Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

Don't Edit

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Tommy DeVito's first year playing for Syracuse football was an eventful one.

As a redshirt freshman, he helped lead the team to Atlantic Coast Conference victories over Florida State and North Carolina. He took some lumps against Western Michigan and Notre Dame. And he competed with Eric Dungey throughout the campaign, ultimately serving as SU first second-stringer to win a game since Dungey himself took over for Terrel Hunt in 2015.

As winter workouts inch toward the start of spring practice on Sunday, DeVito is preparing to take on the starting job of a program coming off its best season in at least 17 years. The lone consensus four-star recruit from the Dino Babers era thus far, he sat down with The Post-Standard | Syracuse.com to discuss his experiences last fall, offseason emphases and goals for 2019.

Here's some of that conversation, edited for clarity and brevity. Portions of the interview will be used for other stories in the coming weeks and months.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Now that the year is over, what's it been like to start to reflect on that experience?

DeVito: I really just use it as a stepping stone. Learn from it. Grow from it. Go back, watch the film, like I did and I still watch it now occasionally. Look at all the little things. Look at the things I didn't do so well. Look at the things that I did do well. As far as other components, the players, watching it together with other people and just moving on from there.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Do you have a favorite memory from the year?

DeVito: I would have to say the UNC game.

Syracuse.com: What's going to stick with you from that?

DeVito: Just the team rallying behind me. Just rolling through that moment. It happened fast and the next thing you know, it's over. So really just embracing that whole experience.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: How do you think that and the Florida State game affect team morale moving forward? You've won with them in big moments.

DeVito: I hope that my performance, whether it be practice or in games, vice versa – that's how I think about everybody else. It allows them to trust you when you're on the field, because that's the biggest thing for any position, they have to be able to trust that you're going to do your job, your 1/11th and you go from there.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: What's the biggest thing you learned this year or are hoping to learn from?

DeVito: Just stay always calm, because as the quarterback, everybody looks at you. Really just always stay level-headed. If something bad happens, so what, move on. If something good happens, you've got to be happy, but stay level-headed as well and keep everybody on track.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: I know there were a couple small issues in the Western Michigan game, but the Notre Dame game seemed pretty tough. Did that give you a different perspective on how hard it can be when you're going up against really good teams?

DeVito: For sure. Playing against every team, it's all based on the opponent. Every team can be beat, every team can beat any other team. So you've just got to go in, really focus and just give it your all for those minutes that you're playing.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: The competition with Eric, it obviously went on through the year from the spring to camp and into the season. How do you look back on that experience and how did it affect your growth?

DeVito: It made me better for sure. Throughout spring ball, I took a bunch of reps because he was down, in camp I took a bunch of reps, season went on and I always just wanted to be the best teammate I could. Number got called a few times, went in and tried to have fun playing football. Moving on from there and looking forward to the year to come, I'm just trying to do the same exact thing. I'm trying to be a great teammate, lead everybody on the team and hopefully win some football games.

Don't Edit

Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Syracuse.com: What was the week of competition between UNC and N.C. State like?

DeVito: It was kind of like any other random week. For me, Eric, the rest of the quarterbacks in the room, we just took it as another opponent. We have to go out and play whoever is on the field. Whoever plays, the other guy is going to be a great teammate. That's about all.

Syracuse.com: Did the result make you hungrier?

DeVito: For sure. You've got to love competition. If you're going to want to play football at the next level, you've got to want to compete. You're going to have to compete. So I expected nothing less.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Was there any end-of-year meeting with Dino or (offensive coordinator Mike) Lynch? Any message from them?

DeVito: We really didn't have any kind of crazy closing meeting, just because it happened fast. From the bowl game, everybody went home for break. There wasn't really any kind of real meeting, but everybody understands what we need to do for next year, which is not have this be an accident. So everybody knows that Syracuse football is legit.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: How are winter workouts going and what are you hoping to get out of them?

DeVito: It's fun having some of the new guys that came in, the new freshmen because you get to look at – this is the team for next year. So working out out with those guys, everyone is creating a bond so we can all play together, love each other, be together on the field. It's good so far.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: What are you doing away from organized team lifts to improve?

DeVito: We throw twice a week with the receivers and tight ends. All that kind of stuff. And we try to get on the field as an offense, all the players, and just walk through some plays. Just get back on the field because spring ball is going to come fast.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: What have those throwing sessions been like, moreso from a feel standpoint? What's the mindset of the group like?

DeVito: Everybody's locked in. Everybody knows that anybody can play at any given time and I think everybody's really just focused in, trying to perfect their own craft, the little things, starting from the ground up. Forgetting really about last year because this year's a new season so everybody has to go out and prove themselves.

