Syndric Marquis Steptoe (born December 6, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the seventh round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Steptoe was also a member of the

Hartford Colonials The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominall ...

and

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

Early life

Steptoe attended Bryan High School, where he was a ''SuperPrep'' All-America selection as a wide receiver, along with a ''Dave Campbells Texas High School Football Second-team Super Team selection. He was also listed on the ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

'' Athletes 2003 national list at #48. He was also a ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' Top 100, along with a ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' state 100 selection. He was Second-team All-Texas Athlete' selection for ''5atexasfootball.com''. He was a Top 50

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

on ''fab50recruiting.com''. As well as a ''PrepStar'' All-Midlands selection as an athlete'. He was also a ''Prep Football Report'' All-Southwest selection as a receiver, and also a ''SuperPrep'' Southwest selection at #30. Steptoe recorded 32 receptions for 607 yards and five

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

. He also recorded 10 punt returns for 215 yards. He was a 5A All-District 13 honors and a Texas Football Second-team Super Team selection as a junior. He attended the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

All-American Camp that summer, and recorded a 37-inch

vertical leap A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

in the Texas

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

Camp. He finished in the top five in the 2002 District track championships in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and 4×100 relay. Steptoe was a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for the football team his final two years. He played mostly

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

season and earned First-team All-District 13-5A honors as a utility back. He played wide receiver, slot back,

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and quarterback in one game against Temple High School. He was also a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

as a

Point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team as well. All-District and All-State academic honors as a senior.

College career

Recruiting

On June 10, 2002, Steptoe, a three star

Athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

(a player whom plays positions on offense as well as

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

) recruit, named his top five colleges, which were

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. And by December 9, he had narrowed his list down to three schools, Arkansas, Arizona, and UCLA. And on December 10, he announced he had signed a

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term she ...

with Arizona to play

. However, after having committed to Arizona, he still visited SMU on January 11, 2003, as well as Arkansas on January 18. His decision wavered some and he said he ''"had some thinking to do".'' However, he decided to honor his commitment and attend Arizona.

Playing career

As a true freshman in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Steptoe played in all 12 games. He started the final home game of the season against the national champion

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

. He saw his first full-rotation play at receiver against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

in the final game of the season and recorded a season-high and career-high seven receptions. He finished the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

game with four kickoff returns for a then career-best 99 yards, including a season-best long of 41-yards. For the season he recorded nine receptions for 77 yards. He also recorded 15 punt returns for 69 yards, an average of 4.6 yards per return, as well as, a school-record 28 kickoff returns for 480 yards, for an average of 17.1 yards per return. As a sophomore in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Steptoe started 10 games. He also earned All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

honorable mention honors. He finished the season with 30 receptions for 446 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 14.9 yards-per-reception and 44.6 yards-per-game. He ranked fourth in the conference in kick returns, with 17 kickoff returns for 384 yards, averaging 22.6 yards-per-return. He recorded six receptions for 68 yards against Arizona State. He recorded a career-long, 50-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Richard Kovalcheck during a road game against

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, as well as three kickoff returns for 86 yards. Against

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, he recorded a career-high 105 yards on six receptions, including two touchdowns. As a junior in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Steptoe earned All-Pac 10 honorable mention for second consecutive year. He played in 10 games, eight starts, and recorded 37 receptions for 493 yards and 1,271 all-purpose yards. He ranked 24th in the nation with an 11.1-yard punt return average, and 27th in the nation with a kickoff return average of 25.5 yards. He ranked 42nd in the nation in all-purpose yards with 127.1 per game. He also became the school's career-leader in kickoff returns with 64. He recorded a 63-yard punt return touchdown against #7

. He recorded a career-high 76-yard kickoff return on the road against USC. As a senior in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Steptoe played in all 12 games. He recorded 55 receptions for 568 yards, and two

s. He also carried the ball seven times for 34 yards. He also had one return for a touchdown. While at Arizona, Steptoe was a Family studies and

Human development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body ** This includes physical developments such as growth, and also development of the brain * Developmental psychology * Development theory * Human development (economics) * Human Develo ...

major. He was also a Football representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Board 2005–2006.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Steptoe was invited, and attended the 2007

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

. He was recorded as the shortest

at the Combine that year.

Cleveland Browns

Steptoe was selected in the seventh round (234th overall) of the

by the

. Steptoe spent his rookie season on the Browns'

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. In preseason games before the 2008 season, his performance earned him a roster spot. He made his regular season NFL debut on September 7 against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. It was his first career start, as wide receivers

Joe Jurevicius Joe Jurevicius (born December 23, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft. He playe ...

and

Donté Stallworth Donté Lamar Stallworth (born November 10, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers and was se ...

, along with wide receiver/

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

Joshua Cribbs, did not play due to injuries. Steptoe entered the

starting lineup In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are substitutes or b ...

, as well as serving as kickoff and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punt (gridiron football), punts and kickoff (gridiron football), kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusivel ...

. Steptoe injured his knee during the Browns' 2009 training camp and it was announced that he would miss the season. He was waived/injured and subsequently reverted to

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on August 13.

Hartford Colonials

Steptoe was signed by the

of the United Football League in September 2010.

Edmonton Eskimos

He was released by the

on June 6, 2012

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steptoe, Syndric 1984 births Living people American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Texas Arizona Wildcats football players Cleveland Browns players Edmonton Elks players Hartford Colonials players Sportspeople from Bryan, Texas Players of American football from Texas Arizona Wildcats football coaches