ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Greg Paulus achieved one of his goals by earning the starting quarterback job at Syracuse after transferring from the Duke basketball program.

But Paulus knows he has a lot more hurdles to clear as he attempts to play Division I football for the first time after a four-year break from the sport.

"I'm really trying to get my timing back," he said on a telconference with reporters today. "Being able to understand defenses, the speed of it, the system. There's a number of different challenges here. But each day I feel and believe I'm getting better, whether that's with my footwork or my consistency with the throws and reads. That's what I'm trying to do, get better."

He has already pulled off one stunner, winning the job after just a week of practice. How did that sit with his teammates, especially Ryan Nassib, who was named the starting quarterback in the spring?

"My teammates have been great ever since day one," Paulus said. "They've welcomed me, and a bunch of them called me when I said I was going to come here and play football.

"Ryan has been a big help. Whenever I have a question or don't understand something, we're usually talking about it. He's been absolutely great to me, and I appreciate that.

"We're going to need each other."

Though this is all new for Paulus, he said his four years of playing basketball at Duke have prepped him for this moment.

"Playing in a lot of big games and in that type of atmosphere has allowed me to learn from that culture," he said. "I'm trying to bring some of that here to Syracuse."

While Paulus said he's anxious for the home opener against Minnesota in the Carrier Dome, a place he used to watch the Orange play as a kid, he knows he has a lot of work to do. When a reporter tried asking him about his first road game at Penn State, Paulus responded that he was thinking more about some "installation stuff tomorrow morning in practice."

Making this two-sport transition has so far been an incredible story. But it's only beginning.

"I've accomplished that one (goal), now I want to move on to the next one and the next one and the next one," he said. "I'm not satisfied with just this.

"My goals now are team goals. We want to come out and really turn this thing in the right direction."