Syracuse Football Alumni in the NFL Part 1: Ryan Nassib

This will be a continuing series discussing Syracuse football players in the National Football League. Starting off with the lone Syracuse quarterback in the NFL.

The Syracuse football team has not had a lot to cheer for the past couple of seasons and this time of year is the down period for college football fans whose team isn’t playing in the National Championship game on Monday night.  Let’s walk down memory lane together and discuss the former Orange players who are still lacing up on Sundays.

Ryan Nassib – New York Giants  

I know, I know Ryan is on injured reserve but he was drafted by the Giants and is one of the most prolific passers in Cuse history.  His career mirrored Doug Marrone’s (not a surprise that Marrone left when Nassib was not going to be taking balls from underneath center anymore).

Ryan Nassib is Syracuse’s all time leader in passing attempts, completions, and passing yardage. Second highest in completion percentage at 61 percent, yards per game and touchdown passes.  Over that span he led the Orange to a solid 25-25 record, two bowl victories and tied for first place in the Big East in his senior year (the last year Syracuse was in the Big East).

In the 2013 Draft, Ryan was selected in the fourth round (110th overall) by the New York Football Giants who traded up to get him.  He was the fifth quarterback selected behind: EJ Manuel, Geno Smith, Mike Glennon and Matt Barkley.  The irony of Geno Smith being selected thirty ninth overall after soundly being beaten twice by Ryan Nassib’s squad does not go unrecognized by this journalist, but that is something we can ‘jaw’ about later.

In his playing career with the Giants he appeared in five regular season games completing nine out

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of ten passes with a touchdown, not too large of a sample size but a backup quarterback has to be ready to step in at any time and playing behind Eli Manning who has made 200 consecutive regular season starts makes it difficult to get any playing time other than mop up duty.

Ryan has more than likely played his last down as a Giant when a nagging injury to his throwing elbow placed him on injured reserve in December.  In the last year of his contract it is highly likely the former Orange star will take his talents somewhere else looking for playing time and a return to glory; something the Orange hope to do in the 2017 campaign.