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Syracuse offensive line coach Mike Schmidt is one of 59 nominees for the Broyles Award, given to the best assistant coach in college football.

The Orange have a top-5 rushing offense in the country, and running back Sean Tucker sits in second for both total rushing yards and rushing yards per game with 1,362 and 136.2, respectively. Quarterback Garrett Shrader is tied for 13th in the nation for most rushing touchdowns (13). 

Schmidt is a huge part behind that rushing success, head coach Dino Babers has said. The new offensive line coach joined the Orange this offseason after last year’s coach, Mike Cavanaugh, left for Arizona State. 

Last year, the Orange gave up an average of 3.5 sacks per game, a stat that ranked 119th of 127 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Through 10 games in 2021, SU has averaged 2.4 sacks per game, ranking 77th of 130 teams. For Schmidt’s first year, this is a vast improvement.

Schmidt previously worked at San Diego State for over almost a decade as the offensive line coach. SDSU ranked 15th nationally in yards per carry and rushing yards per game since Schmidt took over in 2012. There, his offensive line fueled running backs Donnel Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny, both of whom led the nation in rushing yards for a season during their college careers. Pumphrey holds the NCAA’s record for all-time rushing yards.

“He has a lot of knowledge in what he does, that’s one of the reasons why we hired him,” Babers said of Schmidt on Nov. 8. “He has a good spirit about him. I think the kids feel the spirit, even though the message may come across a little bit different to some of them, they understand that the message is true.”

Schmidt puts a much bigger emphasis on communication than years prior, offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron said in late September. They’ve worked on the fundamentals as a group, Chris Bleich said, and Schmidt’s style is to push everyone to be more aggressive. He’s a “no-bullsh*t guy,” Airon Servais said. 

“He brings a certain swagger. There’s certain things that he believes in,” Babers said on Aug. 31. “It’s a little bit different than some of the people that’ve been here. We’ve had to adjust a little bit for that, but I think that’s going to pay off in the long run, and that’s why we went out there to get him.”

For the Orange, it has paid off thus far. Bleich said before the season Schmidt wanted to focus on running the ball so the Orange could get 250 yards per game on the ground. 

“We just really want to be able to pound the ball down anyone’s throat,” Bleich said preseason. “There’s no excuses under him, which is a good thing. He holds all of us accountable.”

Published on November 16, 2021 at 6:17 pm

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16