The Syracuse Orange will have a former Duke lined up as their starting quarterback to start the season.
Greg Paulus, who decided to enroll at Syracuse because he had one year of eligibility left, has won the starting quarterback job.
Paulus was a heralded basketball and football player coming out of college but turned down a shot as the Notre Dame starting quarterback to become a point guard at Duke.
He then found out once he finished up at Duke that he could potentially play one season of college football.
Paulus looked at a couple of schools before deciding on Syracuse, which is right down the street from where he grew up.
Friday, August 21, 2009 at 4:28 pm by steve
The idea of the Syracuse Orange playing in front of a packed house seems unbelievable, given the state of the program in recent years.
But thanks to location, that’s exactly what’s going to happen in the near future.
Syracuse has reached an agreement to play host to elite programs USC in 2012 and Notre Dame in 2014 and 2016. The catch? The games will be played at the relatively nearby Meadowlands, in the confines of the New York Giants and Jets brand new, $1.6 billion stadium that’s set to open in 2010.
In addition to the talent and tradition both teams will bring to New York, USC and Notre Dame will also be bringing its massive fan bases. Don’t be surprised if, despite being the “home” team, Syracuse fans are vastly outnumbered. But even still, the attraction of playing top teams in a pro stadium is certain to help the team’s recruiting efforts and bring an excitement to a school that is starved for anything positive after a dreadful stretch.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 6:27 pm by reggy10
When former Duke guard Greg Paulus announced that he would be transferring to Syracuse this year to play football for the Orange, he turned heads left and right. Now, having not played football in four years and having never played a snap for a college team, he has been named the starting QB for Syracuse this season.
With only a week of official practice, Paulus beat out the incumbent starter, senior Cam Dantley, and sophomore Ryan Nassib, who had been named the No. 1 QB during spring practice.
ESPN reported the news after Syracuse announced the decision in an official news release late on Monday. According to ESPN, Syracuse’s Coach Marrone had spoken very highly of Paulus’ adaptability earlier this month.
“He has instincts that are hard to teach,” Marrone said. “He knows how to look people off, how to take control of the game and how to change plays.
“If you had ever met Greg Paulus, you’d understand and I wouldn’t get a lot of the questions that I get,” Marrone said. “If something can be accomplished, he can do it.”
Monday, August 17, 2009 at 10:25 pm by bryan
With the departure of Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf to the NBA Draft, the Syracuse Orange must replace stalwarts of their program for the past couple years. Flynn, Harris and Devendorf combined to contribute an average of 43 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for the Orange per game in the 2008-2009 season.
In an article on ESPN last week, resident ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi wrote,
“The annual post-Final Four bracket, which is as much for fun as anything else, had Syracuse as a projected No. 1 seed. The current summer projection drops the Orange all the way to a No. 8 seed. Enough said.”
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has pinned his hope on improvement from returning players and new contributions from incoming players.
Regarding returning players, Syracuse may pin their hopes on senior Arinze Onuaku, a F-C who has given the league fits with his size and physicality for the past few years (think Dejuan Blair). They will also expect more from senior guard Andy Rautins (10.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and junior forward Rick Jackson (8.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg) as veteran anchors to an otherwise young squad.
Boeheim expects big things from his incoming players, including 6′7″ transfer Wesley Johnson (from Iowa State) and 6′11″ freshman Dashonte Riley. Johnson averaged 12 ppg in his two years of Big-12 play and scored 20 pts in a game against eventual national champion Kansas in 2008, while Riley will serve as an excellent backup at the 5 for Onuaku.
Monday, August 3, 2009 at 4:23 pm by bryan
Tags: news, syracuse orangemen
