At the conclusion of Monday's morning practice, Syracuse packed up and moved its training camp to Fort Drum for the week. It's the third year in a row that the Orange have spent a portion of its training camp at Fort Drum.
The student-athletes will get opportunities to interact with the troops while on post in addition to regular training camp activities.
"What I look forward to most is the opportunity for our players to look across the table at the real warriors and the real heroes in our society – especially up there at Fort Drum with that mountain division," said head coach Scott Shafer. "They're a group of men and women that really go out there and kick ass for our country. I can't wait to get up there and pay respect to those men and women who put it on the line every day."
The Orange will be broken into groups of six or seven student-athletes with each group being assigned to one-of-12 sergeants who will be overseeing their activities throughout the team's stay
"The coaches will not have bed check, the coaches will not have breakfast check and the coaches will not coddle them," Shafer said. "The sergeants in charge of them will handle that and I had that last year and I thought it was a great thing."
For Shafer, the military holds strong ties to his family and the opportunity for the student-athletes to get that interaction with the members of the armed forces is something that he enjoys.
"I had two grandfathers who were in World War II, an uncle who was an airborne ranger who was killed in Vietnam on his third tour. He was actually killed in Laos and we didn't find out until 20-years later how he really died, and then my cousin Todd was killed in Iraq," Shafer said. "For me this is the right thing, giving back."
The team will be up at Fort Drum from Monday afternoon through Friday.
It's the third year Cuse has spent a portion of its camp at Fort Drum. The Orange have carried the 10th Mountain Division flag onto the field with them each game for the last two seasons after getting the opportunity to spend time with members of the division each preseason.
Top Stories from Aug. 11 on the Orange:
Orange Fizz: History Says Hunt Will Have an Excellent Year
Cuse Nation: 10 Things we Learned Through 10 Days of Camp
Syracuse.com: Three Freshmen Cornerbacks are Vying for Playing Time Early in Camp
Daily Orange: Fort Drum Trip Holds Greater Meaning for Shafer
