Dino Babers on Damien Alford: 'He Doesn't Even Know What He's Capable Of Yet'

Syracuse's young receiver has the potential to be a future star.

Mike McAllister | Oct 26, 2021

Dino Babers on Damien Alford: 'He Doesn't Even Know What He's Capable Of Yet' /

Freshman wide receiver Damien Alford made the game winning touchdown catch in Syracuse's 41-36 comeback win over Virginia Tech. The 6-6 wideout has flashed big play ability this season. Not only did he have the 45 yarder against the Hokies, but he also caught a 73-yard score against Albany. Alford has seen more playing time as the season has progressed, with at least one catch in six straight games.

The big plays have many excited about his potential within the offense. Count Dino Babers among those that are enthusiastic about his future.

"I was literally thinking about him driving to work this morning," Babers said during his weekly press conference on Monday. "He is the classic movie Bambi. He's the classic, where you've got little Bambi and mom's taking care of him and showing him the ropes. Then mom tells Bambi to run and mom doesn't make it and Bambi gets to the forest. Then the big buck takes Bambi underneath his wings and Bambi grows into a big buck.

"We don't have that yet. We've still got Bambi with mom. We're looking forward to when he starts growing some horns. There's positives and negatives when they're that young and they're out there, in a lot of ways. But he's growing and he's learning and he doesn't even know what he's capable of yet. Hopefully some day he does."

Alford signed with Syracuse in its 2020 recruiting class. He picked the Orange over Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Miami, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee and several others out of McArthur High in Florida. Alford is originally from Canada, however. He has eight catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns on the season. Alford and the Orange next take the field Saturday against Boston College in the Carrier Dome.

Published Oct 26, 2021

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.