After moving from TE to LB in 2025, Jamie Tremble embraces new identity
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Jamie Tremble had heard it for years. He was a tight end that should be playing linebacker.
“He is the prototype for a pass rusher,” his uncle Bert Watts often told his parents, Greg and Abigail Tremble. “He has the bend to do it, the speed to do it.
“You gotta let him play linebacker.”
Still, Jamie had no plans to move off offense, where he played for most of high school and his 2024 freshman season at Syracuse. After all, he was following the path of his brother, Tommy Tremble, a tight end for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
That was until Abigail’s phone rang last spring.
It was Fran Brown, and SU’s head coach was contemplating a change: He wanted to use Jamie’s athleticism off the edge. But he didn’t want to move forward without consulting Abigail and Greg.
Brown first called Abigail, but she turned the decision over to Greg, a former NFL defensive back. All Greg cared about was guaranteeing Jamie playing time, which Brown assured him this move would do. Jamie had already agreed to switch for that reason.
It proved successful last season when Jamie established himself as a viable pass rusher, validating Watts’ and others’ beliefs. Jamie finished 2025 with three sacks — the second most on a weak pass rush unit — four tackles for loss and 18 tackles in 246 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Now, after a full offseason learning defensive keys, Jamie has become defensive coordinator Vince Kehres’ third-down specialist in 2026.
“The biggest thing was opportunity,” Jamie said of his positional switch. “Coach Fran just wanted somebody really athletic to play, so he asked me, and I stepped up.”
But Jamie’s quick adjustment didn’t come out of nowhere. He was Wesleyan High School’s (Georgia) No. 1 receiver for three years despite beginning his varsity career at linebacker after older receivers blocked him.
On offense, he was a “deep threat, quick screen threat and everything in between,” Wesleyan head coach Franklin Pridgen said. He caught 10-12 balls per game and could turn screens that should go five yards into touchdowns, his receivers coach Candler Baxley added.
Jamie Tremble bursts past a defender to reel in a touchdown pass while playing for Wesleyan High School. He primarily played wide receiver there but got his first exposure to defense when called upon. Courtesy of Abigail Tremble
That isn’t too unorthodox for a Division I commit. But his defensive involvement was.
Even when starting at receiver, Jamie took occasional linebacker snaps to blitz and get sacks when Wesleyan needed a play. Pridgen made Jamie’s job simple — he only needed to focus on his read. And he always came through.
“My goodness, I wish he was still around because he would sack the quarterback almost every time,” Pridgen said. “It was a heck of a weapon for us.”
Jamie said his high school versatility aided his transition last season, though it wouldn’t come into play for another few years.
That started with his recruitment. Jamie was advertised as a receiver and tight end, his defensive experience being a mere bonus. Greg said many schools worried about his stature — 6-foot-1, 200 pounds — but not Syracuse.
After originally being recruited by former SU head coach Dino Babers, Jamie’s athleticism kept him on Brown’s list. He had an absurd 11-foot, six-inch broad jump, which Greg said would top the NFL Combine each year. He also ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and competed in track and field at Wesleyan, placing second in the triple jump in the 2023 Georgia AAA states.
Tommy can’t even match those numbers. A few years ago, the brothers had a vertical jump contest in their house. As the NFL player, Tommy said he didn’t think Jamie could even sniff his mark, mistakenly underestimating his brother.
The competition was too close to call on two legs, so they switched to one. To Abigail, the result was clear: Jamie won. Tommy won’t admit it but said he certainly doesn’t want a rematch.
“I noticed as I was doing stuff, I’m like, ‘This kid’s times are kind of insane,’” Tommy told The Daily Orange. “How are you running this? How are you jumping this far? I don’t really get how you’re doing that stuff.”
Jamie’s measurables landed him 45th on 247Sports’ 2024 Freaks List, which ranked that year’s “freakiest college football recruits.”
But even his self-promotion couldn’t get many non-Atlantic Coast Conference teams to bite.
