The young linebacker eyeing a larger role in 2025.
It’s time to start preparing for the 2025 Syracuse Orange football season. We’re going through the roster to take a look at each Syracuse player as we get to know a lot of new faces for Year 2 of the Fran Brown Era.
Up next is…
Name: James Heard
Position: Linebacker
Year: Redshirt Sophomore
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 228 lbs.
Hometown: Camden, NJ
High School/Previous College: Camden High School/West Virginia
2024 stats: Appeared in 11 games and tallied seven tackles (0.5 tackles for loss) and one interception.
2025 projections: The departure of Marlowe Wax and Justin Barron during the offseason leaves a clear opportunity for a larger role for Heard in 2025, and he was already in the rotation with both those guys in the linebacker depth chart. Is he the day-one starter? Probably not a lock but definitely a conversation. Will he get more snaps on the field and see an uptick? Most likely.
How’d he get here?: Originally committed to West Virginia over offers from more than 10 Power 5 schools, including Penn State, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Kentucky. Played three games with the Mountaineers in 2023, then redshirted the rest of the year before transferring to the Orange in December 2023.
What’d recruiting sites say?: Three-star on 247Sports
Winners Get Washed: Black Wolf — “for the guys that embrace the blood, sweat, and grime of the daily hustle.”
Instagram: @jamesheardjr
Twitter: @jamesheardjr
Syracuse Defense has a turnover perk. Any time the team makes a turnover, the entire defense takes shots of … Orange Juice. Here is @JamesHeardjr with the first one of the season. pic.twitter.com/PrPCtiN1rA
— CuseSports44 (@CuseSports44) September 1, 2024
Interesting nugget o’interest: Heard isn’t the only Camden High School alum on the team right now. Besides Heard, coach Fran Brown and Duce Chestnut are also graduates from that school.
Let’s get a look at ya: Hudl tape from high school: