It takes one Western Pennsylvania tough guy to know another.

There's absolutely no question Dan Conley is a Western Pennsylvania tough guy -- same with Max Suter.

Conley, a Carnegie native, former two-time all-Big East Conference linebacker and captain at Syracuse in the 1990s, is now the linebackers coach at the school.

He is remembered from his playing days as one of the toughest, meanest, hardest-hitters in the long lineage of Syracuse football. Conley is a folk hero of sorts when it comes to Syracuse football, having gritted out a career on an injured right knee that eventually needed 13 surgeries to repair.

Suter, from Ruffs Dale, Westmoreland County, is a Greensburg Central Catholic graduate, the starting strong safety and second-leading tackler for the Orange (2-3), who play West Virginia (3-1) at noon tomorrow at the Carrier Dome.

Listen to what Conley, who is around Suter every day, had to say about him:

"Max is 5 feet 10, but there are not a lot of kids on any football team who are going to screw around with him. He's not a tough kid because he walks around and tells people he is. He's a tough kid just because he is, because he hits people and plays football hard. It is one thing to be all rah-rah in the locker room, or look good in your pads, but Max is a tough guy on the football field."

But even tough guys go through tough times.

In his first two seasons with the Orange, Suter has had to absorb more than his fair share of losses. In 2007, as a true freshman, Suter was one of just 34 Orange players to participate in all 12 games for a team that went 2-10. He was so versatile as a freshman that he returned kicks and even got a start on offense at running back in a game against Pitt when Syracuse's running game was depleted by injuries.

Last year, things got better, but just slightly -- Syracuse finished at 3-9 and Suter stepped into a starting safety role in four games.

"It was hard last year; I guess that was the hardest time since I have been here," Suter said. "There was some growing up everyone had to do. We thought we would have a good season, like things were going to turn around, and they didn't.

"We just had to forget about that, put it behind us."

And Syracuse started the "putting it behind them" process in the offseason getting rid of coach Greg Robinson and replacing him with Doug Marrone, a former three-year starter on the offensive line at Syracuse in the '80s who is now, for the first time in his career, a head coach.

When Marrone took over at Syracuse, he was looking for something any new coach seeks: stabilizing forces who help ease the transition. Marrone and the staff found one in Suter.

"He has done a tremendous job," Marrone said of Suter, who has 38 tackles on the season and an interception that set up the winning field goal against Northwestern in Week 3. "Max is a kid who communicates very well. He has become a leader on this team and is someone I rely on. The thing I like about him, too, is that he can get into you in the locker room if he needs to; he can stand up to someone if they need someone to get them going."

Being a leader is something Suter embraces.

"Just something that I feel comfortable doing," he said. "There are a lot of leaders on this team, but, yes, I know it is something I have to do. And everyone needs to go about it differently. If someone needs told about something, I'll do it."

Also, if someone needs laid out coming across the middle, Suter will do that, too -- and West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has taken notice.

"I have always been impressed with Max, because he is a local guy from nearby Greensburg," Stewart said. "I like the way he hits you, and I like the way he competes. He reminds me of Troy Polamalu. He just makes plays, and they rally around him. He is the heart of that secondary."

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