CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — It doesn’t matter how quickly Sean Hickey tries to turn the page and direct his focus to his aspirations of a professional career. The disappointment of this final season won’t even be the root of the problem.

That he will never again play for Syracuse will be.

“It’s going to sting, just because this has been my life for five years,” said Hickey, a fifth-year left tackle and SU captain. “It’s hard to even remember life not being a Syracuse football player so that’s going to take a little bit of time.

“It’s always going to sting. You’re never going to get rid of it.”

Although the Orange’s (3-9, 1-7 Atlantic Coast) season came to a bitter close with a 28-7 loss at Boston College on Saturday, it didn’t put a damper on the seniors’ reflections of their Syracuse experience. SU said farewell to a group of 28 seniors, a group that included all four of the team’s captains this year — two of which were fifth-year players and three-time bowl winners with the Orange.

“Great group of kids, not a good group of kids,” SU head coach Scott Shafer said.

For left guard Rob Trudo, a senior with one more year of eligibility, sending the seniors out on this kind of a year is a tough pill to swallow, he said.

Throughout the Orange’s injury-plagued season, SU’s seniors were constants.

Hickey didn’t miss a start at left tackle on an offensive line that shuffled backups in and out all year long. Captain running back Prince-Tyson Gulley provided leadership for a deep but inexperienced running backs group. The Syracuse defense bailed out the struggling offense time after time, and did so with a slew of seniors at each position.

Senior cornerback Brandon Reddish’s two interceptions on the year led the team and outside linebackers Cameron Lynch and Dyshawn Davis were always in contention to top the Orange in tackles.

But Lynch, a two-year starter, doesn’t remember many plays from his previous seasons.

His tackles and sacks from the past have slipped his mind, but what he’s developed with his teammates will remain clear in his memory as he moves on from his Syracuse football career, as unfulfilling as the last go-round was.

“Of course, frustration sets in but for my seniors it’s really about the guys that are with you,” Lynch said. “… It’s the guys that you build this bond with. That’s what it’s all about. As long as I’ve got my brothers with me, that’s all that matters.”

Published on November 29, 2014 at 7:39 pm

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