Syracuse football star running back Sean Tucker had a record-setting year for the Orange program, and the national recognition will be arriving for him, thankfully.
That being said, the sophomore did recently get hosed by not being named as one of the three finalists for the Doak Walker Award, which honors the country’s top running back. And CBS Sports left Tucker off of both its All-America units, which I find absurd.
Still, he was obviously named to the All-ACC first team, and Tucker in fact received the most votes of any offensive player on this first squad. Per cuse.com, Tucker has been named a second-team All-American by The Athletic.
Additionally, Tucker has landed on ESPN’s 2021 All-America squad. He and Michigan State junior Kenneth Walker III were the two running backs named to ESPN’s All-America unit.
The awards, appropriately, are rolling in for Syracuse football RB Sean Tucker.
A native of Owings Mills, Md., Tucker rushed for 1,496 yards during the 2021 stanza, which eclipsed the previous Orange record held by ‘Cuse legend Joe Morris, who tallied 1,372 rushing yards in 1979.
In 2021, Tucker led the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing during the regular season, and he finished at No. 4 across the country, although at 5-7, Syracuse football didn’t qualify for a post-season bowl game.
Tucker, who was none too happy with his limited amount of carries in the recent 2021 home finale, a loss to Pittsburgh, recorded 12 touchdowns on the ground and 14 TDs in total.
Per the cuse.com announcement, Tucker collected a school-record nine contests in which he rushed for at least 100 yards, and he also ran for a minimum of 100 yards in seven-consecutive encounters, which is also a ‘Cuse record.
Additionally, in the Orange’s dismantling of Albany on the Hill in September, Tucker became the first player in Syracuse football history to possess 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in the same game.
All in all, it proved an incredible 2021 term for Tucker, who had a solid freshman stint but burst onto the national scene as a sophomore.
Along with many other ‘Cuse fanatics, I was fairly frustrated with the under-utilization of Tucker at times throughout the recently completed season.
He performed at such a dominant level, and yet he only got 13 carries in the team’s setback to the top-20 Panthers, which made no sense to me whatsoever.
With the NCAA’s new policy that lets all student-athletes transfer once and retain immediate eligibility, it’s a brave new world out there in collegiate football and basketball.
I haven’t seen any indications that Tucker is in any way thinking about a possible transfer. And Dino Babers is coming back as head coach in 2022.
Hopefully, Sean Tucker will don an Orange uniform once again and help lead Syracuse football to a post-season bowl berth.