Syracuse Football: Urban Meyer is a big fan of new Jaguar Andre Cisco

Former Syracuse football star safety Andre Cisco will kick off his NFL career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that really struggled in the most recent campaign but has compiled a boatload of terrific talent in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Jacksonville, which went a dismal 1-15 a season ago, picked Cisco at No. 65 overall in this year’s NFL Draft, which represented the first selection in the third round.

The 6-foot Cisco, as a junior in the 2020 stanza for the Orange, was a pre-season All-American candidate. But he, unfortunately, suffered a lower-body injury when he collided with a ‘Cuse teammate prior to the Orange’s contest on Sept. 26 of last year versus Georgia Tech at the Carrier Dome.

That injury led Cisco to miss the remainder of the 2020 term, and he elected to end his Syracuse football career by declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft.

New Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, a three-time national champion at the collegiate level, had some kind words to say about Cisco.

Following his selection by Jacksonville, I read a couple of media reports that seemed to indicate Cisco may have a decent shot at landing a starting role at free safety in his rookie campaign with the Jaguars. That would prove tremendous.

Former Syracuse football safety Andre Cisco is headed to Florida to suit up for Jacksonville.

During his three seasons in Central New York, Cisco tallied 13 career interceptions, which was the most in the FBS at the time that he suffered his term-ending injury.

Other stellar college players taken by the Jaguars in the 2021 NFL Draft include Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 overall and Clemson running back Travis Etienne at No. 25. That’s some kind of star power for Meyer and his staff.

Another member of the Orange secondary, Ifeatu Melifonwu, was also picked in the third round, at No. 101 overall, by the Detroit Lions. The 6-foot-2 Melifonwu, a redshirt junior cornerback, was one of the premier defensive backs in the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 2020 stanza.

According to a cuse.com press release, Cisco and Melifonwu both getting picked in one of the first three rounds of an NFL Draft marked the first time that Syracuse football had this occur for multiple Orange players dating back to 2001. I’m really excited for Andre and Ifeatu!