Donovan McNabb! McNabb is the last true offensive gamebreaker I can remember playing for Syracuse. We have had a few guys in the past 13 seasons show glimpses of being a gamebreaker. David Tyree had a great game against Virginia Tech, Walter Reyes had a great game against Notre Dame and Marcus Sales had a great game against Kansas State. However, we have not had a true game after game gamebreaker since Donovan McNabb.
On any given play McNabb could break a game wide open with his feet, arm or a combination of the two. There has been a lot of talk this spring about Ashton Broyld. I saw Broyld play in quite a few high school games. In most of those games, especially during his senior season, he was a gamebreaker. However, when playing against overall higher competition.in the Upstate-Downstate Game I was not impressed with Broyld. I expected him to make plays even though his surrounding cast was not up to par.
In the past I have seen players take over the Governor's Bowl (NY-NJ). Geoff McDermott, Matt Bernstein and Knowshon Moreno took over those games in different years. Those three were also playing against tougher competition than what is currently in the Upstate-Downstate Game. McDermott and Bernstein, like Broyld, were not surrounded by a stellar cast, however they found a way to take over the game.
I have high expectations for Broyld during his time at Syracuse. With that being said, I am comparing him to the teams of the last 7-8 years when we have been lacking gamebreakers. I won't even begin to think about comparing him to the gamebreakers we had in the past. The Donovan McNabbs, Kevin Johnsons, Quinton Spotwoods, Don McPhersons, Rob Moores, Qadry Ismails, and Marvin Harrisons are not coming into the program right now. Many fans are anointing Broyld the savior and I don't know how they can do that when he only has 5-10 spring game plays under his belt. I hope in two or three years I can mention Broyld in the same breath as some of those other gamebreakers. Check that, I hope in two or three years I can mention ANY Syracuse player with those guys, since gamebreakers are what we need in order to get back to the level we all want and expect.
