I’m sorry, Greg Paulus haters, but I’m endlessly fascinated by this. Yes, the former Duke point guard not only got asked to play football at Syracuse, he was named the starting quarterback last night.

I know nothing of Syracuse’s football team, expect they were a woeful 3-9 last year, finishing last in the Big East. I also know nothing of Greg Paulus’ current skill level. But I know he was pretty much the top QB coming out of high school his senior year; he had the talent to play at this level, whether he still has it is something we’ll soon find out. Doug Marrone obviously thinks he’s got it. Or at least he thinks he’s more capable than sophomore Ryan Nassib, who was named the starter in the spring before Paulus came in and snatched his spot. According to ESPN’s Joe Schad, Paulus has a good receiver in Mike Williams, and a capable running back in Delone Carter.

But all that is neither here nor there. It really boils down to this: a guy that had his pick of colleges in both basketball and football appears to have chosen the wrong door. Basketball didn’t lead him to the NBA; it didn’t even lead him to a guaranteed starting spot his senior year.

What one year of football at a mediocre program will bring him remains to be seen. But it will be fascinating to watch.

You may remember about a month ago, when Eamonn and I had an epic debate about the merits of Greg Paulus’s college football career. In the simplest terms: He argued any team looking at Paulus was foolish because the guy hadn’t played football since high school. I argued teams had nothing to lose, because he was pretty much the best QB prospect in the nation back then. He could still shine.

Well, this theory will now officially be put to the test. Paulus has announced he’ll be playing football at Syracuse this upcoming season.

My gut and my heart were telling me that (Syracuse) was the best place for me,” Paulus said from Durham, N.C., during a conference call.

The Orange hired Marrone in December to resurrect the team he once played for — Syracuse has gone 10-37 over the past four seasons. He already has moved former starting quarterback Andrew Robinson to tight end and demoted Cam Dantley, last year’s starter, to backup behind redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib, who has never thrown a college pass.

Paulus said Marrone has made “no promises, no guarantees” about playing time.

So basically, Paulus’s only competition is a redshirt freshman. He certainly has a shot a being the starter, it seems. And whether or not you hate him — and he has plenty of detractors — there’s no denying this is going to be one of the most intriguing college football storylines to watch this fall.

Even if you dislike Greg Paulus, you’d be silly to deny his quest to play football in his fifth year of eligibility is at least mildly intriguing. Come on, people: This is a cool little story. Find it in your black heart to parse out your Paulus teabag hate, and just admit it.

The Packers, Duke and Michigan all expressed interest in the tiny quarterback. But it looks like Syracuse University might be his new home. Joe Schad at ESPN has the details:

A person familiar with the situation said it is “95 percent” certain that Paulus will be on a college football roster next season.

[ ... ]

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Paulus, a standout high school quarterback, would fit into new Syracuse coach Doug Marrone’s pro-style offense. Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Nassib has been tabbed as the Orange’s starter, but Paulus could be the perfect bridge in a one-season homecoming.

[ ... ]

If Syracuse becomes his second college destination, Paulus is considering studying for a master’s degree in communications.

There you have it. If I’m Ryan Nassib right now, I’m not a very happy camper.

Yesterday, the blogosphere was on fire about Greg Paulus working out for the Green Bay Packers. Our own Will Brinson wrote about it, and also mapped out some potential life choices for the former Duke point guard. One such choice — since Paulus does have a year of football eligibility left, if he so desires — was to play a season at the collegiate level.

After last night, this option seems a bit more near. Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman, via @umhoops, is reporting Paulus was in Ann Arbor yesterday morning meeting with Rich Rodriguez about playing quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines. I gchatted said link to Eamonn. What follows was our discussion. I cleaned it up a bit because we used the f-word some, and because it’s sometimes hard to slug through an IM chat in its original state.

Onwards:

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Greg Paulus is the hottest name among NFL draft rumors circulating these days, with word spreading that the Green Bay Packers brought him in for a workout. And yes, “hottest name” does in fact mean “stupidest rumor ever.” Unless of course it’s a personal favor type thing, in which case, hey, it’s who you know and whatnot.

Of course, playing football is not Paulus’s only option in terms of career choice. In fact, as the Piler and I discussed last night, he has several choices. In lieu of the time it would take to do a “Create Your Own Adventure” thingie, let’s just run through them, shall we?

1. Coach at Duke — This is a lock, even if Paulus submarined Coach K’s point guard recruiting over the course of his four years in Durham. It’s pretty obvious that Chris Collins needs someone to carry his Kleenex. Plus, more floor slapping!

2. Play in the NBA — Bwa … bwa … bawahahahahahahahhaaha. OK, wait, sorry, I’m not done: bwahahahahahahahaha. Anyway, moving on…

3. Enter the NFL Draft — And I thought it couldn’t get any funnier. Then it did. Look, Paulus might have played quarterback in high school and been very good. But he’s four years removed, he doesn’t fit the role for any other position on the field, and there’s a reason he decided to turn down a scholarship to Notre Dame in order to play basketball at Duke: he wasn’t going to be that good to begin with. (Aside: more obnoxious/awful position in sports — the QB of ND or the Dook PG? OY. Discuss.)

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First of all, Greg Paulus has some work to do if he wants to catch DeMarre Carroll’s seduction factor.

Second of all, there is nothing, I repeat, nothing, wrong with a man giving another man a massage in a locker room full of sweaty men following an emotionally draining NCAA Tournament loss that would leave even the toughest, manly man drained. Nothing at all. Seriously, it’s cool. If that’s how Paulus wants to behave in the locker room, I think that’s his right.

But maybe Greg Paulus doesn’t have, um, certain tendencies with his fellow male basketball players (AGAIN. NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT.) and maybe he’s just the type of guy that likes to sneak up on other people and randomly massage their back. HEY, BROTHER SCHEYER!

Seriously though, in the same sense that you should always, always, always make sure the camera in your cop car is turned off before harassing a professional football player, you should probably double check to see if any AP/Getty photographers are in your locker room before you start massaging your buddy’s back. Unless that’s just your thing. And there’s nothing wrong with that.