SYRACUSE—Mike Williams should be the center of attention for the Syracuse University football team. The Riverside graduate missed all of last season to academic suspension. Now he’s back, ready to repay his debt to Syracuse and become an elite receiver again.

But throughout preseason camp, someone else was hogging the spotlight in Syracuse.

As soon as Greg Paulus exited the locker room at Syracuse’s media day Aug. 10, a paparazzi-sized wave of cameras and recorders swarmed in his direction.

Paulus, fresh off a four-year basketball career at Duke, enters this season as Syracuse’s unlikely starting quarterback. A dormant program suddenly has an unprecedented buzz.

“We have high expectations,” Williams said. “We’re tired of losing. Everybody wants to get back to a bowl game. Paulus is looking good. The team is looking good. We can’t wait to get back out there.”

What was expected to be a daily quarterback battle between Paulus and sophomore Ryan Nassib was settled after one week of practice. Paulus won the job, picking up the Orange’s multi-receiver offense in a hurry. He ran a similar system in high school.

“He can see the field,” said Syracuse’s new head coach, Doug Marrone. “When something breaks down, he can see the field, he can make quick decisions; [I’m] very impressed.”

At Christian Brothers Academy, a five-minute drive from SU, Paulus could have written his ticket to nearly any football or basketball college in the nation. Among the slew of offers —he had 75 total as a sophomore— were football scholarships from Notre Dame and Miami. He threw for 11,763 yards and 152 touchdowns and was named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year as a senior.

But that was half a decade ago, back when Syracuse was a .500 team.

Paulus barely touched a football during his four years at Duke. He occasionally tossed the pigskin around with his younger brother Mike, a sophomore quarterback at North Carolina. But nothing more.

After working out for the Green Bay Packers in March, the idea of playing football collegiately crystallized for Paulus. He visited Michigan, Nebraska and Syracuse before settling on the Orange. Enrolled as a graduate student in communications, Paulus has one year of eligibility remaining.

“The opportunity to do this is something I want to take advantage of,” Paulus said. “I understand that this isn’t a couple-year thing. There isn’t a lot of time. I’m just trying to make the most of the situation.”

Williams is easily Paulus’ best weapon. After improving his grades at Springfield (Mass.) Technical Community College, Williams was allowed to re-enroll at Syracuse last spring. Two years ago, Williams was a gem on an otherwise abysmal team, catching 60 passes for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The yearlong exodus stung.

“To be away from something I love, it hurt,” Williams said. “To get it back, it feels so good.”

The start of Syracuse’s schedule is brutal for a team that’s gone 10-37 the past four seasons. The Orange opens with Minnesota on Saturday, travels to Penn State and then hosts Northwestern.

Three Big Ten defenses await the unproven Paulus. To spike his progression as a college quarterback, he studied film with his brother during the summer and threw routes to receivers nearly every day.

There almost certainly will be a transition period. As his brother told him, college football is a completely new beast.

Still, Paulus knows the scrutiny he endured as Duke’s point guard was a rare experience. The exotic, obscene heckles that peppered Paulus every night took his focus to a new level.

Now, he’ll test it as a starting college quarterback.

“You learn how to handle tough situations,” Paulus said. “You learn how to bounce back and perform. You learn how to play on a big stage.”