ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Syracuse has a national buzz again.

Paulus

That's my initial reaction to the news that former Duke basketball guard Greg Paulus is coming home to play quarterback for the Orange. Forget for a moment the enormity of the challenge facing Paulus -- and it is enormous -- and instead focus on what this does for the Orange.

Whatever happens on the football field, Paulus is going to attract national attention. There are fewer brighter spotlights in college sports than playing basketball at Duke. This unprecedented attempt to follow that up by playing quarterback will surely draw the curiosity of fans and media all season.

That may not seem like a huge deal, but ask yourself this: Who was the last Syracuse player to create any kind of national hype? I mean, Arthur Jones is an outstanding defensive tackle, and Curtis Brinkley set some rushing milestones last year, but I doubt that many people outside of upstate New York (or faithful readers of this blog) know much of anything about them. It probably hasn't been since Dwight Freeney in 2001 that an Orange player made headlines outside of his circle of influence.

And that's vitally important as first-year coach Doug Marrone tries to revive the program. As any team-rebuilder will tell you, one of the most crucial first steps is to bring the brand name back into public consciousness. As Syracuse kept losing and losing under Greg Robinson, the once-powerful program kept slipping and slipping farther off the radar. High school recruits today don't remember Donovan McNabb in an Orange uniform. All they know is Syracuse hasn't had a winning record since they hit puberty.

Paulus is already a big deal in Syracuse, where he was a star high school quarterback. His mere presence should guarantee more interest locally and higher ticket sales for the team's eight home games. The Carrier Dome can really rock when the fans fill it up and tune in. But when it's half-empty as it has been too often lately, it can be moribund.

How long the interest will last will depend on whether Paulus actually gets on the field. Paulus is basically no different than a true freshman who shows up in the summer and tries to win a job in fall camp. Actually, he may be a little behind most freshmen since he's had four years away from the sport, although his maturity level and big-game experience in basketball may help some.

Paulus is obviously a smart guy, as his Duke degree proves. But he'll have a summer of unsupervised workouts and then about three weeks of official practice in August to pick up all the nuances of the system. He'll be way behind current No. 1 quarterback Ryan Nassib, who's gone through winter conditioning and a full spring of practices. You have to wonder what Nassib is thinking today.

Marrone can't comment officially on Paulus yet because he's still technically an unsigned recruit. But I can't wait to hear the coach's take. There will be a lot of pressure from the fans to play Paulus now that he's on board, but how will teammates react if it looks like he just walks in and is handed the job?

Paulus said he doesn't mind if he's asked to be a backup.

"I want to help Syracuse," he said. "I want to make a positive difference and make an impact."

He's already done that, just by creating a buzz.