Syracuse offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh isn’t as tall his players. His bald head doesn’t reach far above the chests of many of his 6-foot-4 or five-inch blockers. So when Cavanaugh wants to be heard, he touches stomachs.
“Ev,’ we got get better,” guard Evan Adams recalled in a raspy rendition of Cavanaugh’s voice back in November. “(If) this is where we want to be, we got keep doing this man.”
Adams, now a redshirt senior, admits he doesn’t love his coach in those moments. Cavanaugh, like many offensive line coaches, is a fundamentals guy. The harping on hand placement, footwork and the tedious repetition of drills “can make you crazy,” Adams said.