FORT DRUM, N.Y. — Maj. Gen. Mark A. Milley stood in front of Syracuse’s players and delivered an impassioned speech that challenged them to forget last season.

His address was a sudden introduction to a militaristic style of thinking.

Milley, who’s done tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan, drew off his experiences to convey his message.

“Last year wasn’t so good as I understand it, but this is a different year. In warfare, you can’t worry about the battle you had yesterday,” Milley said before Monday’s practice. “You’ve got to worry about today, tomorrow and the next day.”

His speech kicked off the Orange’s week of preseason camp at Fort Drum, an Army post 80 miles north of Syracuse. Head coach Doug Marrone took his team there so it could focus on football with little outside distraction. Coming off a disappointing 5-7 season that ended in a five-game losing streak, he hopes the experience helps the program take a step forward.

“The team’s together quite a bit, more so than when we’re back at Syracuse, which I expect to help our football team,”Marrone said. “And the work we’re putting in, they understand that there’s a whole lot more work going on around us than what’s going on on this football field, and we’re just trying to keep up.”

The players lived in barracks, went through military-style training and participated in activities designed to improve leadership and communication. Every night, they ate with soldiers to learn more about their lives and share parts of their own.

It was a collision of two very different worlds.

Capt. Jason Davidson is an assistant coach for the Mighty Mites, Fort Drum’s Pop Warner football team for kids 7-9. He had a chance to watch a team he might not see otherwise.

And maybe even pick up a few plays here and there.

“I think it’s a great deal, especially with the kids up here,” Davidson said. “They get the opportunity to see the next echelon of football practice, plays, and they get to see their positions. This is a reinforcement we can see with the kids.”

Last Wednesday, the team divided into two to run through several drills and activities.

The offense used an engagement skills trainer, putting the players in virtual combat and forcing them to communicate to take out the enemy soldiers running and firing at them.

Lying on their stomachs, they shot their rifles over sandbags into the screen in front of them. From the end of the firing line, Capt. Zach Johnson repeatedly reminded the players to talk to each other.

It all translates to the football field.

The drill required the same type of communication an offensive line needs to maintain. The enemy soldiers appearing over the hills of the desert were like defenders trying to sack the quarterback.

Syracuse guard Zack Chibane saw the connection clearly.

“We were lined up in different spots, and we had targets,” Chibane said. “There’s definitely a football relation there.”

The defense’s drills emphasized strength and leadership. The drills involved everything from pulling a truck to a simulation of carrying a wounded soldier to medical help, and they also involved moving heavy logs a distance of about 20 feet, only being able to step on tires.

“Coach brought us here for a reason. He really wanted us to come together as a unit and be accountable for whatever we do,” defensive tackle Davon Walls said. “I believe we’re going to do what we have to do.”

Every night, they had a chance to hear from soldiers who have or will put their lives on the line for their country and who rely on the bond and trust among them to survive.

“They were telling us teamwork is first,” running back Prince-Tyson Gulley said. “They were telling us how they put themselves first in missions and everything. What this is, all it does is transfer right from the field.”

For Syracuse, it was a week to focus on football and little else. How the week affected the players as a football team will ultimately be determined on the field this season.

But for now, the players have a new outlook on the military and themselves. It’s a week that will be difficult to forget.

“It’s just a good experience,” Gulley said. “You never know if you can get this experience again, and for us to have this, this is good.”

Published on August 21, 2012 at 12:12 pm

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