Dwight Freeney put his own spin on his path to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Syracuse University is well represented in the hallowed halls of Canton, Ohio. Only six schools have more alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame than the college located in upstate New York. Notre Dame and Southern California top the list with 14 members. Next in line are Miami (Fla.), Michigan, and Ohio State with 11 Hall of Famers. The University of Pittsburgh has 10 men with busts in Canton, and Syracuse is right behind with nine honorees.

It’s quite the prestigious list — running backs Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, and Floyd Little, wide receivers Art Monk and Marvin Harrison, tight end John Mackey, center Jim Ringo, and longtime Raiders’ owner Al Davis. Defensive end/linebacker Dwight Freeney was the ninth alum of the Orange to enter Canton, and a quick look shows that he’s the first Syracuse University defensive player to be accorded such an honor.

Defensive end/outside linebacker Dwight Freeney made quite the career of chasing down opposing quarterbacks.

The 11th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts spent 17 seasons in the National Football League, the first 11 with the franchise that selected him. There would also be stops with the Chargers, Cardinals, Falcons, Seahawks, and Lions. There would be a total of 125.5 sacks (107.5 with Indianapolis), to go along with 47 forced fumbles, in 218 regular-season contests. He also recovered four fumbles, returning one for a touchdown.

The 6-foot-1, 268-pound defender, whose infamous spin move made life a living hell for offensive linemen and anyone else trying to protect a quarterback, totaled 10 or more QB traps in seven of his 11 seasons with the Colts. He led the NFL with 16.0 sacks in his third season in 2004.

Freeney also appeared in 22 postseason contests with the Colts (17), Cardinals (3) and Falcons (2). There were 11.0 more sacks, and the seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro (all during his days with the Colts) played in three Super Bowls with Indianapolis (XLI and XLIV), and Atlanta (LI), winning a ring in his first appearance in 2006.

Those Colts’ teams of the mid-1990s and throughout the 2000s have certainly had their share of star players, as well as a head coach and a team executive, make their way into the halls of Canton in recent years.

“I want to thank Bill Polian for taking a chance on me in the draft,” said Freeney during his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech in August (via Cliff Hickman of the Canton Repository). “You had a vision for the team you were building and you made that vision come to life when we won the Super Bowl in 2006. It was the memory of a lifetime. Thank you. To Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, your teachings and how you carried yourself on and off the field spoke volumes. You always put me in a position to succeed, and I’m proud to be on your team once again. Thank you.”

Along with Freeney, Polian and Dungy, the recent Colts enshrined in the Hall include quarterback Peyton Manning, running back Edgerrin James, and wide receiver Marvin Harrison, all of whom made an impact on the relentless pass rusher.

“To my Hall of Fame teammates, I learned so much from you. Peyton Manning, I watched how you prepared day in and out. It taught me the importance of preparation and never being surprised on game day. Marvin Harrison, I watched you practice at full speed every day. You showed me that practice was the place to master my craft. Every route you ran looked the same. It made me work so my pass rush moves look same. Edgerrin James, you were a true pro on and off field. You were a good teammate and a pretty good roommate, even if you never let me set the thermostat above 59 degrees.”

The Colts reached the playoffs nine consecutive years from 2002-10, one of the longest streaks in league history. Freeney was around for all of that, and certainly appreciates the game that he excelled at for many years.

“I want to thank the game of football today,” he explained back in August. “It allowed me to express myself and show my creativity. I saw myself as an artist and the football field was the canvas. I’m grateful for the feeling it gave me. It taught me to never be satisfied with myself or my performance. I was always driven to improve. That attitude helped me win my important battles on and off the field. It taught me not to be complacent or lazy.”

The hard-working performer also had a message for those looking to excel on the gridiron, and it’s a lesson that could be valuable elsewhere as well. “Football is not an easy game. At times, for young players, it can feel like an impossible journey. Hard work and sacrifice are the keys to opening the door for your dreams. You are going to hear that you are too short, too slow, not strong enough and not tough enough along the way. Use those words as fuel to push you to that next level. The bumps and bruises you suffer can push you to levels you never thought possible.”