Expert has QB Steve Angeli in ACC's top 10, and he's not even Syracuse's starter - yet

On3 college football expert Andy Staples is betting that Notre Dame three-star transfer quarterback Steve Angeli will be the starting signal-caller for Syracuse football in the 2025 season.

Staples recently ranked his top 10 quarterbacks in the Atlantic Coast Conference ahead of the 2025 campaign. Checking in at No. 10 is the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Angeli, who saw limited action as a junior in 2024 as Notre Dame reached the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Given that he's placed Angeli among his 10 best in the ACC, one would logically assume that Staples believes Angeli will win out in his quarterback competition with LSU three-star transfer Rickie Collins, a rising redshirt sophomore.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Collins committed to the Orange last December during the winter transfer portal window. In April, head coach Fran Brown named Collins as the 'Cuse starting quarterback for 2025.

Shortly thereafter, after Angeli decided to transfer from the Fighting Irish during the spring portal window, he committed to Syracuse football. Since then, Orange fans have speculated on social media and in chat rooms as to which QB would be the starter in the upcoming campaign.

As I've said before, a fascinating quarterback competition indeed.

Syracuse football quarterback Rickie Collins will soon head to North Carolina for an ACC event.

This coming week is the annual ACC Kickoff, which takes place in Charlotte, N.C. The 'Cuse will be front and center on Wednesday, July 23. Orange participants at the ACC Kickoff include Collins, SU Athletics recently announced.

Writes Staples: "Well, this is awkward. Syracuse is bringing quarterback Rickie Collins to next week’s ACC media days. Coach Fran Brown named Collins the starter in the spring. But then former Notre Dame backup Angeli entered the transfer portal following spring practice and Brown quickly signed him. This is a bet Angeli winds up winning the job. If he wanted to be a backup, he would have just stayed at Notre Dame. He’ll need to be good, too. Syracuse opens with Tennessee and then faces the ACC’s toughest conference schedule draw."

Both Collins and Angeli haven't played all that much in college, and both quarterbacks hold promise. In national transfer rankings this off-season, 247Sports rates each in the top 25 at QB.

Collins has thrown a total of seven passes in college, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Angeli has thrown 80 passes, with 10 combined touchdowns and one pick. In the CFP semifinal round, against Penn State, Angeli played well when starter Riley Leonard had to be evaluated for a possible concussion, completing six of seven pass attempts for 44 yards.

It's an interesting situation. On paper, one would logically assume that Angeli could end up as Syracuse football's starter, because he does have more experience. But Collins has already been named the 'Cuse starter, and he's attending this week's ACC Kickoff. We'll see how this shakes out.

Either signal-caller has big shoes to fill, as last year Syracuse football was led by senior Kyle McCord, who set numerous ACC and program records in 2024 and is now in the NFL.