Syracuse.com: Clayton (Welch) out there throwing, too?

DeVito: Yeah, Clay and Rex (Culpepper). We're all out there. It's a good time.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: It seems like there'll be a lot of competition at receiver, especially on the outside. Do you see that in those sessions?

DeVito: For sure. You can tell because I think the classes coming in, my class especially, everybody's very competitive. So, whether you're going to be a senior or going to be a freshman like how Taj was last year, you're going to compete no matter what because that's the guys the coaches are recruiting. So for me, seeing that from the receivers and the tight ends, all that kind of stuff, everybody competing, that's good.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: I know you and Trishton (Jackson) are pretty tight. What does he bring to the workouts having that experience at Michigan State?

DeVito: Trishton, Nykeim (Johnson) and Sean Riley, all the guys that have played in games before, they're really just helping the younger guys a lot with little things. Because NFL guys, they might be old, they might have lost a little speed, but it's all the little things between the ears that they're always so tuned in to that makes them still great. So those guys are just helping the younger guys and everybody's getting our timing back down. Everything's going well.

Don't Edit

Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Syracuse.com: Someone mentioned to me that you were going to do agility stuff with (running backs) Moe (Neal) and Abdul (Adams). What goes into that and why are you doing it?

DeVito: As you can tell, I'm sure a bunch of people can tell, I'm not a run-first quarterback (laughs). By any means. By any means.

SU Athletic Communications spokesperson: But you're not slow.

DeVito: I don't like to think I'm slow either (laughs)

Syracuse.com: Your 40 time was pretty good, right? 4.6?

DeVito: Around there. ... It's just another tool to have in the toolbelt. Being able to work, especially with those guys who are so pristine at those certain things, it's just to have something else that you can turn to.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: How often do you go and what goes into it?

DeVito: For myself, it's a once-a-week thing just because I'm so on top of throwing and working out and all that kind of stuff. I know they go out all the time and work out together, which is awesome to see. But really just once a week, staying loose, stretching all the time. Being ready for next year.

Syracuse.com: Do you think that work will factor in on the field more toward running or elusiveness in the pocket?

DeVito: More of an elusiveness, not so much conditioning or anything like that. Just a bunch of little things, cuts, jukes, all that kind of stuff.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: What's it like seeing those guys in their element? Is it helpful for you visually?

DeVito: It's awesome. That's kind of like you go in to watch receivers – I'm with the receivers all the time – before we throw and after we throw. They're always doing the little cone drills and it's cool to see how they can move their bodies in such ways. So it's kind of the same with the running backs when they start to get in their actual element where they have the ball and can do what they want to do.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Anything else you've incorporated into your offseason, nutrition-wise or anything else physically?

DeVito: I'm trying to get on a schedule of stretching a lot more. That's the one thing that I've always not been so great at is with flexibility. So I think for anybody on the field taking any kind of hits, you've got to be flexible. You've got to stretch. So that's kind of my biggest thing going into this year.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Spring ball is creeping up. What do you want to get done during that window?

DeVito: My goals for spring ball are just to be sharp. Really just not have that be a period where, 'OK, we're starting to get back for camp.' We're trying to get back right now because spring ball, the first practice, everyone wants to come out looking good and build from it – not have that be the period where it's, 'OK, we're all getting back into it' and then when camp comes, we're building on it. We've got to start earlier and that's one thing that I think the whole team has really put in some thought on.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: One of the things that I've been thinking about is how the offense is going to change with you back there. Obviously, Dino and Mike played to Eric's strengths in the past. Like you said, you're more of a pocket guy. Do you have a feel for what that's going to look like?

DeVito: Speaking for the quarterbacks in the room right now, me, Clay and Rex, I would say we're all not really runners. So I think the way that they're going to incorporate the offense is around all three of us. I think they're going to do the right things, make their coaching changes and alter the offense a little bit. It's going to be beneficial toward us.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Something I don't always understand well, and I think most viewers don't either, is how often unblocked rushers are expected. There's an argument to make that letting one through with Eric back there would make more sense than with you or another pocket guy. Are those something that were expected this year, especially in the bowl game, and could have been checked and blocked pre-snap? Or are they unaccounted for?

DeVito: Both. You can see a lot pre-snap, but a lot of the times what you see pre-snap is not going to happen. That's a defensive coordinator's job, just to mess with the quarterback, try to get him flustered and move from there. So really this year, it just comes down to preparation. You've got to be ready for anything. Just like we gameplan for teams, teams gameplan for us and they're always going to have a change-up ready. So we've just got to be ready for it.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Generally speaking, if you were trying to make an offense more friendly to a pocket passer, you'd add in blockers and maybe more check-downs as well?

