Practice is officially underway for Syracuse football. The Orange took the field Wednesday morning for the first day of fall practice. It's also the first time quarterback Garrett Shrader hit the gridiron since the Pinstripe Bowl.

Shrader missed spring practice recovering from offseason surgery on his throwing arm. He will be on a "pitch count," according to coach Dino Babers, and that was evident in day one. But Shrader was feeling good as he looks to lead SU to another bowl game this winter.

"I threw a bunch today," Shrader said after practice. "I felt good. I feel really good. And the big thing is just not trying to do too much and get ahead of yourself to where you put yourself back and you have to start cutting your reps out. But I know today was a great day, and I did a lot more than I thought I'd be able to, so that was encouraging as well."

His return is a boost. He didn't shy away from what he thinks this team is capable of.

"This team will be bowl eligible. It's just, now just what else can we do to win those close games? I mean, it's like two years ago, we lost four games by three points. Last year, we go 6-0, we get beat up. So this team is deeper than both of those teams, and we have more talent in both of those teams the past two years."

On Tuesday, Babers stressed the importance of getting off to a fast start in camp, and he thought the team did just that.

"I thought they had a good day. They got a little tired at the end. I mean, we're working them," he said. "But the whole key and the talk after practice was recovery. You know, August is all about recovery. You just can't go in and not take care of your body. Hit the cold tub, hit the hot tub, stretch, recover, reload the body, reload the castle so you can give another 100% out there."

Practice continues Thursday.