Syracuse Football: Get To Know Your Orange Man — #86 David Stevens

PLAYER: David Stevens

NUMBER: 86

POSITION: Tight End

YEAR: Senior

HEIGHT: 6'3"

WEIGHT: 229

HOMETOWN: Short Hills, NJ (You fancy, huh?)

HIGH SCHOOL: Millburn High School

2010 STATS: Didn't record any.  His Syracuse Athletics profile says that he played in all 13 games last year, but mostly on special teams.

Stats are for losers, anyway.

2011 PROJECTIONS: Right now he's sitting behind Nick Provo on the post-spring depth chart. Given Provo's injury history and Beckett Wales' recent departure-return, there is a good chance that Marrone will call on Stevens to contribute this season. 

Lyons seems pretty comfortable with Stevens, even if the senior isn't going to dazzle you in all phases of the game:

David Stevens: (B) —Stevens had a rough start to the spring, as he was really inconsistent in catching the football.  However, after the short-term departure of Beckett Wales, Stevens really stepped it up.  He began catching the ball much better, and has some decent speed for a tight end.  He's not very big, and is not our best blocker at the position, but at 6'3" he's another solid tall target for Ryan Nassib and the rest of the quarterbacks.

Regardless of his performance in 2011, he'll at least shed the cloak of anonymity.

HOW'D HE GET HERE: Well, it's actually a complex story.  When a man and a woman really love each other -- or are drunk enough to tolerate each others presence -- they participate in something called sexual intercourse.  After nine months or so, a little bundle of joy/eternal reminder of poor judgment is born.

That child then grows and grows and grows until he because a big man.  Then that man commits to play football football at Syracuse University and is moved from linebacker to tight end during the 2009 season.

Also, that story includes telling Purdue and Connecticut to take a hike:

UConn and Purdue tried to continue pursuing him after he verbally committed to the Orange, but they had no chance.

"When I committed, I was done. I knew where I was going to be," he said.

You just can't say "No way, jerkface!" when Greg Robinson wants you on his football team.

WHAT DID SCOUT/RIVALS SAY?: Scout had Stevens ranked as a two-star, the 87th-best tight end in the country.  Rivals also had Stevens as a two-star but with no national rating.  Instead, Rivals provided the deer-in-the-headlights photo below.

via l.yimg.com

MONEY QUOTE: Stevens speaking last year on the opportunity to contribute to the offense:

"It’s really up to me at this point," Stevens said, "because the opportunity is right there. I just have to execute."

THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT EXECUTION! /EamonMcAnaney'd

LINKS OF WONDER: I'm only about 75% positive that this is true, but I think that Stevens is living his second life.  You see, way back in 1968, David Stevens delivered his M.B.A. thesis at Syracuse.  The future is heavy.

WHAT DOES MARRONE THINK?: He likes him.  A lot.

"I like him a lot," Marrone said of Stevens. "You can ask any coach I’m a big fan of David. He runs extremely well and I think we’ll have a big role for him in this offense. It is so good that I don’t even look at it as a transition anymore."

INTERESTING NUGGET O' INTEREST: His code name is "Nedd Savviest."  I know this because I am a master of anagrams. 

HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS:  Sorry, folks.  There isn't anything kicking around.  If you find something, drop a note in the comments.