DeVito: For a pocket passer – obviously everybody sees Eric was running a lot last year because he has that ability to run and take off – I'm assuming that more check downs as far as the running backs, getting them the ball in space and letting them be the athletes.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Again, kind of an outside perspective here, but I think one of the biggest questions on the offense is replacing three starters on the line, including both tackles. What have you seen from that group in winter workouts?

DeVito: We go with the line once a week. We go through plays and all that kind of stuff. But they're probably the tightest group on the team. They do everything together. They play games together, that walking football, whatever the heck they call it (laughs). I see them out there, having a great time. So they're really tight. They're all competing because they don't really know who's going to play where.

(Airon) Servais might stay at center, move to guard, tackle, all that kind of stuff. So everyone’s really just rotating through all the different positions and just getting a feel. It’s going to be fun come springtime.

Syracuse.com: So you're probably working at center with Airon and Sam (Heckel)?

DeVito: Airon and Sam, yeah.

Don't Edit

Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Syracuse.com: Zooming out a bit, in your career arc, it seems like this is a really important time. Having redshirted in 2017 and played in some big games last year, you're preparing to step into the starting role of a program coming off its best season in a long time. What's your mindset in that regard? Do you feel this is a critical time?

DeVito: Of course. Any time anyone has a chance to get on the field, I think you've got to make the most of that opportunity. So I think going into this year with me and the rest of the quarterbacks in the room and everyone else on the field, your mindset is always that you want to be better than the game before and always outperform yourself as far as being a better teammate and all that kind of stuff – because you don't want to be selfish and just go for the numbers; you want the win at the end of the day. And I think that's every competitor's goal.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: We talked about the physical side of your offseason. Is there anything you're doing different to mentally prepare for next year?

DeVito: No, nothing different. I'm really just staying the same, staying true to my schedule. I'm real black and white. I just watch the film, put the time in and it'll benefit in the end?

Syracuse.com: Is that something you learned to do, compartmentalize your time in that regard?

DeVito: I tend to have OCD. I always have a schedule for everything. Like if I were to show you my notes (app) right now, I would have my whole schedule planned out. Like what I have to do, this interview, I have class afterward. … I always have a plan for something and I just go through that schedule all the time.

Syracuse.com: How far out will you do that?

DeVito: It depends on the situation. Sometimes weeks ahead, sometimes months. Usually on Sunday nights, I'll plan out my whole week of what I have to do.

… I feel better once I have everything written out, have my plan set. That’s kind of how my mom and dad have always been and it rubbed off on me.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Switching gears, I know you and (quarterback commit) David Summers worked out together a few times. What did you know about him before he visited and ultimately committed to SU?

DeVito: Honestly, it was a while ago. It was probably over a year ago, maybe more. I know he works out with my quarterbacks coach (Leon Clarke). I actually hosted him on my official visit. He's a great kid, great family. He seems hungry. He seems like he loves the game of football and I'm excited to have him up here.

Syracuse.com: How good is it just to have another quarterback in the room? Being shorthanded makes it difficult to practice, I would imagine.

DeVito: Right, for sure. It's always great to have depth at any position. And it's always good to have guys competing an all that kind of stuff. And it's good to add somebody to the family in the room. It's going to be fun.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: I know this is looking down the line a little bit, but the potential this fall for the team is clearly higher than any I've covered. I would guess Vegas will peg you guys at eight wins or so. How does that opportunity factor into the mindset of the team during workouts?

DeVito: I think everybody's hungry, especially because it's going to be more of a younger team next year. I think that nobody thinks last year was an accident and we're going to have to go out and prove that. So I think everybody takes that into the weight room and you feel everybody starting to click together whereas the past couple years I've heard, and saw my freshman year, that everybody wasn't so bought in or close together. Now I just feel like everything is starting to come together as the plan is going into the works.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: How much of that do you think is organic and how much is spurred by the leaders of the team?

DeVito: I think it's both. I think that's how it was going to happen regardless, but then I think there are a lot of guys that are helping push it along – especially the younger guys like (Andre) Cisco, helping keep his class together. The freshmen, all the juniors and seniors that are coming, everybody's really buying into the process and helping each other; whether it be the seniors helping the freshmen or vice versa, everyone's starting to hang out more. Everything's going well.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: So I thought it was really interesting that Syracuse put Homecoming on the Clemson weekend. You might get Gameday for it.

DeVito: We should get Gameday.

