Spring games are known for feel-good moments. It can be a walk-on earning a scholarship, a moment of coach-led comedy, or, as most often seems to be the case, a young fan going through a season of medical adversity steps on the field to score a touchdown with their heroes. Surely you remember this moment from Nebraska’s spring game in 2013.
Syracuse had one of its own moments on Friday night-- with a twist. The “player” who scored a touchdown was actually a player.
Orange quarterback Rex Culpepper stepped away from the team last month to focus on his battle with testicular cancer, but returned for lead the offense for a drive in the spring game. As you can imagine, his teammates went bananas for him.
🎥 QB Rex Culpepper, currently between rounds of chemo for testicular cancer, comes in for the last drive of the Spring Preview & ends it in style with a touchdown pass!#RexStrong #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/RPBJ8qNQCo
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) April 14, 2018
“It just felt surreal,” Culpepper said afterward. “It was spectacular. I’ll never forget that.”
No score was kept in the game, but Culpepper did go 4-of-4 for 55 yards with the touchdown. A rising sophomore, Culpepper hit 45-of-75 passes for 518 yards with two touchdowns against three interceptions in 2017. He is expected to return to the team and backup senior Eric Dungey in the fall.