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Tommy DeVito was the highly-touted recruit who was supposed to prove head coach Dino Babers’ 10-win season in 2018 wasn’t a fluke. He was the top-ranked recruit among Babers’ Class of 2017 signees, and one of just two four-star recruits during the entire Babers’ era. DeVito was Eric Dungey’s heir, the Elite 11 member and No. 13 ranked quarterback in his class.

After a redshirt season in 2017, DeVito impressed in 2018 as a backup to Dungey. The newcomer went 11-of-16 for 144 yards and threw a touchdown against Florida State in an SU victory, winning him Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Week. He entered late in the fourth quarter and led the Orange to a double-overtime victory over UNC. Questions arose about whether he’d challenge Dungey for the starting job.

Three years later, DeVito is entering the transfer portal after losing the starting job to Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader. DeVito never lived up to his potential in SU’s system. He didn’t even come close.

The anticipated star ranked 102nd of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks in Pro Football Focus’ 2019 final rankings, the last time he played a complete season. He ranked 95th heading into the 2021 season, too. DeVito averaged almost 200 yards per game during 2019, but was completing just 50% of his passes in 2020.

But the quarterback didn’t have an ideal environment. DeVito was constantly on the run, playing behind a thinned offensive line that gave up 88 sacks in 2019 and 2020 combined — a record for FBS — though injuries played a factor. He was asked to run a fast-paced offense with “spare parts,” DeVito’s longtime quarterback coach Leon Clarke said. 

Babers is adamant that conversations between him and his players are private, and that’s understandable. But he also said publicly that his quarterback situation would be like a starter-reliever strategy, yet he didn’t play DeVito after those comments, even when Shrader struggled. Babers didn’t inform DeVito he wasn’t starting until two hours before kickoff against Liberty after DeVito took starting team reps all week. 

Babers recruited a dual-threat quarterback and re-tailored the offensive scheme, telling Shrader before the start of the year that he’d get the opportunity to compete for the starting job.

Babers has said DeVito is special to him. “We treat everybody the same, but Tommy DeVito is different,” he explained on Monday. But for a player Babers said he was “tied at the hip” with, DeVito deserved better.

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DeVito’s decision to transfer midseason is more than just a reflection of changing times and the NCAA’s changes in transfer portal rules. The New Jersey native has one year of eligibility remaining after this season, regardless of if he finished out this season at SU or not. So why leave in the middle of the year, when he’s scheduled to graduate from SU in December, instead of waiting the season out?

Clarke said that, seven games into the year, SU throwing the ball 37 times behind Shrader against Clemson was the tipping point for DeVito. The coaching staff not moving to him when Shrader struggled was a sign that DeVito would no longer earn minutes, forcing him to enter the transfer portal and start fielding early offers.

Now Syracuse has lost DeVito and receiver Taj Harris, among others. That’s problematic.

Schools nationwide have been adjusting to the changes in the rules, and many others have experienced mid-season transfers too. But since training camp when Harris, backup running back Jarveon Howard, offensive lineman Cody Shear and tight end Landon Morris all transferred, the Orange led all Power 5 schools with the most transfers.

SU lost a key offensive starter in Harris who already had playing time. At least on the surface, though, it could be explained — Harris didn’t use his redshirt year, so playing in less than four games meant he’d have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Syracuse’s run-based offense didn’t favor Harris and his presumable goals to be selected in the NFL draft. Howard was in a similar situation with an unused redshirt year, though his minutes were limited this season.

But DeVito was different. Leaving midseason had no impact on his eligibility, Babers confirmed. Two weeks ago, DeVito explained those exact differences between his situation compared to Harris’ or Howard’s. DeVito cited those differences as reasons that he’d stay put, “because you never know what’s going to happen.”

The Clemson game was part of the reason DeVito changed his mind, Clarke said. Harris’ departure contributed to the decision too, and Clarke said it felt like the offensive pieces weren’t there anymore and the scheme didn’t fit DeVito’s skillset. He could’ve transferred at the end of the season, presuming Shrader would be the starter next year as well, but he instead elected to leave immediately.

Babers needs to more thoroughly address DeVito’s premature departure. He’s had two important offensive weapons enter the portal in the middle of the season, a concerning look for the program. 

On Sept. 13, when asked if Shrader would consider transferring, Babers said that, although he doesn’t want anyone to leave the team, players have the option to.

“If you’re not the starter and you feel like you can go play somewhere else with the transfer portal … you can leave and take your opportunities somewhere else,” Babers said. “We don’t want you to leave, we think you should stay here, and work for it, but if you want to go somewhere where you’re guaranteed a starter somewhere, then you have the option to do that.”

Two weeks ago, DeVito compared his situation to that of Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts. Tagovailoa was benched for Hurts during the 2017 National Championship game, resulting in a quarterback contest the following season. Tagovailoa won the job, but Hurts stuck around and built himself a notable legacy at Alabama.

DeVito said those two served as role models for him. After losing SU’s starting job to Shrader, DeVito said he wanted to handle losing the starting job the same way as the Alabama duo — by sticking around and “be(ing) the best teammate possible.”

But if we’re using DeVito’s analogy, it’s important to highlight that after a year backing up Tagovailoa in 2018, Hurts entered the transfer portal and moved to Oklahoma. 

DeVito has done the same. He waited four games as the backup, and now he’s in the portal too.

— Asst. sports editor Connor Smith contributed reporting.

Roshan Fernandez is a senior staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at rferna04@syr.edu or on Twitter @Roshan_f16. 

Published on October 18, 2021 at 11:23 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16