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Heading into last season, Oronde Gadsden II was on the cusp of becoming one of the best skill position players in college football. In 2022, the wide receiver turned tight end emerged as a breakout star. Gadsden notched just under 1,000 receiving yards en route to becoming a First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.

Following his dominant sophomore campaign, Gadsden was named a 2023 AP Preseason All-American. His junior year was supposed to be one where he not only was the focal point of Syracuse’s offense, but one that saw him shoot up draft boards and become a 2024 NFL Draft selection.

Instead, a Lisfranc injury ended his year five quarters into the season. At the time, it was unclear what Gadsden’s next step would be. He could’ve entered the portal or left for the NFL. Instead, he returned to SU.

After SU brought in transfer quarterback Kyle McCord in December, Gadsden locked in his decision to return to the Orange. In his return to the field last week versus Ohio, Gadsden registered seven receptions, 108 receiving yards and a touchdown. Against then-No. 23 Georgia Tech Saturday, he continued his dominance, notching six receptions, 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Gadsden’s 13 catches and 201 receiving yards lead SU thus far.

“It feels great being able to come back, do what I do week in and week out,” Gadsden said postgame after defeating GT.

Gadsden’s performance against Georgia Tech was his first muti-touchdown game since SU defeated then-No. 15 NC State on Oct. 15, 2022 — the Orange’s last time beating an AP Top 25 opponent. Though against the Yellow Jackets, Gadsden started slowly.

As Syracuse took a 14-7 lead in the beginning of the second quarter, the tight end was held to just two catches for 11 yards. Meanwhile, Trebor Peña, who totaled three Week 1 touchdowns, caught both of SU’s scores. Additionally, the Orange had eight players with receptions throughout the game, their second consecutive game with as many pass catchers.

“I feel like if they’re going to try to take away a guy like (Gadsden), it’s going to free up somebody else, and vice versa,” McCord said.

Ayush Sawant | Design Editor

Following his slow first quarter plus, Gadsden quickly made his presence known in the second quarter. The Orange received the ball back after Georgia Tech punted just under five minutes into the second quarter, but they were pinned on their 11-yard line.

To open the drive, SU split four receivers out wide, with Gadsden in the slot to McCord’s right. GT lined up with three players at the line of scrimmage, four defenders behind them, two defensive backs on the boundary near the first down chains and two high safeties.

Once the ball was snapped, Georgia Tech defensive back Omar Daniels blitzed. It forced Taye Seymore to step up from one of the high safety spots to mark Gadsden.

Daniels met Gadsden around the 18-yard line, but the tight end shook free from the defender on a double move before slanting toward midfield. As Gadsden created separation just past the 20-yard line, McCord fired the ball to him in stride. Gadsden continued his momentum going left and eventually ran out of bounds at the 43 for a 32-yard gain.

The Orange quickly moved the ball to Georgia Tech’s 20-yard line, but faced a third-and-2. Despite the short-yardage to gain, SU lined up five wide with Gadsden serving as the inside slot receiver again to McCord’s right. While GT was playing a zone, it had defenders lined up across all of SU’s pass catchers besides Gadsden.

Before the snap, defensive lineman Makius Scott jumped offsides giving Syracuse a free play. As Gadsden ran vertically up the field, Kyle Efford moved into his vicinity at first. Though as Gadsen continued making his way down the field, Efford failed to drop back in coverage. High safety Clayton Powell-Lee was too concerned with Jackson Meeks and LeQuint Allen Jr. to Gadsden’s right to pick up the tight end in coverage.

Without a defender in his vicinity, Gadsden slipped to the left and toward the center of the end zone. McCord connected with his tight end for Gasden’s second touchdown of the season, giving the Orange a 21-7 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first half.

“He’s just one of (those) dudes that you just know when (he’s) on the field, he’s (going to make) something happen,” SU wide receiver Umari Hatcher said of Gadsden postgame.

Oronde Gadsden celebrates following one of his two touchdowns against Georgia Tech Saturday. The tight end finished with six catches for 93 yards. Joe Zhao | Video Editor

Gadsden was silenced in the third quarter as Syracuse only produced three points, but saw its lead grow to 24-14. In the fourth quarter, Gadsden made two crucial catches to help Syracuse seal a win. The Orange worked the ball down to GT’s nine-yard line following a four yard gain on third-and-2 from Allen Jr. Yet, a delay of game penalty and a three-yard loss from Peña set the Orange back to the 17-yard line.

Lined up in nearly the same position before his first touchdown, Gadsden first broke toward the right side line before running around Daniels and cutting back toward the middle of the field. As Gadsden created separation inside the five-yard line, McCord fired a laser that the tight end needed to jump up to catch. Even with defensive back Warren Burrell riding his back, Gadsden made the catch inside the two before extending the ball beyond the goal line for his second touchdown.

While Gadsden’s score gave the Orange a 31-14 lead with under nine minutes remaining, GT proceeded to score a touchdown, recover an onside kick and score another touchdown to cut their lead to 31-28 with 2:31 remaining. The Yellow Jackets had all three timeouts remaining but didn’t elect to use one after Allen Jr. began the drive with a four-yard run. Instead, GT opted to have the clock stop at the newly installed two-minute timeout.

On second down, McCord misfired to wide receiver Zeed Haynes, setting up a crucial third-down. The Yellow Jackets played SU man-to-man, but the 6-foot, 190 pound Daniels was no match for the 6-foot-5, 236 pound Gadsden, who hauled in a 13-yard pass to move the chains. From there, Allen Jr. iced the game on the ground with a 24-yard run, giving Syracuse its second straight win to begin the season.

“I see the greatness every day,” Hatcher said of Gadsden.

Published on September 9, 2024 at 12:05 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon