Syracuse football was well represented on the All-ACC academic team. Here are all the details and who stepped up off the field in the classroom.
Syracuse football may not have had the success they were hoping for in 2019 on the field, but they did have success off the field.
Six members of the football team earned a place on the All-ACC academic team. The Orange’s six selections were tied for the fourth-most with Boston College and Virginia Tech. The three schools that had more representatives were Duke (11), Virginia (10), and Clemson (8).
Dakota Davis, offensive lineman
Dakota Davis started every game for the Orange last season (12) in the trenches. Davis played nearly 900 snaps in 2019 and ended up with 50 knockdown blocks which ranked second on the team.
Matthew Bergeron, offensive lineman
The offensive line was the only position that spit out multiple All-ACC academic representatives. Also another interesting factoid, Bergeron was one of only seven freshmen that cracked the All-ACC academic roster.
On top of his book smarts, Matthew was just plain effective when he was on the field. He played in all 12 games but only started in five at right tackle. While he was on the field, the Orange averaged over 200 yards rushing.
Kingsley Jonathan, defensive end
Kingsley Jonathan played in all 12 games as a cog in the defensive line rotation. As a junior, he had a career-best 24 tackles last year to go along with three tackles for loss, and a sack and a half. On top of his conference academic honors, he was also a member of the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, per the press release.
Ifeatu Melifonwu, cornerback
One of Syracuse’s most promising building blocks for 2020 is Ifeatu Melifonwu at corner. He’s got NFL blood running through his veins (his brother Obi won a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots).
Ifeatu started eight games and had some injuries in 2019, despite that recorded eight pass breakups which were the most on the team.
Tommy DeVito, quarterback
Tommy DeVito got pounded behind Syracuse’s offensive line. He was the most sacked quarterback in all of power five. Despite the beating, he took on the field, he really committed himself to his studies.
2020 is a big year for DeVito, can he take the next leap in his development? Or will next season be much of the same that we experienced in 2019?
Sterling Hofrichter, punter
Finally, Sterling Hofricther left an indelible mark on the Syracuse football program and continued a rich tradition of superstar punters. Dino Babers proclaimed Sterling will be playing on Sundays in the NFL and the draft world agrees. We’ll see where he lands in the 2020 NFL Draft, punters can be a fickle position on draft day.
The decorated Orange warrior received All-America status from seven different entities and also finished as a finalist for the Ray Guy Award which is annually doled out to the nation’s best punter.
The All-Academic Team was announced on Thursday, January 30 by the conference office, per the press release.