Article by Dan Tortora
Syracuse Orange running back, in his third season with the team, has declared for the 2023 National Football League (NFL) Draft ahead of the Pinstripe Bowl. He made the announcement public on his Instagram account within his bio.
Orange Head Footbacll Coach Dino Babers had previously shared with me in a Q&A that Tucker had either played his last game or will play his last game for Syracuse when speaking about the upcoming bowl.
Tucker achieved back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the first time in Syracuse football history since Delone Carter did it in 2009 (1,021) and 2010 (1,233); in 2021, his second season with the Orange, Tucker had 1,496 rushing yards, followed by 1,060 rushing yards in 2022.
The running back out of Owings, Maryland, has also risen to the top three in Syracuse football history in career rushing yards, with 3,182, also passing Delone Carter, who had 3,104 yards, in that category.
Only two players reside above Tucker in Orange career rushing yards, Joe Morris with 4,299 and Walter Reyes with 3,424.
Tucker was originally the fourth-string running back going into the 2020 season.
With Abdul Adams and Jarveon Howard both opting out of the COVID year and an injury to Jawhar Jordan, Jr., Tucker got an opportunity that he not only proved he was ready for, but that he took full advantage of.
He has 31 touchdowns spanning from 2020 to 2022, with 37 coming on the ground and four receiving.
Averaging 4.6 yards per carry in 2020, 6.1 in 2021, and 5.1 in 2022, Tucker has a career yards-per-carry average of 5.4 at Syracuse.
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