The biggest thing was opportunity. Coach Fran just wanted somebody really athletic to play, so he asked me, and I stepped up.Jamie Tremble, Syracuse linebacker
The Orange did, and Brown’s commitment, along with SU’s reliance on future NFL tight end Oronde Gadsden II across his career, led to Jamie’s decision in June 2023.
“When Jamie was being recruited, it was just a little different,” Greg said. “It seems like they already wanted him at 230 pounds instead of saying, ‘You’re 17 years old, you’re gonna grow during your career.’”
“But Fran recognized the potential,” Abigail responded. “That was the difference with Fran.”
It was hard for Jamie to show that potential without opportunity, though. He caught one ball in 12 games as a freshman, prompting his move to defense.
That led Brown to call Jamie’s parents before his sophomore year. Brown emphasized Jamie was too good to sit on the bench behind other offensive playmakers and that his athleticism alone could improve SU’s barren pass rush unit.
Jamie was the parents’ next call. He fielded question after question, including: “Will you play both sides?” His answer, initially, was yes.
Though Greg was skeptical at first, Tommy didn’t question the switch. That’s because Jamie and Tommy were outliers in a “defensive-minded family,” Tommy said — besides Greg, Watts played safety and their grandfather played linebacker.
Now, the brothers are playing on different sides of the ball for the first time in six years.
“I talked to my parents, and then I talked to my position coach, Coach (Michael) Johnson, and then I was talking to some of the defensive coaches, and we were all on the same page,” Jamie said. “I was just ready to get in there and play, so I was willing to do whatever it took.”
Jamie’s transition was delayed a few weeks after pulling a hamstring in last year’s fall camp. But from there, Syracuse’s coaches added new tactics to his repertoire every week, former SU linebackers coach Robert Wright said.
One session, he’d take on blocks. Another, they’d go over footwork. Syracuse’s coaches didn’t want to overwhelm him, especially when he was still practicing with the offense early in the season.
The offense and defense practice on separate fields, so Jamie initially spent the final minutes of each drill hauling himself to either end of the complex. He’d go from offensive meetings to individual tight end drills to manning the SAM linebacker spot in defensive sessions.
But by SU’s Week 4 clash with Clemson, Jamie had fully switched over. There was no need to run back and forth; he was just a linebacker.
Jamie Tremble celebrates a defensive stop during a 30-13 loss to Pittsburgh on Oct. 18, 2025. He recorded one of his three sacks of the season that game, which was a career-best mark. Joe Zhao | Daily Orange File Photo
After adding bits and pieces, Jamie became Syracuse’s third-down guy. His athleticism got him places, even if Greg felt he didn’t know much about “reading defensive keys” and sometimes “looked a little lost.” Former Orange defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr. said he taught Jamie passrush moves that fit his skill set, including stab clubs and stab goes.
Jobity — now with the Pittsburgh Steelers — remembers one particular sack. In Jamie’s third full game on defense at SMU, Jobity turned the corner and prepared to hit Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings. Before he could get close, Jamie already had Jennings on the ground.
“There’s a lot of guys out there who move around position to position. If you’re not tough, you’re not going to be (successful),” Jobity said. “But he’s a guy where you can put him at kicker, he’ll probably figure out a way to be tough there, too.”
The offseason granted Jamie time to learn the ins and outs of linebacker instead of relying on raw ability to stay afloat, Abigail said. Jamie spent two weeks in California working with Proactive Sports Performance, a training company that helped him master pass rush packages, Tommy added.
“Jamie really focused and wanted to learn defense more,” Abigail said. “But like Jamie always says, he’s ready to go in on an offensive play whenever they need it.”
Jamie’s already been asked about returning to offense. Standing in the John A. Lally Athletics Complex on Sept. 1, he chuckled.
He’d already mulled it over. Syracuse’s offensive coaches had joked with him about it. He’ll always be ready, as his mother said, because that’s the type of player he is.
But he’s made his switch. He’s Jamie Tremble, the linebacker, and any offensive output is the true bonus now.
“Him getting this opportunity to really show his talents, especially on the defensive side, it’s fun,” Tommy said. “And hopefully one of these next few years, I can line up against him on the pro field.”
