Syracuse football: Orange retire Dwight Freeney’s number

NFL Hall of Famer gets his number #54 hung in the rafters.

Syracuse Orange fans welcomed back Dwight Freeney to the JMA Wireless Dome for his jersey retirement at halftime of Syracuse’s matchup with 23rd-ranked Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Freeney is the seventh Orange player to have his number hung in the rafters inside the Dome. Larry Csonka (39), Tim Green (72), John Mackey (88), Donovan McNabb (5), Don McPherson (9), and Joe Morris (47) are the other six players, in addition to the number 44 worn by players like Jim Brown, Ernie David and Floyd Little.

Ahead of the game, Freeney was spotted coaching up the Syracuse defensive line in pregame warmups. DE Fadil Diggs mentioned postgame how insightful it was to listen to Freeney and learn how he would take advantage of certain schemes back in the day.

“He’s one of the greatest to ever do it,” Diggs said. “I learned a lot from him in just 10 minutes, it was a great experience.”

In an interview with Coley Harvey during Syracuse’s win over Georgia Tech, Freeney mentioned how emotional he was to join such legendary company.

“Those guys that came before me, they set the foundation for me. They were the reason why I am here,” Freeney added. “For my jersey to be retired, I’m speechless.”

Freeney ranks second on SU’s all-time sacks list with 34.0, behind only former Syracuse LB/DE Tim Green (45.5). His senior season (2001), he set the NCAA, Big East, and Syracuse single-season record with 17.5 sacks — in addition to 25.5 TFLs, 8 FF, and 3 FR. After graduating from Syracuse, Freeney was drafted 11th overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2002 NFL Draft.

Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Freeney played 16 years in the NFL, but his most notable seasons were the 11 he spent with Indianapolis. Freeney was All-Pro 4x in Indy and was on the Colts team that defeated the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI (2007). He left the Colts in 2013 as the all-time franchise leader in sacks with 107.5 until he was surpassed by his former teammate Robert Mathis the next season. To this day, Freeney still owns the NFL rookie record for forced fumbles in a single season with nine (2002), three of which occurred in a single game against former Syracuse football player, Donovan McNabb.

In addition to the Hall of Famer’s long list of accolades, his signature spin move is something NFL fans will never forget. The maneuver even earned him the nickname ‘Spin God’ during his time in the NFL.

A busy weekend for the 44-year-old to say the least, Freeney was also honored at halftime of the Colts’ season opener against the Texans with his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring on Sunday.