Sean Tucker is doing his NFL training in Florida. What did his trainer think of his 2022 season?

By syracuse.com (TNS)January 6, 2023

Syracuse, N.Y. — Sean Tucker has flown south for the winter.

The star Syracuse football running back is training at an all-inclusive facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this offseason as he prepares for the 2023 NFL Draft. He is not returning to SU next year.

Originally from just outside Baltimore, Tucker spent much of the past three years in the Salt City using the Orange’s facilities for his offseason training with his long-time trainer, Daniel Harper Sr.

The move to Florida was based largely on weather, Harper told syracuse.com on Thursday. He was working with Tucker at the time.

Tucker hopes to be invited to the 2023 NFL Combine, which will take place from Sunday, Feb. 26 to Monday, March 6 in Indianapolis. Different position groups will arrive and be tested at different times, with running backs among the last to participate. Players who declared for the draft early are considered for the combine by its selection committee in late January.

Tucker will also return to Syracuse for the school’s Pro Day, which typically occurs sometime in March or early April.

The 2023 NFL Draft is slated for Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City.

Tucker and his camp knew this season would be his last at the collegiate level. But he did have a decision to make about whether he was going to play in the Pinstripe Bowl, Harper said, which he ultimately decided against.

“I think we can all agree: Some guys don’t need to show us any more,” Harper said. “We know they can play.”

He noted that most players who opt-out of bowl games do so to conserve their bodies in a time in the sport when long-term injuries are increasingly common. At least six SU players suffered serious injuries this year.

That said, Harper was adamant Tucker is completely healthy. As he lacked the explosiveness Syracuse fans had become acquainted with in 2021, many fans speculated Tucker had been injured on one of a handful of hard hits near the beginning of the season, impacting his performance.

Around mid-season, Tucker said he was healthy. Harper confirmed then to syracuse.com that was the case, and did so again post-season.

“Nothing long-term, nothing significant, nothing serious that would’ve kept him from having more production,” Harper said. “I think it was just a matter of just the play calling and coaches trying to try something new. Sean is 1500% healthy. He was healthy all year.”

Tucker finished the year with 1,060 rushing yards, 436 fewer than he did in his breakout 2021 campaign.

But with how much Tucker was used as a receiver throughout the season — he caught 36 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns — Harper said 1,000 yards is “still very aggressive.” Tucker knew he would be used more as a multi-purpose back this year than he had been in previous ones (20 receptions in 2021 and eight in 2020).

“I think he would’ve loved to see more production on the ground, but overall, I think it still went well,” Harper said. “He hit the 1,000 mark. Who doesn’t want 1,200? Who doesn’t want 1,500?”

Here’s a look at Tucker’s final numbers from the season and his SU career.

Contact Emily Leiker anytime: Email | Twitter

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