Game Notes (PDF)
Read Head Coach Greg Robinson's Press Conference Transcript
Orange All-Americans Don McPherson and Donovin Darius return to the Carrier Dome this weekend as part of Syracuse University's Legends Day when the Orange hosts Louisville on Saturday, November 1 in the Carrier Dome (7:00 p.m., ESPNU). McPherson, who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, will be recognized at halftime, while Darius is the honorary captain for the game, representing the history and tradition of Syracuse University football. Saturday is also 'Celebrate New York Day'.
Tickets for the game are available online and at the Carrier Dome Box Office (888-DOMETIX). All New York State employees have the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets. For more information please call the Carrier Dome Box Office.
“Our honorary captain is one who is well recognized in Donovin Darius," said head coach Greg Robinson. "He will have a chance to spend time with the team this week. On top of that, we are celebrating Legends' Day where Don McPherson is going to be honored for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame (in December). Obviously, he joins a very elite group coming from Syracuse. It's a great weekend for outstanding people from our program who will be returning. On top of that, we're playing Louisville, a team we think is going to be a great challenge for us. We really look forward to the opportunity to be back home and take on a team like Louisville.”
As honorary captain, Darius will address the team, participate in the Quad Walk and accompany 2008 Orange captains Tony Fiammetta, Jake Flaherty, Patrick Shadle and Bruce Williams for the pre-game coin toss.
A free safety for SU from 1994-97, Darius earned All-America honors and the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1997. His career statistics included 12 interceptions and 379 tackles, which is the most in Syracuse history by a defensive back. An All-BIG EAST selection in 1996 and 1997, Darius led SU in tackles in the 1996 Gator Bowl and 1996 Liberty Bowl victories.
Selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round (25th overall) of the 1998 draft, Darius made an immediate impact and was named to the 1998 NFL All-Rookie team. He became a defensive mainstay, spending nine seasons in the Jacksonville backfield before ending his career with the Miami Dolphins in 2007. During his 10-year NFL career, Darius recorded 620 total tackles, including 480 solo stops and 14 interceptions for 189 yards.
McPherson will join the great tradition of Syracuse football that lives and breathes in the halls of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. Fourteen former Orange student-athletes and coaches, including Ernie Davis, Tim Green, Jim Brown, Larry Csonka and
Floyd Little, are enshrined in the hall.
Being honored for his unique athletic ability is nothing new for McPherson. The 1987 All-American finished second in the 1987 Heisman Trophy balloting, won the Maxwell Award, which honors the college football player of the year, the Davey O’Brien Award, which recognizes the best collegiate quarterback, and was the first recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. McPherson led the nation in passing efficiency with a 164.3 mark and set 22 Syracuse records, including the single-season marks for passing yards per game (212.8), touchdown passes (22), and most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (10). He led the 1987 Orange to an undefeated regular season (11-0) and a No. 4 final ranking.
McPherson finished his SU playing career in 1987 with the program’s all-time passing yards, completions and pass attempts records. After graduating, McPherson continued his football career with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Oilers. Upon retiring from pro football in 1994, McPherson joined Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society as director of Athletes in Service to America. During this time, McPherson turned his focus to the issue of “men’s violence against women,” as director of Sport in Society’s Mentors in Violence Prevention Program. McPherson has become one of the nation’s leading educators and advocates for the prevention of men’s violence against women and has been featured on Nightline and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He has conducted workshops and lectures for more than 200 college campuses, community organizations and national sports and violence prevention organizations, and was a facilitator at the first NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in 1997. His programs and lectures have reached more than one million people.
McPherson works in the SU athletics department with the Life Skills program for student-athletes and as a consultant with the Orange Club. He is also
an independent consultant and vice president of The Hopewell Group, Inc., a philanthropic advising and consulting company located in New York City. Previously, McPherson served as Executive Director of the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University, which he founded in 2002. For more than 20 years, McPherson has used the power and appeal of sport to address complex social issues.
McPherson is also an experienced broadcaster. He is a studio analyst for SNY college football programs, including its comprehensive coverage of the BIG EAST Conference. He has also had stints as a college football analyst for ESPN, BET, NBC and XM Satellite Radio. In 2000, while a board member of the Nassau County Sports Commission, McPherson created the John Mackey Award, which recognizes college football’s most outstanding tight end.
He has served in a consulting and advisory capacity for several national organizations and currently sits on the board of directors of the Family and Children’s Association, Stop It Now! and the Ms. Foundation for Women.
