Syracuse football has held its annual spring game, its spring practices are winding down, and attention will turn to preseason camp and then the start of the 2025 campaign.
It was a tremendous first stanza under head coach Fran Brown in 2024, as the Orange went 10-3 overall, won its bowl game and finished at No. 20 in the final Associated Press top-25 poll.
In 2025, at least on paper, the 'Cuse docket looks daunting, with a neutral-site affair versus Tennessee and numerous challenging road contests within the Atlantic Coast Conference calendar.
The Orange 2025 roster, much like its peers around the country, has undergone a sizable makeover, due to players exhausting their collegiate eligibility and some deciding to hit the transfer portal. The 'Cuse has a large 2025 class at the prep level, while its transfer cycle isn't as highly rated as a year ago.
Looking ahead to the 2025 season, 247Sports analyst Blake Brockermeyer has published an article where he ranks the top-150 players in college football for the upcoming campaign.
One Syracuse football player is featured in this set of rankings.
Orange wide receiver and return man Trebor Pena, who will be a redshirt senior, checks in at No. 62 overall in Brockermeyer's top 150. After barely playing in 2023 due to an injury, the 6-foot, 184-pound Pena, who hails from Ocean Township, N.J., bounced back in a big way during the program's tremendous 2024 term.
As a redshirt junior, Pena was named to the All-ACC second team. Per ESPN statistics, he caught 84 passes for 941 yards and nine touchdowns. Brockermeyer wrote in part about Pena: "Shifty, sure-handed target who works the short-to-intermediate range and wins contested catches. Also returned 15 punts for 120 yards. Volume may dip in 2025 with QB uncertainty and a tough schedule."
To be fair, Brown recently named LSU three-star transfer Rickie Collins, who will be a redshirt sophomore, as the Orange's starting quarterback in 2025. Collins will have massive shoes to fill in trying to replace record-setting signal-caller Kyle McCord, who as a senior in 2024 led the country in total passing yards.
Syracuse football, in the next campaign, will battle numerous players who reside in this top 150 from Brockermeyer, including guys from schools such as Tennessee, Miami, Clemson, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and SMU.