2005 General Roster
Roster
Damien Rhodes
- Position:
- Running Back
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 211
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Manlius, NY
- High School:
- Fayetteville-Manlius
At SU:
Four letters … Finished his career at SU ranked third in career all-purpose plays (643), fifth in career all-purpose yards (3,972), seventh in career rushing touchdowns (24), ninth in career rushing yards (2,461), ninth in kick return yards (810), and eighth in kickoff returns (39) … The first of five freshmen to play in 2002.Senior Year (2005): Was one of 16 players to start in all 11 games … His 219 carries marked the sixth highest single season total at SU … Ranked fifth in the conference in all-purpose yards with 106.4 per game and in rushing yards at 81.8 yards per game … Was 53rd nationally in rushing yards … Against West Virginia, he had 46 yards rushing on 16 carries and caught a career-high seven passes for 21 yards … Against Buffalo, he had a career-best 236 rushing yards for four TDs … His performance made him the first SU player to run for four touchdowns in a game since Walter Reyes accomplished the feat in 2003 against Central Florida … Rhodes’ 236 yards were just five yards shy of the Dome single-game rushing record (241, Walter Reyes, 2003), and 16 yards shy of the SU single-game record (252, Joe Morris vs. Kansas, 1979 … Against Virginia, ran for 79 yards and caught two passes for 30 yards, including a season-long 24 yard catch … At Florida State, he turned in a 70-yard receiving effort giving him more than 500-yards receiving for his career … He had 44 yards rushing on 15 attempts … At Connecticut, he gained 82 yards on the ground on 20 carries to put him past the 2,000-yard milestone for his career … Against Rutgers, he gained 72 yards on 19 carries and had two catches for nine yards … At Pittsburgh, he ran for 74 yards on 23 carries and had one reception for six yards … Against Cincinnati, he had a career-day with 104 yards receiving to go along with 51 yards on the ground and two rushing TDs … Against South Florida, he ran for 91 yards on 18 carries, while catching one pass for a gain of six … At Notre Dame, he carried the ball 22 times, gaining 112 yards to move to ninth all-time at SU in career rushing yards … At Louisville, he ran for 13 yards on 10 carries in the final collegiate game of his career.
Junior Year (2004): One of 31 players to play in all 12 games … Started four times .. Second-team All-BIG EAST … Led the Orange with 153 carries, 870 yards and 10 touchdowns, all career highs … Part of the first SU duo (Walter Reyes) to each rush for at least 800 yards since 1979 (Joe Morris & Bill Hurley) …Had 18 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown … Ran back 11 kicks for 221 yards … Led the Orange with 1,337 all-purpose yards … His 7.3 yards per all-purpose play is tied for 10th on the SU single-season list … Ranked sixth in the BIG EAST and 73rd nationally in rushing yards per game (72.5) … Ranked fourth in the BIG EAST and 60th in the nation with 111.4 all-purpose yards per game … Rushed for at least 100 yards four times … Had five carries for five yards and one catch for nine yards at Purdue … Rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and had one reception for seven yards at Buffalo … Caught three passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, a career-long 68-yard reception, and ran 11 times for 82 yards against Cincinnati … Had 10 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown at Virginia … Had his first career 100-yard rushing game with 102 yards and two touchdowns versus Rutgers … Rushed 21 times for 65 yards and a touchdown, and made three catches for 26 yards at West Virginia … Ran for 103 yards and the game-winning touchdown in overtime against Pittsburgh … Had 200 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, all career highs, at Temple … Rushed for 107 yards on eight carries, including a career-long 69-yard touchdown at Boston College before leaving the game with a leg injury … His 13.4 yards per carry average against the Eagles was the fourth-highest in school history … Rushed nine times and had four catches for 41 yards against Georgia Tech in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Sophomore Year (2003): Played in four games before injuring his ankle against Virginia Tech … The ankle injury kept him out of the final seven games of the season … Also missed the Central Florida game due to injury … At North Carolina, rushed five times for 17 yards and caught two passes for 35 yards and one touchdown … Rushed 11 times for 71 yards, including 28-yard run, and had two catches against Louisville … Versus Toledo, rushed 14 times for 36 yards and caught four passes for 29 yards.
Freshman Year (2002): Played in all 12 games … One of 23 players to participate in all 12 games … Set an SUfreshman record with 1,268 all-purpose yards … Named to The Sporting News BIG EAST All-Freshman Team … Played on SU’s kickoff return and punt return special teams units … In his Syracuse debut, rushed for 82 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns, which is the highest rushing total by an SUtrue freshman and tied the record for yards gained by an SUplayer in their first game (Floyd Little gained 82 yards against BostonCollege in 1964) … Also returned four kickoffs for 91 yards … His 173 all-purpose yards set an SU first-game record … Gained 63 yards on 13 carries and had one kickoff return for 21 yards in his Carrier Dome debut … Had 14 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns and caught one pass for 38 yards against Rhode Island … At Auburn he gained 24 yards on 12 carries, had one reception for six yards and returned a kickoff for 41 yards … Returned seven kickoffs for 169 yards, both career-bests, and had 11 carries for 42 yards against Pittsburgh … At Temple he had one catch for 18 yards and rushed five times for 35 yards … Had four carries for 10 yards and returned two kickoffs for 30 yards at WestVirginia … Against Rutgers he scored three touchdowns three different ways, including one rushing, one receiving and one on a blocked punt recovery … Had 10 carries for 41 yards, two catches for seven yards and his return on the blocked punt was for three yards … At Central Florida he gained 39 yards on nine carries and returned five kickoffs for 113 yards … Had 17 carries for 67 yards and two touchdowns, caught two passes for 21 yards and returned two kickoffs for 39 yards against Virginia Tech … Against the Hokies he scored all eight of SU’s points in the third overtime, including a 25-yard touchdown run that put SU ahead for good … At BostonCollege he had 18 carries and gained 65 yards, caught two passes for 13 yards and returned three kickoffs for 31 yards … Had 11 carries for six yards, one reception for six yards and returned three kickoffs for 54 yards against Miami.
High School: Central New York Player of the Year … New York Sportwriters’ Association First-Team Class AA All-State … Prep Star Dream Team selection … SuperPrep All-American and rated as the No. 28 running back by the publication … Rated as the fourth-best player in New York by SuperPrep … 2001 PrepStar All-American … Led team to Section 3 Class AA title … Member of the Class AA-1 All-Star Team … Rushed for 2,102 yards and 33 touchdowns, scored 212 points, had three kickoff returns for touchdowns, two touchdown receptions and two pass interceptions as a senior … Voted first-team all-league as a senior and junior … Named to 2000 All-CNY third team … Member of the track & field team as a sprinter and ran the 100 meters in 10.5 seconds … Recruited by former associate head coach George DeLeone.
Personal: Damien Leigh Rhodes … Born April 26, 1984 … Son of Dwight and Toni Rhodes … Four sisters … Majoring in child and family studies.
Rhodes' Career Statistics
Rushing
| Year | Games | Carries | Yards | Avg. | TDs | Yds/Game | Points | Long |
| 2002 | 12 | 138 | 568 | 4.1 | 7 | 47.3 | 42 | 38 |
| 2003 | 4 | 35 | 123 | 3.5 | 0 | 30.8 | 0 | 28 |
| 2004 | 12 | 153 | 870 | 5.7 | 10 | 72.5 | 60 | 69 |
| 2005 | 11 | 219 | 900 | 4.1 | 7 | 81.8 | 42 | 54 |
| Totals | 39 | 545 | 2461 | 4.5 | 24 | 63.1 | 144 | 69 |
Rhodes' Career Statistics
| Year | Recpt. | Yards | Avg. | TDs | Long |
| 2002 | 10 | 108 | 10.8 | 1 | 38 |
| 2003 | 8 | 77 | 9.6 | 1 | 31 |
| 2004 | 18 | 246 | 13.7 | 1 | 68 |
| 2005 | 23 | 270 | 11.7 | 0 | 70 |
| Total | 59 | 701 | 11.9 | 3 | 70 |
Rhodes' Career Statistics
| Year | KO Ret. | Yards | Avg. | TDs | Long |
| 2002 | 28 | 589 | 21.0 | 0 | 44 |
| 2004 | 11 | 21.0 | 20.1 | 0 | 58 |
| Total | 72 | 44 | 20.6 | 0 | 58 |
Rhodes' Career Bests
| Rushing | Yards | 236 vs. Buffalo, 2005 |
| Carries | 29 vs. Temple, 2004 | |
| Long | 69 vs. Boston College, 2004 | |
| Touchdowns | 4 vs. Buffalo, 2005 | |
| Receiving | Yards | 104 vs. Cincinnati, 2005 |
| Receptions | 7 vs. West Virginia, 2005 | |
| Long | 70 vs. Cincinnati, 2005 | |
| Kick Returns | Receptions | 7 vs. Pittsburgh, 2002 |
| Yards | 169 vs. Pittsburgh, 2005 | |
| Long | 58 vs. Pittsburgh, 2004 |
