Syracuse Football: Sam Heckel announces his retirement from football

Syracuse football offensive lineman Sam Heckel has announced his retirement from football. Here are all the details and what it means for his future.

On Friday afternoon Syracuse football offensive lineman Sam Heckel announced that he’s “no longer able to play the sport I love.”

In a heartfelt message posted on his Twitter account he revealed that his football playing career is over:

"“Orange Nation,The last four years have been some of the most rewarding and challenging years of my life. Over the past two seasons, I suffered multiple injuries and I am no longer able to play the sport I love.I cannot thank my family, coach Babers, coach Cavanaugh, and coach Lynch enough for their support and for giving me the opportunity to live out my dream of playing Division 1 football. I’m also grateful to the Syracuse medical staff for the care they provided me throughout my career.To my teammates, you guys are my brothers and the bonds that we’ve built together will last a lifetime.To all the Syracuse football fans, you’re the best. There’s nothing like running out of the tunnel at the Dome and I’ll cherish those memories always.While I can no longer play, my passion for football has never wavered and I plan to be around the sport as much as I can while I finish out my academic career here at Syracuse.Thanks and Go Orange!”"

This is startling news, but certainly not surprising.

Heckel was the starting center to kick off the 2019 season Week 1 vs the Liberty Flames. During the second quarter, he left the game with an “upper-body” injury and that was the last time he stepped foot on the gridiron.

The accumulation of injuries over the few years robbed Heckel of his football future. On top of his injuries he sustained during his football career he also suffered from TTP (congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura) which is a rare blood disorder that required Sam to undergo a blood transfusion once a month.

Syracuse will miss his versatility on the field, throughout his playing career he was used at both guard and center. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, he started all 12 games at left guard. Then in 2018 he played in all 13 games as a rotational piece, but only started once.

Heading into 2020 Syracuse’s projected depth chart on the offensive line is as follows: Airon Servais (left tackle), Chris Bleich (left guard), Carlos Vettorello (center), Dakota Davis (right guard), and Matthew Bergeron (right tackle).

The Orange are still waiting to hear whether Florida transfer Chris Bleich will be eligible for the 2020 season, he’s currently waiting to see if the NCAA will approve his waiver.