Three receptions, 46 yards.

For most receivers those numbers represent an average game. For Syracuse sophomore tight end Tom Ferron, those numbers represented an entire season. Buried on the depth chart for most of last season, Ferron’s on-field opportunities were few and far between.

‘It hurt knowing you could be out there helping the team,’ Ferron said. ‘I just wasn’t having fun.’

What a difference a year makes.

Despite his lack of playing time last season, Ferron has become a major weapon for the Orange offense this year, providing constant production at tight end after gaining confidence thanks to new offensive coordinator Brian White.

Through eight games, Ferron leads the team in receptions with 23 for 290 yards and two touchdowns.

‘Tom is so much different this year than he was last season,’ head coach Greg Robinson said. ‘His progress through training camp was great to see.’

On an offense infused with young talent at skill positions, Ferron has been perhaps the team’s most consistent contributor lately. Ferron has caught balls in six consecutive games. He hauled in a team-high seven passes for 88 yards against sixth-ranked Louisville.

‘I knew my time would come, I just had to be ready,’ Ferron said.

Opportunity didn’t knock right away for Ferron, though.

Ferron joined a team in 2004 rich in both talent and experience at the tight end position. He soldiered through his redshirt season in 2004, one that saw him spend most of his time on the scout team. He watched senior tight ends Joe Kowalewski and Alex Shor play feature roles in the offense last season while laboring through sporadic playing time.

‘I definitely think there were times at the end of last season where I doubted myself and whether I was in the right place,’ Ferron said.

Despite his displeasure, Ferron knew at the end of last season he would play a major role on the offense with the departure of Kowalewski and Shor. Ferron knew expectations of him would be high, yet his confidence was nowhere near where it needed to be.

Enter White.

‘I think as soon as Coach White got here, I knew that this was where I wanted to be,’ Ferron said.

White, who is in his first season as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator and moonlights as the tight ends coach, came to SU after a six-year stint as the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin.

Ferron says White brought experience and knowledge to the coaching staff. However, he is quick to point out that White’s contributions go beyond blocking schemes and route running.

‘Coach White has helped me a lot with technique, but also my attitude as well,’ Ferron said. ‘I’d say we have a pretty close relationship.’

It’s a relationship that goes beyond simply hours spent in the film room. Ferron said that White speaks regularly to his family, which White does with many players.

‘If you want to get close to your players you have to understand who they are,’ White said. ‘If your players know that you really care about them, they will respond to hard coaching.’

There is a sense of confidence about Ferron, a sense that he belongs. It’s that same air of confidence that was conspicuously absent last season. Despite Ferron’s praise of him, however, White is quick to deflect any credit away from himself.

‘I think I gave Tom the hard coaching he was looking for, but it always comes back down to the player,’ White said. ‘I can’t go out there and play.’

Ferron’s success, although sudden, should not come as a total surprise. At 6-foot-3 and a shade over 250 pounds, Ferron certainly looks the part of tight end. Coming out of high school he was the seventh-ranked prospect in New York by SuperPrep. His exploits on the football field at Clyde-Savannah Central High School near Rochester earned him all-state honors his final two seasons, not to mention a nickname.

‘They used to call me, ‘Touchdown Tommy Ferron,” he admitted.

It’s a name that doesn’t leave much to the imagination, and also hints at Ferron’s potential. He is, according to White, the complete package at his position.

‘He’s a guy who can block, catch and run,’ White said. ‘That sounds pretty simple, but there aren’t many guys in the country who fit that sort of role.’

The tight end and his coach both agree that Ferron’s most important contribution is as a consistent, downfield threat in the passing game. His speed and leaping ability make him a steady threat.

His raw ability flashed at times last year. Like when he made his first collegiate catch, a simple five-yard drag that Ferron, with his speed, transformed into a 30-yard gash to set up Syracuse’s first score against Buffalo. That same ability is on display this season, just in a steadier dose.

‘I think you have to get playing time in order to show consistency, and that is what you’re seeing this year,’ Ferron said.

Nobody, especially these coaches, ever doubted Ferron’s raw talent. The speed of his development, however, has been a pleasant revelation for the coaching staff.

‘I try not set expectations and limits for my players,’ White said. ‘That being said, I can’t say that I expected Tom to play as significant a role as he has.’

Ferron appears focused on the present. No more scout team. No more of that whole understudy thing. Ferron is a key member of a young offense, playing in a system in which he figures to play a prominent role.

‘The role of the tight end is a huge part of this offense,’ Robinson said.

And about that nickname? Touchdown Tommy?

‘It hasn’t caught on here yet,’ Ferron said jokingly. ‘But if things keep going the way they have been, who knows?’

Published on October 23, 2006 at 12:00 pm