by Daniel Freer
Fantasy College Blitz
It is not unusual for college athletes to play more than one sport while in school.
However, it is unusual for a college athlete to play different sports…at different schools. Enter former Duke point guard Greg Paulus (photo, thanks GoDuke.com)…who will suit up for Syracuse football this fall.
Although this is one of the more intriguing stories in this college football off-season, do not think this is just a publicity stunt or an ego-trip…Paulus has some very good football credentials…and could wind up starting at QB for the Orange in 2009.
Paulus, a native of Syracuse, was a multi-sport star in high school at Christian Brothers Academy. While at Christian Brothers, he was a four-time all-state football selection at QB, culminating with winning the 2004 Gatorade High School National Player of the Year…in football.
Paulus was one of the most heavily recruited HS QBs after the 2004 season, and turned down football offers from Notre Dame and Miami, settling on playing basketball at Duke.
While at Duke, Paulus started three seasons at point guard for the Blue Devils and advanced to the NCAA tournament each season. He was named to the All-American Freshman and All-ACC Freshman team in 2005.
(Since Paulus had only used 8 semesters of basketball eligibility…he did not redshirt…he still had 2 semesters left of overall college eligibility…and wanted to play some football. NCAA Rules allow 10 semesters of eligibility for sports…equals 5 seasons)First, he looked into playing for his alma-mater, but Duke football coach David Cutcliffe would only consider playing him at WR (Duke already has an established QB in Thaddeus Lewis).
After foregoing Duke, Paulus worked out for a few schools (Michigan, Nebraska…both looking for QBs) and even worked out for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Eventually, he chose hometown Syracuse to start his college football career.
Can Paulus succeed at football? Although he has not played the sport at an intercollegiate level, he has a great pedigree from his high school days. Plus, Syracuse could use help at QB…the school has not had a top QB since Donovan McNabb (incidentally, McNabb, too, was a multi sport athlete…playing a couple of seasons for Jim Boeheim’s SU hoops squad). Also, it was ten seasons ago when a former baseball player won the Heisman Trophy…Florida State QB Chris Weinke.
For the fantasy player, keep an eye on Paulus for the 2009 season. With a new coaching staff at Syracuse, there will be less hesitation to give the former Duke PG a shot at QB. Paulus could be a nice late-season acquisition for your fantasy team.
