Get excited Orange Nation. Dino Babers is convincing athletes that Syracuse Football is the place where you can go to play, get your education, and most importantly, carve your path into the NFL draft.

While the young men who were called were not 4 and 5-star recruits or drafted in the first round like those coming out of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, etc., these young men were 3 stars.

They worked just as hard as those kids and found their own way.  They did their jobs well, to build a great relationship with Coach Babers and their academic supporting staff around campus.

Syracuse Orange Football: 2023 NFL Draft Takeaways

 

Round 2 (62) Matthew Bergeron – (OT) | Atlanta Falcons

Bergeron’s success at Syracuse mainly revolved around protecting his star quarterback in (Garrett Schrader) and running back (Sean Tucker). Good news is he will have those same skills ready for him in Atlanta with starting quarterback (Desmond Ridder) and newly drafted starting running back (Bijan Robinson).

Individually, Bergeron is an athletic freak at left tackle at 6’5″, 323 lbs. He is a road grater with his blocks sheading and had treadmill quick feet. He never stops moving and plays right to the whistle, which is a very disciplined thing to do in the NFL.

He will definitely start right away at left tackle for the Falcons, where Atlanta is expected to compete for the NFC South Divisional Title.

Round 3 (95) Garrett Williams – (CB) | Arizona Cardinals

The 6’1″, 192 lb. corner had a short injury prone career at Syracuse, but was one of many freshmen in 2020 who saw early starting success just like running back Sean Tucker due to the shortened COVID season.

Recruited out of North Carolina, Williams was only a three star, but North Carolina is one of the toughest states in the country to recruit out of.  He chose a good power five team like Syracuse to play for right away and eventually made his own journey into the NFL.

This is another guy who was doubted by national high school recruiting media and eventually college football media, but his father raised him to be a strong young man and block out any negative noise. He persevered all throughout his time at Syracuse and still was drafted in the third round by the Arizona Cardinals.

Look for Williams to hear the same negative comments from the NFL media, but also look for him to rehab his injury and fully recover, in order to make the team and play hard to earn a starting corner spot in his rookie season.

Syracuse Orange Football

Former Syracuse RB Sean Tucker (34) – Dennis Nett / Syracuse.com

(UDFA) Sean Tucker – (RB) | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

When Sean Tucker’s name was not called at all during the draft, I was puzzled and thought for sure we were going to have at least three Syracuse players drafted into the NFL. Then I realized that he could still be signed as an Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA).

Then, I saw on Twitter, “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed Syracuse University Running Back Sean Tucker as a UDFA”. I was then truly satisfied.

The 5’10”, 210 lb. running back was underrecruited out of high school coming out of suburban Baltimore, Maryland. While he was the star of his team and was receiving power five offers from Dino Babers and Syracuse, he still was only a three star recruit according to ESPN and other websites.

Instead of this angering the speedy running back, it motivated him as he chose to go to the ACC Power Five school in Upstate New York. In his freshman year, Tucker took the country by notice, rushing for 626 yards on 137 carries and 4 tds.

In his medical redshirt freshman year, Tucker started gaining national attention, rushing for 1,496 yards and 12 tds. Tucker was that 3 star recruit who was quietly up for national awards such as the Heisman Trophy, and the Doak Walker Award, but Tucker kept on working towards his path to the NFL draft.

In his sophomore year, Tucker was projected by ESPN’s, Mel Kiper Jr., to be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. But during the season, he took a step back from last year due to nagging injuries and underperforming.

At the end of the season, Tucker decided to opt out of the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium vs the Minnesota Golden Gophers to declare for the 2023 NFL draft. Syracuse would lose a close game 28-20 and finish 28-20.

In my opinion, Tucker will start out with the Bucs as a kick or punt returner until he learns how to be an all-purpose back in the NFL. One thing about Tucker though, is he’s always had doubters in his life and at every level of football. He’s proved his doubters wrong and successfully reached the next level.

I think he’s reached the pinnacle of football success and has the potential to be one of the greatest UDFA signings of all time. If he has to go to either the XFL or the USFL first to get back in the NFL, so be it, he’ll dominate that too with his killer speed.

2023 nfl draft

Former Syracuse LB Mikel Jones (3) – Dennis Nett / Syracuse.com

(UDFA) Mikel Jones – (LB) | Los Angeles Chargers

Jones is another guy that should have had his name called late in the draft, but luckily, the Chargers signed him when it was all said and done. Jones was recruited out of the powerhouse, IMG Academy, in Florida, where they were ranked number 3 in the country at the time he was there.

Syracuse really likes both their basketball and football pipeline with that school. Now, they are looking at a class of 2024, 4-star quarterbacks to replace current starter Garrett Schrader going into next season.

The 6’1″, 224 lb. athlete is another small, fast-tackling linebacker who is twitchy and can move from sideline to sideline. In the 3-3-5 defense, he can tackle very fast running backs on the perimeter, which is what linebackers like him need to do.

The Chargers alongside Joey Bosa can use both him and Jones to blitz Patrick Mahomes off the corner and sack him on third down and long situations late in the game.

Jones is a solid UDFA signing, as he will either make the Chargers roster or he can move himself to either the USFL or XFL and start on a team there to get used to playing against NFL-ready talent. That way, he’ll have a better chance of making a different NFL roster as either a backup or maybe as a starter.

(UDFA) Andre Szmyt- (K) | Chicago Bears

Oh Szmyt, how can Orange Nation forget about our most successful Kicker in program history. Last year, the Orange placekicker was clutch on many field goals, including the clutch-game winner in a 22-20 win in the Dome over the Virginia Cavaliers.

In his freshman year, the 6′ 1″, 195 lb. dazzling athlete won the Lou Groza award for the best kicker in College Football.  It looked like he was going to continue that for four years. But something happened to his kicking style and his production dipped a bit from 2019-2021.

He is more of a rugby, soccer-style kicker, which means he has a tendency to hook his kicks left or right, which are great for long-distance kicks, but hurt him more on short distances.

Luckily, he rebounded nicely in 2022, and the Bears realize that most of your veteran kickers are horrible in today’s NFL. In recent drafts, teams have had to draft rookie kickers due to the high demand for them.

In my opinion, Szmyt will have to make the roster for the Bears and be their starting kicker in week one because he is naturally a good kicker, the rookie kickers will start a renaissance of good kicking again, and there is a low supply versus a high demand for quality kickers in today’s NFL.

So Orange Nation, we’ve passed another draft where we’ve seen a growth of more Orange prospects being drafted. I want to ask you this important question;  What do you think of head coach Dino Babers using the slogan, “Your path to the NFL begins at Syracuse” as a pitch to new Syracuse recruits to get them to come play for Cuse?

Do you think if they play well, then they will be the next class to be drafted, where they’re done playing football in the 315?

To check out Syracuse’s 2023 Regular Season Football Schedule:

Syracuse 2023 Football Schedule

For another College Football story, please check out:

Running Back Sean Tucker: What is his Path to the NFL?