Syracuse tight end Oronde Gadsden II has been the most productive player in the entire nation at his position through three weeks. Despite only playing two contests due to an uncharacteristically early bye, Gadsden II has already recorded 13 receptions for 201 yards and three touchdowns. He’s been downright dominant.
Gadsden II recently spoke exclusively with The Draft Network. He discussed the program’s big-time win over a ranked Georgia Tech team, his incredible start to the season, overcoming a 2023 injury, growing up around football royalty, and so much more.
JM: What an outstanding win that was in Week 2 over a ranked Georgia Tech team. The program must be riding a high going into the Stanford game this weekend.
Oronde Gadsden II: We’ve been preparing. We’ve been waiting to play these dudes [Stanford] for a minute. They’re new to the ACC, but the formula remains the same for us. We have to win all of our home games. That’s the goal the captains and seniors have laid out for our program.
We want to go undefeated in the ACC so we can compete for the conference championship at the end of the season. We’ve been hungry. It’s weird when you get that Week 2 bye. We’ve only played two games and we’re already on a break.
We’re hungry to play another game.
JM: They did you dirty with that early bye week. You’ve put it to good use though. You've been outstanding through two games. You're averaging more than 100 receiving yards per game and have already scored three touchdowns. What do you think has changed for you going into this season?
Oronde Gadsden II: Coach Fran Brown being in his first season, he’s doing an incredible job. He lured so much talent from the transfer portal to our program. Most importantly, he brought in Kyle McCord at quarterback and a whole new offensive line.
The running backs and wide receivers are new as well. Even the tight ends behind me are new. We brought in the best of the best that we could grab from the portal. I think we got the best quarterback and the best offensive linemen we could get.
The receivers we brought in from Georgia [Jackson Meeks and Zeed Haynes] are doing a great job. All of those key additions have made the world of a difference in our offense. We’ve all gelled well since this coaching staff took over in January.
We’ve been displaying that chemistry on the offensive side because we’ve been putting in the work. We’re catching extra passes after practice. We’ve gotten that timing down.
I think it all started with coach Fran Brown. He’s made us a more physical team. Even the guys that we’re already here are playing a more physical brand of football. The way that we practice and play, it’s all been coming together since the season started on August 31st.
We’re going to keep playing this way until our season ends, hopefully on January 20th [National Championship Game].
JM: Has it felt extra sweet because you're coming off an injury that cost you the final 11 games last season? I’m sure you were itching to get back out there.
Oronde Gadsden II: Yeah, I was definitely looking forward to coming back. I wanted to play more football last year. It ended up being a blessing in disguise though. I ended up getting with coach Fran Brown and we talked about all of the things the program planned to achieve this year.
Coach Brown has made me a way better player. There was some bad to the injury, but there was some good as well. It’s been a long time coming. I believe I had my surgery on September 17th last year. I got hurt on September 9th. It’s been a full year already.
It was a long time coming.
JM: What kept you strong mentally throughout that process?
Oronde Gadsden II: Being around my teammates and the game of football kept me strong and motivated. I did a lot of scouting reports and stuff in the background. I was working with our secondary.
I learned a lot from the coaches. I had a more complete view of the offense. I just stayed involved however I could. That’s usually what I was doing throughout the day and week.
I’m a football guy through and through. I don’t do anything else besides play football, go to school, and play video games in my spare time. Those are the only three things I really do. I just kept my routine the same even though I wasn’t able to play.
JM: What games do you like to hop on?
Oronde Gadsden II: NBA 2K25 just came out two weeks ago! We’ve been on that ever since (laughs). Obviously, we play a lot of NCAA 25 as well. We’re in the game! My teammates and I definitely played NCAA 25 for quite some time when it dropped.
We’ve moved onto NBA 2K25 for the most part. Eventually, we’ll start hopping back and forth between those two. We play a little Madden as well. I’m better at NCAA than I am at Madden though (laughs). I usually play that over Madden. Plus, I can use myself in NCAA 25, so that’s cool (laughs).
JM: That definitely makes a difference (laughs). Legendary NFL CB Patrick Surtain was actually your head coach in high school. That's awesome. What was that experience like?
Oronde Gadsden II: You know, that was the norm for me growing up. Dan Marino was my offensive coordinator in little league and Jason Taylor was the defensive coordinator. Sam Madison was the head coach. He played cornerback for the Miami Dolphins for a long time.
My dad [Oronde Gadsden] was also one of the coaches. I grew up playing with these guys. Jason Taylor has two sons, Isaiah and Mason, we grew up playing together. Daryl Porter and his son Daryl Porter Jr., who is at Miami right now, we grew up together.
Earl Little and his son, Marvin Jones [linebacker] and his son, you name it. Sam Madison and his son were always around. When I was in the eighth grade, I played against Tyson Campbell and Pat Surtain II.
We all grew up together. It wasn’t weird being coached by guys like Patrick Surtain, Jason Taylor, and Dan Marino. These guys were like my uncles. We’ve always gotten in good work together.
It’s paying off for all of us. Look where we’re at today.
JM: That’s amazing. You also made the switch from WR to TE at Syracuse. You're only in your third season playing TE full-time. Was that acclimation fairly straightforward? I imagine playing in-line as a blocker was the biggest learning curve.
Oronde Gadsden II: Yeah, it was definitely more confusing to me when I had to learn all the calls and checks. That was the first challenge. I already knew our run calls and the direction of the play. We ran a lot of inside zone and counter. Pin and pull, all of that stuff was simple to me.
When we have outside zone coming my way, I need to protect the outside. When the offensive line started changing calls on the fly, that’s what I initially struggled with because it wasn’t my responsibility at receiver, but I have to know that at tight end.
That first year at tight end, my sophomore season in 2022, I was probably 215 pounds. It was hard blocking those defensive linemen (laughs). Especially the ones from Big Ten schools like Purdue. Those guys were like 260, 270.
I’ve gotten my weight up. I’m like 240 now. Things have definitely gotten easier. After I had the injury in 2023, I spent that time learning more about our offense in general.
JM: That makes a lot of sense. Does Oronde Gadsden II have a favorite route to run?
Oronde Gadsden II: I really like running all of the routes. Any route in the route tree is fine with me. I do love a good corner route though.
JM: What sticks out about that corner route?
Oronde Gadsden II: It’s an easy route that comes with two ways to beat the defender. Once I get to the top of that corner route, I can either break high or break flat. There’s not a whole lot that goes into that.
I can shake the defender at the line of scrimmage. I can get him to jump the opposite of where I’m taking the route. I can take whichever angle I want to take. If I want the quarterback to throw it on a straight line, I can cut it flat. I’m going to cut downhill across the DB’s face. I can catch it and get out of bounds, or I can break a tackle.
If I want to take the corner route high, I’m working the back pylon of the end zone. I’m going to let the quarterback know that by the angle I’m taking, and he’s going to read it and throw it over the top.
I love that I can take that corner route in so many different directions. I just have to win on the second level.
JM: I loved that breakdown. What's the best game you've played in a Syracuse jersey to date and why?
Oronde Gadsden II: It’s funny, coach Fran Brown asked us that recently. We had to write our answers down in a team meeting like two days ago. My answer is still fresh in my mind!
I wrote down NC State, 2022. I think I had like eight catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns. We beat them when they were the 15th-ranked program in the nation. That was a pretty big game in general.
JM: We've appreciated your time. What are your goals for the remainder of the season?
Oronde Gadsden II: We want to win the ACC Championship. We want to qualify for a chance to play in the College Football Playoff and win a National Championship.
I don’t have any individual goals. It’s all about the team.
