We all remember the socially awkward days of puberty: the funny-fitting clothes, the abnormally-tall girls, the weird transition from middle school to high school.

Well, if you follow Syracuse athletics, have any of those feelings come back to you recently?

There are all those snazzy new jerseys that don’t look quite right yet. All the other kids in school-like Louisville and Connecticut-seem to have gone through their growth spurts already. And the cool new best friend-Daryl Gross-is desperately trying to take his new pal SU from middle school mediocrity in the Big East to a high school presence on a national stage.

Face it, right now the entire athletics program is in an acne-ridden, angst-filled transition period: Syracuse is going through puberty.

It all starts at the top with the athletic director.

Jake Crouthamel was the sweet elementary school friend who would play Pokmon after school with you. Daryl Gross is the hip new guy trying to take you to the wild basement party over the weekend. But change can be tough.

Since Gross took over at SU on Dec. 17, 2004, there have been a number of notable performance slip-ups in the program. The football team lost a successful head coach and proceeded to suffer its worst season ever. Basketball succumbed to two straight first-round upsets in the NCAA tournament. Lacrosse failed to make a Final Four for the first time in 22 years.

Overall, SU’s combined record in the big three – football, men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse – since Gross officially took over is 61-38. In Crouthamel’s last two seasons of each here, the Orange went a combined 75-29. Plus, the Orange won two national titles under Ol’ Jake.

But, just like anxious 13-year-olds across America, Gross has put all the pieces in place for future success and now just needs to wait for results.

Pubescent children wear the hottest brand-name clothes, meticulously coif their hair every morning and bathe in cologne or perfume to fit in. Gross has erected billboards in New York City, moved women’s basketball to the Carrier Dome and hired four new head coaches in his time at SU.

Now it’s a waiting game. Soon, Syracuse will find its perfect hairstyle and its clothes will fit a little better. It might take a long time, but didn’t puberty seem eternally long while you suffered through it?

We have seen signs, though, that SU might just pull out of this. Orange football has already doubled its win total from last season (hey, it’s progress). Men’s basketball has the best recruiting class in America for 2007 and women’s hoops has two top-50 national recruits this year.

Lacrosse is always reliable and cross country, volleyball and tennis have all shown signs in the last two seasons they can turn into at least pint-size powerhouses in the coming years.

Syracuse can look across America for examples of what it wants to be. Stanford is without a doubt the prom king starting quarterback of this fictional Athletic Programs High School. The Cardinal cranks out national titles like it’s a reflex, having won 71 NCAA team championships since 1980-the most in America in that time.

Closer to home, UConn excels in both basketballs, both soccers, track and field and has developed solid football and baseball teams.

Gross used to date the prom queen of Athletic High, having served as senior associate athletic director at Southern California before going Orange. The Trojans excel at pretty much everything and it’s evident that Gross wants to bring that pedigree to Central New York.

A few things stand in SU’s way, though.

First: location. USC and Stanford enjoy primo spots on the West Coast, where athletes flock to enjoy great weather and scantily clad co-eds. Syracuse? Middle of nowhere with lake-effect snow and North Face polar expedition gear.

Second: population. USC enrolls more than 16,000 students; UConn rolls 20,000 deep. SU only has 13,000 kids to work with, a lot of whom are here to cover sports, not play them. So the amount of potential athletes diminishes proportionately.

Third: belief. Recruits need to believe Syracuse will change for the better. Fans need to believe this era is just a bump in the street before better days. Both need to buy into the idea that being an Orange may not mean much right now, but it used to and will again soon.

Now, Syracuse can’t excel in every sport. It’s just not possible considering the aforementioned circumstances. Softball, for example, may never improve because there’s just not enough good weather for the season.

But there’s hope.

With the steps in place the last few years, SU could viably and simultaneously field competitive teams in football, both basketballs, both lacrosses, cross country, tennis and volleyball in the future.

The problem is that while some kids hit a growth spurt as high school freshmen, some college freshmen reading this are still dealing with their acne.

So will SU stay a Screech or grow into an A.C. Slater?

We have no idea.

And that’s called growing up.