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Cooper Dawson, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman, won’t play in 2020 due to coronavirus-related concerns. 

Dawson is the first Syracuse athlete to publicly opt out of the season. SU will honor the scholarship of any athlete who isn’t comfortable playing because of the pandemic, Director of Athletics John Wildhack said in a July 30 press conference.

Dawson, a 3-star prospect from Charleston, South Carolina, redshirted last season. He was an Atlantic Coast Conference honor roll selection and a member of the Syracuse Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for both of his freshman semesters. ESPN, 247 Sports and Rivals ranked him a top-25 player in South Carolina while he was in high school. 

The redshirt freshman is also the vice president of Uplifting Athletes, an organization that takes action against and raises awareness for rare diseases through sport. 

Illinois running back Ra’Von Bonner in late July became the first FBS player to publicly announce he won’t play in 2020 due to COVID-19. A day later, expected first round pick Caleb Farley of Virginia Tech opted out. At least 12 FBS players have publicly opted out. 

“Our student-athletes, they want to play,” Wildhack said. “They want to compete. And we were very clear with all of our student athletes and our head coaches, with their families, their parents: If anybody felt uncomfortable coming back, they didn’t have to come back.”

Published on August 6, 2020 at 10:41 am

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman