NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
This season for the Syracuse Orange went off the rails as soon as starting quarterback Steve Angeli went down with a season-ending injury. From that point on, Syracuse would never recover and end up losing the last 8 games. How do they prevent this from happening in the future and improve the position overall?
QB Competition
Despite Steve Angeli coming back to Syracuse next season and more than likely continuing to be the starting quarterback, the Orange need someone to push him. Angeli was leading all of college football in passing yards before getting hurt, but at no point should he be comfortable to rest on his laurels. You can expect Angeli to bounce back, but if you’re head coach Fran Brown, you hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That’s the biggest downside of this season, the Orange were never prepared for the worst. Rickie Collins never grew into the quarterback he needed to be. The top college programs each year have their guy ready to make a name for himself should he ever get the chance. Syracuse never seemed to.
Quality Depth
Filling out a roster can be tough, especially a program that is looking to rebuild. When it comes to long term success throughout the season and beyond, great teams have their starter, their backup who was barely edged out for the QB1 spot, and a third QB who was looking to develop and be the future of the program. Syracuse appears to only had one of those three things this season. They’re said to be diving deep into the transfer portal for multiple players at the position, but they need to solidify quarterbacks with the same play style to keep their offense firing if anything happens again.
Steve Stepping Up
Hopefully Angeli comes back healthy and ready to go. Not only should a year off have given the time to reflect, but hopefully to learn as well. The Orange need growth at the position and QB1 needs to be in that mix. If Angeli took the time to become a student of the game, sit back and watch the offense struggle, he had better have taken notes. While on a high note, it’s easy for quarterbacks to get set in their ways. While Angeli looked good in his starts, there were a few things he could polish up going forward. Sitting out the games while injured gives him the rare opportunity to see things from a coaching perspective. He could review the tape, but seeing the field first hand and not from a camera angle could help clean up his game.
The first season under the Fran Brown regime showed what the Syracuse Orange could be capable off. The second year showed their adversity. If the program is to continue to grow, it will start with the quarterback position in 2026.
