Syracuse, N.Y. — Dino Babers shouted out one of his former quarterbacks during an appearance on ESPN’s “Always College Football” show with Greg McElroy this week.
The Syracuse football coach said he watched Jimmy Garoppolo, who played for Babers at Eastern Illinois from 2012-13, during the San Francisco 49ers’ game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Babers was making a point about how the NFL finds plenty of talent at FCS schools as SU prepares to face Wagner this Saturday. He said when he arrived at Eastern Illinois, the program “didn’t know what they had,” and he thought Garoppolo should be playing for a Power Five team.
“NFL, they’ll find you anywhere,” Babers said. “There’s players everywhere, and the one thing about the National Football League is that they have enough money to find ‘em.”
Sean Tucker has the attention of a former first-round draft pick
One of Babers’ former running backs from when he coached at the University of Arizona has had his eye on Sean Tucker.
Trung Canidate, who played at Arizona from 1996-99, was a first-round draft pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, going No. 31 overall to the St. Louis Rams. Babers said Canidate texts him about Tucker’s performance and how Syracuse is using the running back after every game it plays.
“(Tucker)’s got everybody in the world pulling for him, and I know good things are gonna happen to him down the road,” Babers said.
Canidate spent four seasons in the NFL, three with St. Louis and his final season with Washington. He rushed for 1,095 yards and seven touchdowns on 240 attempts.
Babers had previously compared Canidate and Tucker during one of his Monday press conferences earlier this season.
“I think (Tucker) is better,” Babers said then. “When he goes downhill and he decides, that’s it. You better get him because if you close your eyes, he’s gone. That fast.”
However, Babers did still say he believed Canidate is faster than his current back. Canidate ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.
Syracuse is looking for overachievers on the recruiting trail
After a busy past weekend of recruiting, Babers shared a bit of what he and his staff look for when scouting potential future members of the Orange.
“We’re very particular in what we go for,” Babers said. “The personalities behind some of these athletes also matter because we gotta make sure they fit our culture, and not when they come here it’s gonna be their culture.”
Specifically, Babers said the team wants overachievers because they’re good listeners but aren’t afraid to challenge coaches in a confident, respectful way if they think something should be done differently.
Syracuse’s 2023 recruiting class currently includes nine commitments. The Orange has not added any new players since the start of the season and has the lowest-ranked recruiting class in the ACC.
Early signing day is set for Dec. 21.
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