During the three-year tenure of Fran Brown as the head coach of Syracuse football, the program has routinely welcomed back multiple players and coaches to team practices.

Any time a former Syracuse connection comes back to town, it's a good way to blend the history of the program with the future.

Included in the group of former Orange coaches and players that have returned to teach Brown's teams are Tom Coughlin, Ed Orgeron, Keith Bulluck, and Kevin Johnson. Following Monday's practice, Brown confirmed that another Syracuse legend would be in attendance at practice later this week. 

Brown noted that on either Tuesday or Wednesday, former Orange player Dwight Freeney would be in attendance at practice. Arguably the best defensive player in school history, Freeney had a decorated career at both the college and professional level.

Freeney's resume in Central New York included an All-American selection (2001), being a finalist for national awards including the Bednarik and Nagurski, as well as a Top 10 finish in Heisman Trophy voting (2001).

Freeney's 4.5 sacks against Virginia Tech still stands as a single-game program record. Freeney's individual performance against then Hokie quarterback Mike Vick is considered one of the best performances by any single player in an Orange uniform. Following his time in Central New York, Freeney was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. After 16 seasons in the NFL, Freeney retired as a top 20 career sack leader in NFL history.

Freeney is inductee in both the college and professional football hall of fames.

The legendary player has been around the program multiple times since Brown's first season in 2024. In that year, Freeney was honored at the JMA Wireless Dome with his jersey (No. 54) being retired. This past March, Freeney was a part of the program's coaching clinic.

Monday marked day one of Week 4 of training camp practice for the group. This week is the final week of training camp practices before the team transitions into game week preparation, starting on Aug. 31.

The Orange are preparing for the season opener on Sept. 5 against New Hampshire.

As August winds down, so does SyracuseRoundtable live coverage's from camp. Friday's practice will be the final day of on-site camp coverage. 

We'll also have live coverage from all Syracuse home games at the JMA Wireless Dome.