Babers: All-American Andre Cisco out for season, Tommy DeVito status still in question
SU football injury updates on Andre Cisco, Tommy DeVito
All-American defensive back Andre Cisco is out for the rest of Syracuse football’s 2020 season, head coach Dino Babers announced Monday afternoon. The news comes after the Orange added to their list of injuries in a 38-24 loss to Duke, including starting quarterback Tommy DeVito.
“When you’re playing a pure ACC schedule, the injuries mount up,” Babers said. “The heart is there, the speed is there, but the physicality is something you have to match.”
Babers initially described Cisco’s injury as a “lower extremity injury” last week. Cisco reportedly suffered an ACL tear, which was first reported by The Daily Orange and later confirmed by 247Sports. The average time for a full recovery of an ACL tear is around nine months.
Cisco collided with teammate Ed Hendrix minutes before Syracuse’s home-opener began last week. Video showed Cisco limping off the field as warmups continued. He hasn’t played since after recording 11 tackles and an interception in two games this season.
Breaking: Andre Cisco collided with Ed Hendrix in warmups moments ago. He limped off the field shaking his head. pic.twitter.com/Sb8sQ5xbGb
— Gill Gross☕ (@Gill_Gross) September 26, 2020
His role in SU’s defense has shifted as defensive coordinator Tony White altered the team’s scheme to a 3-3-5. Cisco moved to rover and Trill Williams took his spot as starting safety. Cisco was projected to go as high as the second round in the 2021 NFL Draft prior to this season if he chose to forgo his final year of eligibility. As a freshman, he was named second-team All-American.
Unlike Cisco, DeVito has played in all four of SU’s games this season but left Saturday’s game against Duke in the fourth quarter. After the loss, Babers described the injury as “not good.” He had no immediate updates on Monday except that DeVito was still on crutches.
Rex Culpepper made his third appearance of the season against the Blue Devils on Saturday in relief for DeVito. If DeVito is unable to play against Liberty, Culpepper is expected to make his second career start.
“Rex has been with us from the beginning,” Babers said of the possibility of Culpepper starting. “He knows this offense as well as anybody. It’s just about executing and doing things right. He’s got a lot of knowledge, we’ve just got to be able to execute around him.”
is a contributor to The NewsHouse.
