Click Here "You dream of these things. To have this opportunity, I wanted to take advantage of it," the 23-year-old Paulus said as he prepared for Thursday's pro day before at least a dozen NFL teams at Syracuse. "In the back of my mind this was definitely something I wanted. Hopefully, we're going to get some positive feedback. I'll do the best I can."
Paulus ended his one-year career with the Orange with two school single-season records -- most completions and highest completion rate. He started all 12 games of a 4-8 season, completing 193 of 285 passes (67.7 percent) with 14 interceptions and 13 touchdowns for 2,024 yards.
Orange head coach Doug Marrone, in his rookie year at his alma mater, tabbed Paulus as the team's starter in preseason camp last August -- less than a week after seeing him throw a pass in person for the first time.
"Only having since the end of May, you only have two or three months to build your arm strength," said Paulus, who was voted a team captain before the season by his new teammates. "That wasn't enough. Now that I've been doing it a certain amount of months straight and preparing for this time, it's gotten a lot stronger. It's not even close."
Paulus has been working out with Orange strength and conditioning coach Will Hicks and has boosted his weight to 204 pounds, up from about 180 when he arrived.
"I feel good about that. I'm always trying to get stronger, faster, continuing to build footwork," Paulus said. "I didn't have as much time to prepare for the season. Being able to work on footwork has been a huge thing. Being able to throw on a consistent basis has allowed my arm and my timing to be better. I'm just trying to continue to get better."
Hicks said Wednesday that the 12 to 15 NFL teams Syracuse expects at pro day all want to take a look at Paulus.
"Considering when he first got here, he's made great progress as far as his body weight, strength, core stability, arm strength, those type of things," Hicks said. "I've been getting a lot of interest ... He's going to have a legitimate opportunity. He's a hard worker, he's got all the charisma and leadership skills and the smarts. I just hope he improved enough physically to give himself an opportunity."
