May 14, 2009:
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – Former CBA star Greg Paulus announced Thursday morning he intends to head to Syracuse University and play college football next season. Paulus held a news conference over the phone Thursday morning, to announce he intended to attend graduate school at Syracuse University and play one season of football for the school. "I grew up there. There are great opportunities there," Paulus said. "My gut and my heart tell me the opportunity to play football at Syracuse and have the great opportunity academically; my gut and my heart were telling me that was the best place for me,” Paulus said. Paulus, a native of Manlius, was a star high school quarterback for Christian Brothers Academy's football team; he was also a star basketball player, breaking a number of records and racking up numerous awards before deciding to head to Duke and play basketball. After four years with the Blue Devils, speculation began that he might be interested in returning to football. After a month of looking at schools, Paulus chose Syracuse. Paulus says he has no guarantees from Coach Marrone about the starting quarterback job.
SU Athletics press release
PAULUS RETURNS HOME TO WEAR THE ORANGE ON THE GRIDIRON
Former Gatorade National High School Player of the Year Greg Paulus announced today his intention to enroll as a graduate student at Syracuse University and play football for head coach Doug Marrone. A scholastic standout at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, Paulus recently graduated from Duke University after earning four letters in basketball. “Greg is a proven winner and leader who is coming home to finish his collegiate athletics career,” Marrone said. “We are excited to have him join our program to compete and help us win.”
As a quarterback at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, Paulus won the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year (all sports) award. An All-American in football and basketball as a senior, Paulus led CBA to a 42-3 four-year record in football, including a 13-0 mark and the NYSPHAA Class AA championship as a senior. In 2005-06, Paulus was named the New York State Player of the Year in both football and basketball and earned the National High School Coaches Association Senior Athlete of the Year award.
A two-time team captain and four-year basketball letterwinner, Paulus earned a degree in political science with a certificate in markets and management studies from Duke. He closed his Duke basketball career tied for ninth at Duke with 139 career games played and is one of just 20 Duke players to start 100 career games. He ranks 41st on the Duke career scoring list (1,193 points) and ranks in the top 10 on Duke’s all-time record lists for assists (9th, 468), three-point field goals made (8th, 210) and attempted (9th, 527), and three-point field goal percentage (T-6th, .398). In 2007-08 Paulus earned third-team All-ACC honors as the Blue Devils starting point guard and was a third-Team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America selection. As a freshman, he was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and to the ACC All-Tournament Second Team after leading the league in assists (5.19 per game) and became just the fourth freshman in ACC history to lead the league in assists. He orchestrated an offense that led the ACC in scoring (81.1 ppg), scoring margin (+13.0), field goal percentage (.487) and three-point percentage (.386).
Paulus did not use a redshirt year at Duke and is therefore eligible to petition to play one year of another sport at a different institution, according to NCAA rules. Once his petition is granted by the NCAA and he is accepted at Syracuse, Paulus will be eligible to compete. He has already signed a grant-in-aid with the institution.
April 27, 2009:
Greg Paulus pays visit to SU campus
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – It’s always good to have options -- and Greg Paulus certainly has plenty of them. The tough part is to his figure out his best option, although after Monday, that decision might be a whole lot easier for him to make. Paulus spent the day visiting the SU campus; we're told he had a tour of the Newhouse School and met with Doug Marrone and some members of his coaching staff. Paulus playing for SU could be a win-win; Paulus gets a year to play college football in his hometown and try to prove himself to the pro scouts, while Syracuse gets some instant excitement heading into next season, which should help with ticket sales and could help translate into a couple more wins. NCAA rules did not allow Paulus to speak with us during his visit; he'll likely look into other schools before making his final decision. A Duke spokesman says that 10-15 programs are interested, including Nebraska. So far, he's made visits to Syracuse and Michigan.
April 22, 2009:
Paulus denies report he’s joining SU football team
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – Former CBA football and basketball star Greg Paulus has denied an ESPN report that he’s heading to SU to play football. ESPN’s Joe Schad reported Wednesday night that Paulus was “likely to join the Syracuse football team,” catching many central New Yorkers – and Paulus himself – by surprise. Through a Duke spokesman, Paulus said later Wednesday night that had had made no decision on his future yet. NewsChannel 9 has been told the ESPN report is premature at best.
A source very close to the situation tells us that Paulus is still planning on visiting Syracuse, and will be on campus some time in the next week. In addition to the Orange, Paulus is reportedly considering a few other major football programs; other than SU and Michigan, the only other school to go public with its interest in Paulus is Nebraska. Paulus may also work out for a few more NFL teams, possibly even after the draft, before he makes his final decision.
April 20, 2009:
Greg Paulus to reportedly visit SU campus
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - It's not often one school gets a second chance to recruit the same player. It's even more unusual for that second chance to come four years after that school first got turned down. But then again, Greg Paulus is not your ordinary athlete. That’s why several football programs across the country -- including the Syracuse Orange -- are very intrigued about what Paulus may be able to provide next season. NewsChannel 9 has confirmed an ESPN report that Greg is in the process of setting up a visit to the SU campus. He's busy finishing up his final exams this week down at Duke, but that visit to Syracuse is expected within the very near future, possibly coming as early as this weekend. The former CBA star also continues to get more feedback from NFL teams; the draft, of course, is just five days away. Assuming he doesn't get drafted, though, Paulus would then have to decide between trying to make it as a free agent in the pros, going back to school for a year to play football, or head overseas to pursue a career in pro basketball. SU head coach Doug Marrone has been reluctant to talk about the possibility of Paulus coming to Syracuse, citing NCAA rules; Nebraska, though, has gone public expressing its interest in him. Cornhuskers offensive coordinator Shawn Watson tells an Omaha newspaper that they hope to get the chance to meet with Greg before he makes his final decision.
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