Syracuse Football: Get To Know Your Orange Man - #33 Dan Vaughan

We've reached crunch time here as we try to make it all the way to #1 by Wake Forest.  Get ready for a lot of profiling, kids. Catch up on anyone you missed here.

Player:  Dan Vaughan

Number:  #33

Position:  Outside Linebacker

Year:  Senior (should have two year of eligibility left)

Height:  6'2''

Weight:  219

Hometown:  Gibsonia, PA

High School:  Pittsburgh Central Catholic HS

2010 Stats:  Vaughan played in all 13 games, but most of his time was spent on special teams.  He recorded 5 total tackles, with four being assisted.

2011 Projections:  Get ready for a lot more Dan Vaughan in your life.  He's currently penciled in as the starter at OLB opposite Dyshawn Davis, and he didn't look like he planned to relinquish that role during the spring.  Dan's not the biggest guy, nor is he the most athletic, but he makes up for it with his maturity and knowledge of our defense, which should be a real asset to our young linebacker corps.  Dan's big spring game should help cement his spot atop the depth chart.

How'd He Get Here?:  Pitt was Dan's dream school, and they did offer him (as a Tight End), but pressured him to commit early, and eventually pulled his offer.  Dan had, at one point, stated that he would sign with Pitt if he held an offer, even after committing to SU, but ended up sticking it out with Greg Robinson and Syracuse.

What'd Scout/Rivals Say?:  Scout and Rivals were both impressed with Dan and each gave him a 3* rating.

Money Quote:

"I want to be treated as that leader. I want people to look to me to make plays, and when stuff’s going wrong I’ll pump them up, get them ready for the next play."

Links of Wonder:  Nolan Weidner discusses Vaughan's new role as starting linebacker coming into this season.

What Does Doug Marrone Think?:  Doug hasn't said too much about Dan directly, but he discussed the linebacker corps as a whole as one of the big questions he has about his team:

"Who’s going to step up at linebacker for us and play well? Not only who is going to step up and play but who is going to step up and be competitive, be a backup and give us the type of snaps we need. And who is going to step up and play special teams from that group, because that is where the majority of your special teams come from."

Interesting Nugget O'Interest:  Dan's dad played football from 1976-79 at something called "Slippery Rock University".

Let's Get a Good Look at You:  Not much on just Dan that I could find in a short amount of time this morning (if anyone has anything, send it along and we'll put it up.)  He does make a cameo in this wonderful Pinstripe Bowl Champions video.  Dan had 2 tackles in the game.

Syracuse Pinstripe Bowl Champions 2010 (via orange9016)