Syracuse.com I agree with you there. ... How much is that thought about, talked about, that Clemson game, considering what happened last year? On paper, it's huge. Whoever wins that game has the tiebreaker over the other team and is in the driver's seat for the division.

DeVito: I don't think people are really talking about the Homecoming aspect of it. I think people are just talking about Clemson, Week 3. That's all everybody's thinking about when you work out. Every set, you're thinking about winning that game, how important that is and that last year could've went another way, but it did not. We're not going to let that slide again.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Is it something that people talk about or you can tell they just think about?

DeVito: Both.

Syracuse.com: Any kind of phrase or idiom you've attached to it?

DeVito: Not yet. I just know that as soon as the schedule came out, everybody was excited for it – Clemson Week 3. That's awesome, especially for the home opener.

Syracuse.com: Is that Clemson game from last year something that's stuck with you guys? One play on either side of the ball and you probably win that game. And then…

DeVito: I don't think it stays in people's heads. I don't think people are dwelling on it or sobbing about it because it was right there. We could've had it. But I think that it makes the team hungrier this year to want to go out, finish it and do it the right way.

Don't Edit

Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

Syracuse.com: Obviously people are going to come out to that game, but how important is it for the Clemson game to be Homecoming and be the home opener? Maybe it will be Gameday. How do you see noise playing a factor?

DeVito: Noise plays a huge part in it, especially when our defense is on the field. The Dome gets loud. That's the best feeling, especially when you're on offense (on the sideline). To know that everybody's locked into the game, they're there to be there. It can be a really good time. I think Louisville last time, I think the crowd was doing the wave. That was awesome. Everybody was getting all riled up. That was fun.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: The N.C. State game is the one that sticks with me because Alton (Robinson) jumped a silent count on the pressure that forced Ryan Finley's interception late in the fourth quarter. And then in the NFC championship game, we saw how loud it was in New Orleans. (Jared) Goff had to run out to a slot receiver.

When you talk to people about football, do you think many of them realize how important noise is? How much of an effect it has on the game?

DeVito: Honestly, I don't think people understand how much of an advantage that is because for the most part, nobody has been on the field to experience it – or remembers, actually. Because high school is way different from college, especially when you're in a dome and it's enclosed and the noise just amplifies so much more. I hope the fans understand how much they do for us by making that place loud.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: What was the loudest venue you were in this year, probably on the road where you were actually dealing with it? Clemson?

DeVito: Yeah. Clemson was loud.

Syracuse.com: You didn't get in right?

DeVito: Yeah, but just the atmosphere in general was loud. But I'd have to say N.C. State at home, that was rocking.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: OK, I've got a few ones with an assist from my editor. What do you do with your free time, if you have any free time?

DeVito: Video games with the guys.

Syracuse.com: Fortnite?

DeVito: Fortnite. Call of Duty. We just started getting into Zombies again. Me and Taj (Harris) and Ed Hendrix and Curt(is Harper), that's kind of our little squad going on for Zombies. … Us four, we've been playing some Zombies lately, but if it's not Call of Duty, it's probably Fortnite.

Syracuse.com: Best gamer on the team?

DeVito: I'd hope everybody would say themselves (laughs). I'm saying I'm up there for sure. But gamer, I've heard Sam Heckel. That's what I've heard.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: You a TV guy? What are you watching now?

DeVito: I watch a lot of shows. My favorite shows that are actually on TV are like Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, but right now I watch Power. That's probably my favorite show.

Syracuse.com: Is that a group thing?

DeVito: The whole team watches Power over the summer because that's when it's on. It's on in the summer. So when you're out there at 7 a.m. for our running workouts, that's what is discussed to try to get your mind off the running.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: What are you listening to music-wise?

DeVito: Anything and everything. Whatever's on except I don't get into country. I could not get into country. A couple people tried to get me into country, but I just can't. I can't do it.

Syracuse.com: I'm with you there. The Dungey-Whitner household, I think they were into country.

DeVito: Yeah, Rex is into all kinds of music. He's always playing the guitar. When we go to hotels, he's playing the piano. I don't know, I couldn't do it.

Don't Edit

Syracuse.com: Anything else interesting you'd like to share, hobbies or otherwise?

DeVito: I'm trying to find some really good restaurants. If anybody has any ideas or recommendations, I need to know. I'm trying to find a good Italian spot.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

More Orange football coverage

Paul Fradenburg, part of Syracuse football’s 1959 team, has died

Syracuse football recruiting: Grad transfer OL target sets visit date

Syracuse football signs Coastal Carolina transfer Jeffrey Gunter

Gabe Horan ‘blindsided’ by medical disqualification 1 month after thinking concussion was behind him

Syracuse football individual tickets for Clemson game on sale April 16