serves as mentor to Syracuse players. Freeney was inducted into the 2023 class of College Football Hall of Fame, becaming the 10th Syracuse player to be selected for the honor. Professional career 2002 NFL Combine Indianapolis Colts Freeney was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 11th selection in the 2002 NFL Draft. He set an NFL rookie record in 2002 with 9 forced fumbles, three of which occurred in a single game against former Syracuse football player, Donovan McNabb. Freeney was the runner up for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. When drafted by Indianapolis at 270 lbs, Freeney was clocked at 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash and the same 40 inch vertical jump. In 2004, Freeney's third season, he led the NFL with 16 sacks. At the end of his third season, Freeney's season marked him as the 3rd fastest player to achieve 40 sacks. He developed a spin move which became his trademark pass rush move. In 2006, Freeney helped the Colts defeat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI to become NFL Champions. On February 19, 2007, the Colts placed the franchise tag on Freeney following the expiration of his rookie contract. This move allowed Bill Polian and the Colts front office time to work on a long term contract. On July 13, 2007, Freeney signed a six-year, $72 million contract with $30 million in guarantees making Freeney one of the highest paid defensive players in the NFL. Freeney was fined $20,000 by the NFL for his expletive-laced interview following the end of the Colts 2008–09 playoff campaign which ended with a 23-17 overtime playoff loss to the San Diego Chargers. The NFL cited Freeney for making "inappropriate comments on officiating," according to the Indianapolis Star. Freeney, frustrated by the three defensive penalties incurred as the Chargers made their game-winning drive, told Yahoo! Sports after the game: "Those were the worst [expletive] calls I've seen in a long time ... To have a game of that magnitude taken out of your hands, it's just disgusting. It's not like they made one [expletive] bad call -- it's three calls, in overtime ... They need to start investigating some other [expletive]." In 2012, Freeney converted from defensive end to outside linebacker under new head coach Chuck Pagano. Due to injury and not adjusting to his position-change well, Freeney struggled and finished the season with only