NEWPORT, R.I. — Ryan Nassib sat at the Syracuse table in the Hotel Viking on Tuesday, cool and confident in both his team and himself.

The Syracuse quarterback, who enters his second year as the starter, talked at Big East media day about the new options SU will have in the shotgun formation, giving him a chance to air it out a little more to a cast of receivers he developed a rapport with last season. It is rapport that showed its potential in Syracuse’s Pinstripe Bowl win, accomplishing a goal that Orange head coach Doug Marrone set at Big East media day one year ago.

In commenting on the next step for the Orange, Nassib was a little brasher than the SU contingent of a year ago. His confidence was aired in his description of what that next step should be — a Big East championship.

‘That’s the goal,’ Nassib said. ‘We really feel that way. We have a team that can take the Big East championship, and it’s a matter of going out there and executing, and we know what it takes in order to win.’

Syracuse was picked to finish fourth in the preseason media poll released Tuesday at the annual Big East media day. It’s the same spot the Orange finished in, in the 2010 standings. But the preseason standing gives SU a lot more respect than the team has received heading into a season in years. Last year, the Orange was picked seventh in the poll. West Virginia was named preseason favorite, as the Mountaineers garnered 21 of 24 first-place votes.

Marrone said he isn’t into the polls. He made sure to remind everyone during his opening remarks about the question marks SU has at its linebacker and interior defensive line positions.

But the third-year head coach also acknowledged that the bar needs to be raised once again.

‘Obviously, we wanted to be better than we are right now. I don’t think you ever, unless you win everything, that you’ve ever said ‘this is what we planned, this is where we need to be,” Marrone said.

The biggest key for SU to reach its lofty goal may be Nassib and the Orange passing game. Syracuse ranked 91st among Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams in passing offense last season, but also had the luxury of placing the bulk of the offensive load on running back Delone Carter’s brawny shoulders. Carter rushed for 1,233 yards and is now with the Indianapolis Colts.

Helping Nassib’s cause should be the new plays that can be implemented out of the shotgun formation. Syracuse center Macky MacPherson worked primarily with the shotgun in high school, so his comfort level with it should give Syracuse offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett more options to get creative with the passing game.

Marrone said Nassib looks to have really improved his shape this summer. He said when he saw his quarterback the other day, he told Nassib that he’s ‘looking like a quarterback.’

And while Nassib actually told Marrone that he doesn’t feel as strong overall, the only thing that matters is how strong his arm feels.

‘I said, ‘How do you feel?’ He said, ‘Well I don’t feel as strong,” Marrone said. ‘I said, ‘Do you throw the ball better? Is your arm strong?’

‘He said, ‘Oh yeah, my arm’s much stronger.’ I said, ‘That’s all that matters.”

Nassib said he thinks confidence as a whole within the Syracuse team is really high, coming off the team’s win in the Pinstripe Bowl last season. Syracuse recorded its first winning season since 2001, a sure sign that things moved in the right direction.

The Orange’s fourth-place selection in the media poll provides further evidence.

‘A lot more respect,’ Orange defensive end Chandler Jones said. ‘We’re ranked No. 4 preseason. I feel like I’m not satisfied. Everyone wants to be No. 1.’

Nassib said the SU offense had a special spring in which it was really able to hash out its weaknesses and work on them. Syracuse returns four of its five starting offensive linemen, with the center MacPherson being the only new contributor.

But despite his inexperience, he does bring to the table a new element for the Orange one Nassib hopes to use to exploit opposing defenses and to keep them honest.

‘It does open up a shotgun package that we lacked last year,’ Nassib said. ‘It gives us a chance to take some pressure off the offensive line and keeps the defenses from calling defenses that do very well against quarterbacks under center.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on August 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr