Well, this spring was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for the Syracuse fans. As HC Fran Brown’s zeal to bring a new wave into the team. And they were already seeing a shift. Remember how he was all up for new change and hit X, stating, “We will come to Boulder for 3 days” in response to Deion Sanders’ spring game proposal? But just as the Orange found their rhythm, the transfer portal upheaval hit the quarterback room. Brown seized the opportunity to add Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli. But didn’t Brown already name his starter way ahead of the spring game? Looks like the locker room dynamics shifted, and for now, Syracuse reporters bet on Angeli. The reins? Still up for grabs.

On April 8, Fran Brown made a bold announcement by naming Rickie Collins as their starting quarterback. “I think the players are behind him; everybody is behind him,” said Brown. Colins signed with LSU back in 2023, ranking No. 17 nationally at quarterback and No. 234 overall (On3). ESPN, impressed by his potential, ranks him No. 10 among quarterbacks. In two seasons, he has thrown seven passes for 38 yards and rushed seven times for 37 yards. After backing up Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier, Howard seeks a new opportunity. Now, you can understand why it makes sense that Fran Brown trusts him to take the next step in his career.

But here’s the kicker: Even after applauding Collins with a stance like, “[he] seems to be moving into (being) the leader of our football team,” he brought Marcus Freeman’s QB Steve Angeli into the team. Last season, Angeli didn’t see much of the field; he just threw for 268 yards with 3 TDs. But then he came to Syracuse with a desire to win the starting role. And it looks like he is already heading towards it, as Cuse Sports Talk guest Matt Park clears his stance on the entire QB1 competition going around in the team.

“Yeah, my own personal read on this — this is not inside intel or something I’ve gotten from people there — is yes, it will be a competition, with the odds on Angeli. And that is only going to help Collins, who has even more eligibility. They’re trying to build, you know, the common accord obviously worked great for everybody concerned, right? But in general, you don’t want to be dealing with one-year transactions and one-year rentals, particularly at the quarterback position.” Now, that’s an interesting take. Look, Rickie Collins is still the starting QB for the Orange, and with more eligibility left, he remains a viable option.

Remember, in the Orange Bowl, how Steve Angeli came in filling up for Riley Leonard in the first half when he left due to an injury? During the game, this guy completed 6 out of 7 passes for 44 yards, securing a field goal. And that’s what makes him a more reliable QB. Even Matt Park said the same, “And so when you bring in guys that have a little more eligibility and you can start overlapping them, now you’re really talking about building a program. And so that’s what I think they have in mind. I think they would have been fine with Collins if that was the only option. But Angeli is maybe a little more suited to what they do, and Collins can get there. So, I’d put my bet on Angeli to start opening day.”

Well, the best part is Steve Angeli loves Fran Brown’s competitive culture, and now that he has put both Rickie and him in it, there’s no way he is going to back out. “Stevie’s in a situation where he’s very comfortable being uncomfortable,” Angeli said to Vito Campanile. “He’s never been handed anything at the high school level or at the college level, so he’s going to go out there and compete. I think that any team that has that drive at the quarterback position is a better football team for it. He’s certainly no stranger to competition. He’s competed at every level, and at a really high level at Notre Dame.”

Well, the QB battle might meet its sweet end in the summer camp but Steve Angeli isn’t the only recruitment of Fran Brown this season. This guy pulled six more players out of the portal this spring season.

Fran Brown’s massive transfer portal win

Syracuse Orange head coach Fran Brown added three more transfers to his roster. Following a successful 10-3 season and bowl game win in his first year, Brown, formerly of Georgia, addressed significant roster turnover—23 players departed in the spring and winter transfer windows.

To rebuild, he’s brought in 14 transfers, including three key additions to the offensive line. These include former South Carolina four-star tackle Kam Pringle (6’8″, 336 lbs), North Carolina tackle Zach Rice, and Florida State guard TJ Ferguson. Pringle, the No. 15 tackle and No. 180 overall recruit in the 2024 class, redshirted last season.

Rice, a 6’6″, 320-pound tackle, was the nation’s top-ranked offensive tackle prospect coming out of Liberty Christian Academy in 2022. This redshirt junior has played in 19 games over three seasons at North Carolina. But the real standout addition is Ferguson, a 6’4″, 328-pound guard transferring from Alabama with 24 games of experience. A former top-two guard prospect, Ferguson started seven games for the Seminoles last year, significantly bolstering Syracuse’s offensive line.

Fran Brown’s Syracuse roster rebuild extends beyond the offensive line. They landed five-star wide receiver Johntay Cook II, transferring from Texas to Washington after a 19-game Longhorn career. In two seasons, Cook caught 16 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns (eight catches, 137 yards, and both touchdowns in his sophomore year).

Then Syracuse also added three-star offensive lineman Austin Collins from Louisville, a 14-game starter over two seasons. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Collins, with one year of eligibility remaining, entered the transfer portal in mid-April. Boosting the defense is three-star linebacker Gary Bryant III, an FCS All-American (2024) from South Dakota with 102 tackles last season and two years of eligibility. These key additions significantly strengthen Syracuse’s offense and defense, setting the stage for a successful season.