Syracuse football record book: Which players could climb the career leaderboards in 2020?

With just 11 games on the schedule this year — and potentially no posteason afterward — it’s going to be fairly difficult for any Syracuse Orange player to set any single-season records. Still, with plenty of well-tenured players on the roster, there’s an opportunity for certain players to set new career marks in the SU record books. Or at least climb a few spots on the all-time list.

Below is a quick tracker for the Syracuse players that could potentially move up the career stat leaderboards.

Tommy DeVito

DeVito’s already tied for eighth in career touchdown passes in school history, after throwing 19 in his first season as a starter. If he manages to hit that total again, he’ll jump up to sixth, surpassing the patron saint Troy Nunes (has 32). A 23-touchdown season would put DeVito in a tie with Don McPherson for fifth. Throwing 25 would tie him with Marvin Graves in fourth. We said this was largely about career records, but it’s worth noting he “only” needs 26 passing scores to set the single-season record.

From a career yardage standpoint, DeVito’s already in 10th, and even a 2,000-yard season would vault him all the way to seventh, surpassing RJ Anderson. If he somehow got to 3,000 yards this year, he’d jump to fifth, over Don McPherson. Doing that would also give him just the second 3,000-yard passing season in school history.

It’s also notable that DeVito already has 26 total touchdowns, and would surpass Walter Reyes for sixth place on the Orange’s all-time list if he winds up with 20 this year. He’s 58 attempts away from surpassing Todd Norley for ninth on the career attempts list, and 102 completions from jumping Anderson for eighth in school history. DeVito also has the second-longest streak in SU history for passes without an interception, with 170. Anderson currently holds that record with 190.

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Taj Harris

Given how few true “breakout” receiving seasons there were in Syracuse’s history prior to Dino Babers’s arrival, it wouldn’t take much for Harris to make some moves on the all-time lists for receptions, receiving yards or receiving touchdowns. He’s already just 42 shy of 10th place (Sean Riley, with 119) on the receptions list, and a 700-ish yard season away from 10th in yardage too. He’d need 10 scores to tie Quinton Spotwood and Ervin Philips for ninth, with 15 career receiving TDs.

Andre Szmyt

After just two seasons as the team’s starting kicker, Szmyt’s already seventh on the all-time scoring list for Syracuse. Just 56 points will get him to second on the career list, passing John Biskup, who has 296. He’d need 94 points to top Nate Trout for first.

Szmyt is currently sixth in extra points with 100, but is 87 away from Trout, who’s the far and away leader on that list. More attainable this season is second place, which he’s just 26 shy of (would surpass Biskup). For field goals, though, he may be able to take the record this season. Andre already has 47 on his career, putting him 12 shy of Cole Murphy with 59.

Andre Cisco

As you probably assumed, Cisco’s within striking distance of the school’s career interceptions record. With 12, he’s seven shy of Markus Paul for the lead — which would take an effort on par with his 2018 season. If he returns one interception for a touchdown in 2020, he’d be the sixth player to have two in his Syracuse career. If he defends 10 passes this year, he’ll be fourth all-time, passing Donovan Darius, who had 37.