Syracuse football coach Dino Babers through the years

Dino Babers during his time as wide receivers coach at Baylor from 2008-11. (Courtesy of Baylor University)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse head coach Dino Babers began his interview rounds at the ESPN car wash on Tuesday morning with Mike & Mike on ESPN2.

Babers, who brought Dinosaur BBQ to Bristol, spoke about coaching at basketball schools and his former Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo starting for the New England Patriots.

But most notably, Babers came to the defense of recently reinstated Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon. Babers served as Baylor's wide receivers coach from 2008-11, overlapping with Gordon for two seasons.

Gordon has a long string of marijuana-related incidents, starting with a misdemeanor possession charge stemming from his falling asleep in a Taco Bell drive thru during his sophomore season at BU. He was suspended indefinitely by Baylor ex-head coach Art Briles less than a year later for failing a drug test and testing positive for marijuana.

Multiple drug violations landed Gordon an indefinite suspension in the NFL before Commissioner Roger Goodell decided to conditionally reinstate the wide receiver this season.

"I think everyone deserves a second chance and I hope that Josh takes advantage of it," Babers said. "Josh Gordon is a fabulous person. I've seen him in my home, babysitting my kids. I have no problem leaving Josh Gordon with my kids. He's got an issue and he's got one issue."

Gordon, who will still be suspended for the first four games of the season, led the league in receiving yards in 2013 despite missing two games. He's played in only five games over the last two seasons due to suspension.

Babers called Gordon "one of the smartest football players I've been around" citing his insightful writing. He also praised Gordon's athletic abilities, saying he stands out among a group of more than two dozen receivers that Babers has helped put in the NFL.

"I've put 25 wide receivers in the NFL, and from an athletic standpoint, none of them are like Josh Gordon," Babers said. "Az-Hazir Hakim, Will Blackwell, Dennis Northcutt, unlimited guys, but Josh Gordon is the most talented wide receiver."

Marijuana use in the NFL has been a trending topic in recent years. Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated took a deep dive on the subject in this Ricky Williams feature.

Here's Babers' interview schedule for the rest of the day:

Contact Stephen Bailey anytime: Email | Twitter