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Greg Paulus met with the Syracuse football coaching staff Monday to discuss the possibility of joining the Orange as a quarterback for the 2009 season.
Paulus, a Syracuse native and a four-year member of the Duke basketball team, also attended a graduate student reception at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, accompanied by SU football head coach Doug Marrone. There is no indication that Paulus has committed to Syracuse to play football.
Phone calls to the Paulus' home in Manlius went unreturned Monday evening. Marrone told The Daily Orange he could not comment on Paulus because it would be a violation of NCAA rules to comment on a recruit.
Paulus starred as a high school basketball and football player at nearby Christian Brothers Academy before accepting a scholarship offer to play point guard for the Blue Devils. He recently finished his classes at Duke and would have to enroll in a graduate program at Syracuse not offered at Duke to be eligible to play football.
The NCAA released a statement last week saying Paulus would need a special transfer waiver to play at any school other than Duke.
Reached by telephone Monday night, Joe Casamento, Paulus' high school coach at CBA, said he spoke to Paulus between 6 and 7 p.m. They were unable to discuss details of Paulus' visit, Casamento said, because Paulus was meeting with SU offensive coordinator Rob Spence in his office.
"I told him he should go wherever his heart is," Casamento said. "Don't worry about the experts who say he can't do this, can't do that. Greg has the courage to try. He doesn't have to do this, but he is. He should be commended for putting himself out there and trying this. A lot of people would be too afraid."
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Paulus was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2004 while at CBA. He threw for 11,763 yards and 152 touchdowns during his high school career.
In his four-year basketball career with the Blue Devils, Paulus averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 assists in 139 total games.
jediamon@syr.edu
magelb@syr.edu
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