Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer remembers the one time he wasn’t up in the box. As a defensive coordinator, he liked to be above the action and able to see everything.

“The one game I wasn’t, I felt like I couldn’t see anything,” he said during his weekly teleconference Tuesday, “so I didn’t feel as helpful.”

In Saturday’s 13-0 win over Wake Forest, quarterbacks coach Tim Lester moved high above the field and next to offensive coordinator George McDonald in the coaches box — a perch he will retain for the remainder of the season.

“I think it was good,” Shafer said. “Tim was such a good quarterback and having him up there next to George I think is definitely a helpful trait.

“It’s been extremely helpful and gives George a sense of calm knowing that when he’s got his eyes down looking at the next play because that’s how it works, he’s got somebody like Tim Lester that can help him along the way.”

With Lester in the box, Terrel Hunt was better Saturday than he had been in his first three Atlantic Coast Conference games. The quarterback threw for 144 yards — the most since the Orange’s win over Tulane — and ran for a touchdown.

Shafer said he continues to see daily improvement out of Hunt and the rest of the offense. On Saturday, SU got wide receiver Brisly Estime more involved at the H-back position with Ashton Broyld split out wide more often.

Some schematic changes, paired with Lester’s own positional change, leave Shafer confident that improvement is coming.

“We’ve seen glimpses of it at times,” Shafer said. “There were a couple plays down the sideline that were close calls that could’ve also increased our productivity, so I think we’re getting closer every week.”

Published on November 5, 2013 at 1:10 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2