On yesterdays part of the countdown, we highlighted a big time center that played his college ball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Today for day 54, we get to look at a Connecticut native that rushed the passer in Syracuse.
Dwight Freeney is a Hartford native and a Bloomfield High School alumni that holds the Bloomfield school record for sacks and even had the state record until Darien High School edge rusher Mark Evanchick broke it. Freeney’s number forty four is retired by the Bloomfield Warhawks.
Freeney received an athletic scholarship to attend Syracuse University where he played from 1998 to 2001. The Connecticut native was a two year starter for the Orangemen and was pretty damn dominant.
Dwight set a Syracuse school record with seventeen and a half sacks in his senior season and ended his career in upstate New York with thirty four career sacks. Freeney ranks second in school history behind Tim Green who totaled forty five career sacks.
The edge rusher posted two insane stat lines while at Syracuse. He went on a seventeen game streak of recording a sack and then when Syracuse played Virginia Tech, he totaled four and a half sacks on elusive quarterback Michael Vick.
Freeney capped off his career as two time Big East and a 2001 All American. He racked up one hundred and four total tackles, thirty four sacks, and fifty one tackles for loss. He really was a freak athlete. Weighing two hundred and fifty five pounds, Freeney ran a 4.40 second forty yard dash.
Tomorrow for day 53, we get the chance to highlight a recent draftee that played center for the Illinois Fighting Illini.