. And this may seem like another cliché, after just one game against a lowly Division I opponent in Akron. But if one game is any barometer, Nassib won’t be in shock stepping onto the field much longer. That high will fade away, and the feeling will become familiar.

Because despite the common correctable hiccups from a first-year starter — and with apologies to Charley Loeb, John Kinder and Jonny Miller — Ryan Nassib looks like he’s going to be Syracuse’s starting quarterback for a very long time.

‘It was a great job for Ryan,’ senior wide receiver Aaron Weaver said of Nassib’s performance. ‘He made the key reads and made some very good throws out there. We’re 100 percent behind him. He’s going to get better every week.’

To quarterbacks coach and offensive play-caller Nathaniel Hackett, being a quarterback requires the most unique person out of any position in any sport. Makes sense. First, there are the physical tools. There are two parts mental: leading an offense and continuously being strong-willed and strong-minded as that leader. And then there is the part that, to Hackett, discerns unique: the mind and the ability to master the language of a complex offensive system.

From SU’s opening drive, Nassib looked like that guy. He displayed the poise of a seasoned veteran during the Orange’s 11-play, 69-yard drive that took a methodical five minutes to complete.

On his first third down behind what would be a shaky offensive line throughout the night, Nassib calmly stood in the pocket, fired to Alec Lemon and kept the drive moving. On the second third down, all of his options were covered. Instead of forcing the issue, he flicked it to Antwon Bailey, who did the rest and picked up another first down. And on the third and final third down, he found Aaron Weaver on a simple slant pattern for the culmination of the drive — a 23-yard touchdown.

‘He was right on target early on,’ SU head coach Doug Marone said. ‘We were hitting those third-down conversions.’

One play, in particular, brought together all of those elements Hackett talked about: a 26-yard connection with junior receiver Van Chew five seconds before halftime. It was a touchdown that all but sealed victory for the Orange against a Zips team that couldn’t move the ball.

Chew knew the ball was coming to him inside the huddle. It was four months of work, all wrapped into one play in which SU had to score or settle for a long field goal attempt.

Every day after summer workouts, Nassib had Chew stick around to practice the route, knowing Chew would be the Orange receiver with big-play capability. It was simple: an in route. A pump from Nassib. A bite (hopefully) from the corner. And go.

‘He was like, ‘Van, let’s just get this one route down,” Chew said of the pair’s after-workout summer sessions. ‘And I was like, ‘Ugh.’ But he kept telling me to do it, and we basically perfected it.’

Perfection. From the preparation of a quarterback thinking ahead and from the execution of a quarterback (sorry, Greg Paulus, Andrew Robinson and Cam Dantley) who has the physical tools to be able to flick a ball 26 yards into his receiver’s hands in the end zone with ease, touch and precision.

To be sure, there were some flaws — some chinks that worked against Akron’s porous defense but won’t fly against teams like Washington, Boston College and the rest of the Big East. Nassib lost a fumble and threw an interception, and against a better team he probably would have thrown two or three.

But for Round 1, it was impressive. If you don’t believe it, take it from the man who has moved him around for the past year and a half.

Nassib is here to stay.

‘He did a heck of a job,’ Marrone said. ‘… (He was) poised, stepped up, made some plays and throws underneath, and managed the game well. He’s got a full one under his belt now, and I just see him getting better and better every week.’

Brett LoGiurato is an assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at bplogiur@syr.edu.

Published on September 6, 2010 at 12:00 pm