Newhouse Graduate Students Report Live From the 2024 NFL Draft
It was a weekend to remember for four Newhouse School graduate students who travelled to Detroit, Michigan, to capture the excitement of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Carson Crestohl (PRL), Paul McCoy (TRF), Emily Coffey (BDJ) and Patrick Smith (BDJ) made up the quartet, becoming the inaugural Newhouse group to cover an NFL draft.
The students spent three days covering the highest-attended NFL draft on record – producing packages, conducting interviews and creating content for the Newhouse Sports social media pages.
Fan Fair
An estimated 275,000 fans packed into Detroit’s Campus Martius Park to take in night one, shattering the previous record of 200,000. The park was once again at capacity for the draft’s second day. By the time Mr. Irrelevant had been selected on Saturday evening, over 700,000 fans had passed through the Draft hub.
The cohort interviewed dozens of fans of all allegiances, inquiring about their team’s draft needs and quizzing the NFL faithful on all manners of football trivia.
The dominant color within the crowd was the Lions’ Honolulu Blue, and Patrick Smith fit right in speaking with fellow fans in his home state. “With the draft in Detroit, it was extraordinary to see the fan base I am a part of all come together in one spot. Speaking with so many of them was a great opportunity to blend passion with my work,” said Smith.
Meaningful Social Responsibility
The four Newhouse students were in attendance for the USA Wheelchair Football League’s Veterans All-Star Game on Friday. The league is funded jointly between NFL Salute to Service and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
As footballs flew through the air and wheelchairs collided, Emily Coffey was buzzing around, interviewing various key actors.
Among those she spoke with were Bob Woodruff himself, as well as Anna Isaacson, SVP of Community Relations for the NFL and the woman behind the league’s ‘Inspire Change’ social justice campaign. She also spoke with a player from each team.
“A big takeaway from me was that the NFL actually goes into communities, asks them what would make the greatest impact and then provide what’s missing. Meeting and interviewing Bob [Woodruff] showed me that those who accomplish great things in journalism can also choose to give back. He was extremely humble and down to earth,” she said.
The Newhouse Name
Representing the Orange at an event like the NFL Draft gave the students their first dose of Newhouse recognition from those within the sports media world.
When encountering the group clad in Syracuse gear, members of the press would smile, shake their heads, and acknowledge the students’ membership in the “Mafia.” On a handful of occasions, fellow graduates would make a point to introduce themselves, reminiscing about their own college experiences and inquiring about the students’ goals in the industry.
In seeing four individuals from “Newhouse Sports” on the credential list, Tim Schlittner (‘03) made contact, and plans were hatched to meet for lunch. As the NFL’s Director of Communications, Schlittner had ample insights to share with the group about a career in sports. He happily agreed to stay in touch and will undoubtedly be a valuable resource for career guidance and professional connections going forward.
A Memorable Feature
About halfway through round one, Paul McCoy spotted a delegation from his hometown Washington Commanders sitting a table away. He quickly recognized team legends Santana Moss and Brian Mitchell, now serving the team in a media capacity.
McCoy was already creating a package on the Commanders draft, including interviews with fellow fans and sound bites from newly-drafted Quarterback Jayden Daniels’ press conference. Why not interview Moss and Mitchell for the feature?
As round three dragged deep into Friday night, McCoy approached the Commanders media team and received approval. Washington held the last pick of night two, and once the pick was made Moss, followed by Mitchell, strolled over to the Syracuse table.
After speaking with each for five or so minutes, McCoy grabbed a quick picture with the franchise greats, and thanked them for their time. It is a memory he’ll always cherish, no matter where his career path takes him.
“Despite it being close to midnight, both Santana [Moss] and Brian [Mitchell] were both super willing to do interviews and provided lengthy, thoughtful responses. For two legendary players to do that for a random student at that time of night, after such a long day, spoke volumes to me,” McCoy said of the experience.
Merely two weeks out from graduation, the weekend in Detroit allowed each of the graduate students to conclude their Newhouse careers on a high note. A special thank you goes out to Olivia Stomski, Director of the Newhouse Sports Media Center for making the experience possible.