Syracuse is gearing up for the first year of the Fran Brown era as head coach. With that comes the return of wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II, who is back after a season-ending injury.
Gadsden went down on the first play in the second game of last season with a Lisfranc injury. This was a devastating blow for Syracuse, as their star receiver remained out of the lineup for the rest of former head coach Dino Babers’ tenure with SU.
The 6-foot-5, 223-pound wideout had a tremendous 2022 season when the Orange started the year 6-0 and cracked the top-15 in AP rankings. Gadsden led SU with 54 catches for 891 yards and six touchdowns. He finished the season at the top of all of those categories and was named an All-ACC selection
After Christmas this past December, Gadsden surprised SU fans with a present by announcing his return to Syracuse for his senior year.
With Gadsden returning to SU’s lineup, he should be the prime go-to target for Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord. The hope for Syracuse fans is that Gadsden can stay healthy for the entirety of his senior year. He has the chance to be an underrated star again for SU and is getting overlooked with all the incoming additions from other teams.
Fans may have forgotten Gadsden’s skill set because of last year’s shortcomings, but he was responsible for one of the most exciting plays in recent Orange football history: the winning touchdown from quarterback Garrett Schrader in the corner of the left end zone that put Syracuse on top of Purdue to jump out to a 3-0 record in 2022.
Gadsden was just named the 17th ranked-wide-receiver in the nation heading into this season, according to CFBudge.
Gadsden will be in the spotlight this season, despite his absence for the majority of last year.
