Freeney Jersey to be Retired in 2024
11/3/2023 9:31:00 PM | Football
Orange legend and soon-to-be College Football Hall of Fame inductee Dwight Freeney will have his jersey retired next season.
Syracuse made the announcement at halftime of tonight's game against Boston College as a surprise to Freeney while he was on the field for his National Football Foundation on-campus salute as part of his hall of fame celebration.
Freeney will be the seventh jersey retired in the more than 130-year history of Syracuse football. He joins Larry Csonka (39), Tim Green (72), John Mackey (88), Donovan McNabb (5), Don McPherson (9) and Joe Morris (47). The No. 44, worn by 25 players, including legendary running backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little, is also hung in the Dome rafters.
Syracuse doesn't retire numbers, instead retiring individual players' jerseys by hanging their number in the JMA Dome.
A 2001 unanimous First Team All-American, Freeney was a finalist for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski awards, and he finished ninth in 2001 Heisman Trophy voting. He holds the NCAA record for career pass sacks per game (1.61), and he finished his career as the NCAA leader in single-season sacks with 17.5 in 2001. He had eight forced fumbles in 2001, which currently places him third in the NCAA record books, and he averaged .67 forced fumbles per game in 2001. His 4.5 sacks against Virginia Tech on Oct. 21, 2000, set a conference record.
The 2001 team captain and MVP, Freeney currently holds school records for career (50.5) and single season tackle for loss (25.5 in 2001) and forced fumbles in a career (14). He finished his career with 104 tackles and 34 sacks, second only to College Football Hall of Famer Tim Green on Syracuse's all-time list.
Freeney led the Orange to three bowl berths, including a 20-13 win over Kentucky in the 1999 Music City Bowl and a 26-3 victory over Kansas State in the 2001 Insight.com Bowl. During his four seasons in upstate New York, he helped guide the Cuse to a 31-17 record and a No. 25 final national ranking in 1998 and the No. 14 spot in 2001. His efforts landed him an invitation to participate in the 2002 Senior Bowl.
A two-time unanimous First Team All-Big East performer and a two-time First Team All-ECAC selection, Freeney helped Syracuse claim the 1998 Big East title, and he shared Defensive Player of the Year honors with College Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed (Miami) in 2001.
Drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft (11th overall) by the Colts, Freeney played in Indianapolis from 2002-12, San Diego (2013-14), Arizona (2015), Atlanta (2016) and Seattle/Detroit (2017). He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, and he was named First Team All-Pro three times (2004-05, 2009) and Second Team All-Pro in 2003. He helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI in 2007.
Freeney will be officially enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, becoming the 10th former Orange player and 19th person from Syracuse to receive the honor.
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Syracuse made the announcement at halftime of tonight's game against Boston College as a surprise to Freeney while he was on the field for his National Football Foundation on-campus salute as part of his hall of fame celebration.
Freeney will be the seventh jersey retired in the more than 130-year history of Syracuse football. He joins Larry Csonka (39), Tim Green (72), John Mackey (88), Donovan McNabb (5), Don McPherson (9) and Joe Morris (47). The No. 44, worn by 25 players, including legendary running backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little, is also hung in the Dome rafters.
Syracuse doesn't retire numbers, instead retiring individual players' jerseys by hanging their number in the JMA Dome.
A 2001 unanimous First Team All-American, Freeney was a finalist for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski awards, and he finished ninth in 2001 Heisman Trophy voting. He holds the NCAA record for career pass sacks per game (1.61), and he finished his career as the NCAA leader in single-season sacks with 17.5 in 2001. He had eight forced fumbles in 2001, which currently places him third in the NCAA record books, and he averaged .67 forced fumbles per game in 2001. His 4.5 sacks against Virginia Tech on Oct. 21, 2000, set a conference record.
The 2001 team captain and MVP, Freeney currently holds school records for career (50.5) and single season tackle for loss (25.5 in 2001) and forced fumbles in a career (14). He finished his career with 104 tackles and 34 sacks, second only to College Football Hall of Famer Tim Green on Syracuse's all-time list.
Freeney led the Orange to three bowl berths, including a 20-13 win over Kentucky in the 1999 Music City Bowl and a 26-3 victory over Kansas State in the 2001 Insight.com Bowl. During his four seasons in upstate New York, he helped guide the Cuse to a 31-17 record and a No. 25 final national ranking in 1998 and the No. 14 spot in 2001. His efforts landed him an invitation to participate in the 2002 Senior Bowl.
A two-time unanimous First Team All-Big East performer and a two-time First Team All-ECAC selection, Freeney helped Syracuse claim the 1998 Big East title, and he shared Defensive Player of the Year honors with College Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed (Miami) in 2001.
Drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft (11th overall) by the Colts, Freeney played in Indianapolis from 2002-12, San Diego (2013-14), Arizona (2015), Atlanta (2016) and Seattle/Detroit (2017). He was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, and he was named First Team All-Pro three times (2004-05, 2009) and Second Team All-Pro in 2003. He helped the Colts win Super Bowl XLI in 2007.
Freeney will be officially enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, becoming the 10th former Orange player and 19th person from Syracuse to receive the honor.
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