Syracuse defensive lineman Steve Linton enters transfer portal

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Syracuse defensive lineman Steve Linton announced via Twitter that he entered the transfer portal. Linton, a redshirt sophomore, has two years of eligibility left and will be able to play immediately. He becomes the sixth SU player to enter the transfer portal this season, and after Josh Hough entered the portal last week, he became the second defensive lineman to leave the Orange.

Linton played in all but one game this season, totalling 22 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and forcing two fumbles. He was thrusted into a rotational role alongside Jatius Geer when Stefon Thompson went down in SU’s first game against Louisville with a season-ending injury. In that game against the Cardinals, Linton forced and recovered a fumble on Malik Cunningham early on, ultimately helping the Orange to a dominant 31-7 win that kicked off a 6-0 start.

He committed to Syracuse in 2019 as a three-star recruit from Georgia, ranking as the 88th-best athlete from the state in that class. Linton appeared in 10 games throughout his first two seasons at SU, garnering 17 tackles and even starting a game in 2020 as a linebacker. Then, after missing the first four games of 2021 due to an offseason surgery, Linton nabbed six tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss through seven games.

In training camp prior to this season, he looked to add depth for a defensive line that was seen as unproven and lacking experience, specifically past Thompson and Caleb Okechukwu. Once Thompson went down, he became Syracuse’s go-to weak side edge rusher.