Sykes enrolled at West Virginia in January so he could familiarize himself with the playbook. Sykes appeared in 9 games in 2004, recording 4 tackles with 1.0 sack.
Southern
His senior year of college, Sykes transferred to Southern University. In his one year with the Jaguars, Sykes was named first team All-SWAC, after leading the conference in sacks with 9.[5]
Professional career
Return to San Jose
On January 27, 2014, Sykes was traded back to the SaberCats in exchange for Mitch Mustain and Jabari Fletcher.[6]
Pittsburgh Power
On September 25, 2014, Sykes was assigned to the Pittsburgh Power. The Power folded in November 2014.[7]
Jacksonville Sharks
On January 12, 2015, Sykes was assigned to the Jacksonville Sharks. Following the seasons end, Sykes was named the Defensive Lineman of the Year for the third time in his career.[8] Sykes was also named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career.
On March 19, 2018, Sykes was assigned to the Albany Empire.[9] On July 18, 2018, Sykes was named the AFL's Defensive Lineman of the Year for the 4th time.[10]
^"Team Transactions". arenafan.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)