‘It was good for him’: Demetres Samuel Jr. picked on in 1st collegiate game
Tennessee picked on Demetres Samuel Jr. in his first college game, scoring a 73-yard touchdown on the freshman, but he improved from there. Leonardo Eriman | Photo Editor
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ATLANTA — A trailing Demetres Samuel Jr. desperately tried punching the ball away from Braylon Staley as he approached the goal line. It was Samuel’s last resort. One that failed, as Staley crossed into the end zone.
Ten seconds earlier, Samuel lined up eight yards off Staley. As the receiver drove upfield, Samuel backtracked, attempting to stick with the speedster. Samuel flipped his hips, expecting his counterpart to cut outside. Samuel was wrong.
Staley went infield, gaining a step on the cornerback. That was Joey Aguilar’s cue to uncork a deep ball to his receiver. The quarterback hit Staley in stride, leaving Samuel to eat his dust on a 73-yard touchdown.
Stepping on a college football field isn’t easy. Especially when you’re 17-years old and supposed to be in high school. Samuel learned that the hard way in Syracuse’s 45-26 loss to No. 24 Tennessee. The Volunteers went after the true freshman cornerback on numerous occasions, looking to take advantage of his inexperience. Samuel didn’t get beat every time he was targeted, but it was clear UT wanted to test him.
“I thought it was good for him,” said SU head coach Fran Brown. “He’s a freshman. The kid should be a senior in high school and he’s in college. He got beat on a deep pass, and he came back and he played.”
Brown wasn’t concerned that Samuel got beat. He was worried about how he’d respond. Getting burnt for a touchdown like that can wreck anyone’s confidence, let alone a true freshman. So when the head coach saw Samuel enter the locker with his chin up, he no longer panicked.
“I just told him, ‘Just keep fighting; I love you; it’ll come back,’” Brown said.
Tennessee wide receiver Braylon Staley sprints past Syracuse corner Demetres Samuel Jr. en route to a 73-yard touchdown. The Volunteers went after Samuel early, but he improved as the game went on. Leonardo Eriman | Photo Editor
The head coach’s confidence in Samuel is plentiful. A four-star freshman from Palm Bay, Florida, Samuel skipped his senior year of high school to play for Syracuse. His reasoning? High school was too easy for him.
So how would college be?
It began with Brown anointing Samuel a starting cornerback during training camp. He was ready to throw his uber-talented freshman into the fire.
If Samuel didn’t reclassify from 2026 to 2025, he would’ve spent Saturday watching college football, while recovering from a game the night before. Instead, he was playing in front of nearly 50,000 fans — most of which rooted for Tennessee — at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
His youth put a target on his back. Tennessee knew that and exploited it in the first half.
On UT’s third play from scrimmage, Aguilar fired a deep ball downfield. Samuel went stride-for-stride with Chris Brazzell II, while Aguilar’s pass looked slightly underthrown. Samuel tugged on Brazzell’s jersey, then climbed on his back well before the ball got there, which drew a pass interference call. Brown feels Samuel misjudged the ball’s trajectory and “got a little excited” as a freshman.
During the same drive, Aguilar scrambled to his right and fired a pass towards Miles Kitselman, though Samuel stuck his hand in to break it up. Facing a third down in the red zone, Aguilar lofted the ball on a fade route for Brazzell in the corner of the end zone. His pass was slightly overthrown, while Samuel blanketed the receiver with good coverage.
Samuel held up his right index figure as if to signal “not in my house.”
Demetres Samuel Jr. defends Tennessee receiver Chris Brazzell II. Samuel, who should be a senior in high school, made his collegiate debut in front of over 50,000 fans in Atlanta Saturday. Leonardo Eriman | Photo Editor
It wouldn’t be the last time he’d be thrown at on Saturday. The following quarter brought Aguilar’s monster connection with Staley, which was two plays after Yasin Willis made it a two-possession game.
“It’s always about when you get beat, what do you do afterwards,” Brown said of Samuel. “That’s how you’re supposed to judge, after what you go through. But I thought he did a really good job after he got beat, and I’m proud of him going out there and consistently competing.”
Staley’s touchdown put Tennessee up 24-7 during a half where Aguilar torched Syracuse for 179 of his total 247 passing yards. The Appalachian State transfer had ample time to throw, while SU’s defensive line put little pressure on him. The same couldn’t be said for Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli, who was sacked five times.
Once the second half came around, Tennessee wasn’t as willing to air the ball out. With the Vols leading by as much as 24, Aguilar only dropped back to pass 10 times. That gave Samuel less tests. Even then, there weren’t any glaring mistakes like during the first half.
Brown said Samuel used his leverage better in coverage after halftime. He improved at tracking players in their routes down the field, preventing any blown coverages.
With Devin Grant and Berry Buxton III going out with injuries and not returning, Syracuse’s secondary depth is waning. Brown didn’t give an update on either player postgame, but if they’re out for an extended period of time, the Orange need Samuel out there. He can’t replace Grant nor Buxton III, but Syracuse needs as much talent in the secondary it can get.
Giving someone with Samuel’s experience — or lack thereof — a prominent role on defense always was going to come with its challenges. While growing pains were evident against Tennessee, there were also bright spots.
Samuel has a lot of football ahead of him and it’d be extremely harsh to draw conclusions on his career trajectory based on a couple missed plays.
“I’m excited about his future,” Brown said. “I think he’ll do well.”
