Sean Avant
Sean Avant was a late addition to the 2013 recruiting class and is in position to play a significant role on offense in his second year following a redshirt season in 2013.
(Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com)
Syracuse, N.Y. — Twice a week in between the grind of summer workouts, Sean Avant and a few of his teammates would take a 10-minute drive to East Syracuse Reservoir, hop in a boat and go fishing.
Josh Kirkland, the farmboy from Kansas who looks the part of an outdoorsman, "thinks he's the master" of fishing, but there was one day when nobody caught anything. Avant caught eight.
"It takes patience," Avant said, "but it's fun."
There is payoff for waiting. Avant was a late addition to the 2013 recruiting class and is in position to play a significant role on offense in his second year following a redshirt season in 2013. He made one of the highlights during Saturday's scrimmage at Fan Fest, crisply running his route and finding a comfy pocket of space near the end zone for Terrel Hunt to squeeze in a throw. It encapsulated his ascent up the depth chart.
"What he does is he learns how to take that extra step to get his separation," Hunt said. "A lot of receivers don't know how to restack the guy or give him that one extra step. If the route is 10 yards, he might take it 11 yards just because he's creating that separation, and me as a quarterback, I don't mind that because it makes it easier for a pass."
Hunt has called Avant the best route-runner on the team, and his attention to technique allows him to be just as effective as Brisly Estime, his best friend with elite speed. The two were attached at the hip all summer, working in Manley Field House and taking their rods out on the water. "Hanging out with Brisly made him realize he had to up what he was doing," Hunt said.
"He's one of those guys that plays the game faster than he is on the track," said head coach Scott Shafer.
How?
"I think it's a mind thing really," Avant said. "I line up in the 40, I don't have a 4.2. I don't have a 4.3. You're not going to see blazing. I'm probably the worst combine person ever, but I get on this field, I know how to get off the line, I know how to move my hands, and I love my routes. People say I don't look like I run slow, but that's because I make it look sharp and play with technique.
"Coach Shaf told me don't apologize for the person you're not. Be the person you are."
Avant took a wild route to Syracuse. He was committed to Florida International until head coach Mario Cristobal was fired. He tried committing to Marshall and Bowling Green, but there was no room. Signing day passed with Avant still looking for a home until George McDonald scooped him up.
He struggled learning the playbook his freshman year while juggling school work and is glad he redshirted. "They can't put somebody out there who doesn't know what they're doing," Avant said.
Shafer said Avant cut weight this offseason and is recently starting to get some work as an outside receiver.
"He's always caught the ball really well," Shafer said. "He's not a speed demon, but he's fast enough. He finds windows and sits in them and catches the ball extremely well off his body."
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