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Syracuse Football: John Raymon A 'Longshot' To Play In 2014

The defensive tackle is still rehabbing from a right knee injury suffered last season.

The long, strange journey of John Raymon will just keep on keeping on.

The Iowa transfer came to Syracuse looking for a fresh start in 2012 with the hope of playing right away. He didn't get the waiver he was hoping for and ended up sitting out the entire year. Then, after showing promise in the first-half of the 2013 season, he blew out his right knee in the Georgia Tech loss, making what was already a horrible game even more depressing.

Raymon has been rehabbing ever since and while he's making progress, Scott Shafer told Syracuse.com that the big man's return in the upcoming season is "a longshot."

"It will be a longshot," Syracuse coach Scott Shafer said Wednesday. "We're trying to take it day by day. I think that's the healthiest way to approach it."

"Let's look at this as being an opportunity to look at the emotional side of where a young man is and creating some balance in his life because when football is taken away from them due to an injury, sometimes it's great because you can focus in on where you are emotionally and academics and long-term looking at your future without football."

When they make the movie about Raymon's life, and he's certainly got the backstory for it, the title is already there for the taking.

Shafer remarked that Raymon has lost weight but let's just hope that leg heals and he's able to get that waiver so that he can take full advantage of his two remaining years of eligibility.