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Less than two years after a Super Bowl win, Ryan LaCasse is back at SU
By Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 10/7/08, 12:41 AM EST Section: Sports
"That was probably the scariest part of the game because I thought I was going to drop her!" LaCasse said. "I helped my mother and my sister get onto the field and one of my buddies, too, so they could enjoy the celebration with me. It was great, it was a great night, lot of fun."
He had been one of four Syracuse players drafted in 2006 (joining Anthony Smith, Quinn Ojinnaka and James Wyche), after running a 4.54 40-yard dash and bench-pressing 225 pounds 34 times in the February NFL Scouting Combine. That was after he was named an All-Big East First team selection, recording nine sacks his senior season following three years of near-anonymity at SU. He emerged as a legitimate NFL prospect, and the Ravens picked him, at No. 219, in April's NFL Draft.
He made it through training camp that summer. The day after camp ended Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome called him into his office.
"(Newsome) said, 'What do you think about Indianapolis?'" LaCasse said. "I said, 'It's fine, why?' (He) said 'We just traded you. Here's the phone, here's (Colts President) Bill Polian.' You realize in the NFL really quickly that you're definitely a commodity."
LaCasse would also quickly learn that, in order to stay a commodity, you need to be in top shape, something his persistent foot injury wouldn't allow him to do. He'd had surgery on the foot in the spring of 2007, but he would be cut by the Colts after training camp that summer because the heel wouldn't heal.
He worked out for a few other teams. None could get past his injury.
"Every team said, 'We like him, but we don't like his foot,'" LaCasse said. "Everybody was concerned about the foot. You get kind of marked in the NFL."
By the end of the 2007 season, he'd resigned himself to looking toward the future. LaCasse wanted to go back to school and stay involved in sports at the same time - a grad assistant program seemed perfect. He sent resumes and applications to schools around the country. Syracuse called him back.
He had been one of four Syracuse players drafted in 2006 (joining Anthony Smith, Quinn Ojinnaka and James Wyche), after running a 4.54 40-yard dash and bench-pressing 225 pounds 34 times in the February NFL Scouting Combine. That was after he was named an All-Big East First team selection, recording nine sacks his senior season following three years of near-anonymity at SU. He emerged as a legitimate NFL prospect, and the Ravens picked him, at No. 219, in April's NFL Draft.
He made it through training camp that summer. The day after camp ended Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome called him into his office.
"(Newsome) said, 'What do you think about Indianapolis?'" LaCasse said. "I said, 'It's fine, why?' (He) said 'We just traded you. Here's the phone, here's (Colts President) Bill Polian.' You realize in the NFL really quickly that you're definitely a commodity."
LaCasse would also quickly learn that, in order to stay a commodity, you need to be in top shape, something his persistent foot injury wouldn't allow him to do. He'd had surgery on the foot in the spring of 2007, but he would be cut by the Colts after training camp that summer because the heel wouldn't heal.
He worked out for a few other teams. None could get past his injury.
"Every team said, 'We like him, but we don't like his foot,'" LaCasse said. "Everybody was concerned about the foot. You get kind of marked in the NFL."
By the end of the 2007 season, he'd resigned himself to looking toward the future. LaCasse wanted to go back to school and stay involved in sports at the same time - a grad assistant program seemed perfect. He sent resumes and applications to schools around the country. Syracuse called him back.
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