In some situations, when a starting quarterback unfortunately goes down, there could be a huge drop-off between QB1 and his backup.
That isn't the case for Syracuse football.
Redshirt junior Steve Angeli, a transfer from Notre Dame, is unfortunately out for the rest of the 2025 season due to a torn Achilles tendon that he suffered last Saturday when the Orange stunned Clemson in Death Valley.
Angeli, entering week four, had been leading the country in total passing yards, so his replacement, LSU transfer Rickie Collins, a redshirt sophomore, has big shoes to fill. But head coach Fran Brown says that Collins is up to the task.
"I believe in Rickie. I think he's a great kid," Brown said earlier this week on "The Rich Eisen Show." "The best thing about this kid, though … he stayed ready. He worked. There’s so many kids that, when they don’t win that spot, they quit. They mope, they sit back and they complain. And we got some on our team that was doing that, but he wasn’t one of those guys."
Brown continued: "He was in there every night watching tape with Steve, pushing Steve. Those guys got so close. They became real good friends, and I’m excited to see him get this opportunity. I’ve got a feeling that he’s going to do really well."
Fran Brown is blunt about his quarterback situation.
Despite an unfortunate circumstance for Angeli - and I'm heartbroken for him - Brown is relatively upbeat about his program and its QB room as Syracuse football (3-1, 1-0 in the ACC) prepares to host Duke before a sell-out crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday afternoon.
He said matter-of-factly to Eisen, "That’s why we paid for two. Rickie had a heated battle (with Angeli). Rickie be ready to go."
While I don't have specifics, I have heard that the Orange's NIL budget is relatively competitive with its peers in the Atlantic Coast Conference these days, and the fact that the 'Cuse landed both Angeli and Collins out of the portal would support that.
Collins transferred to the Orange last December during the winter portal window. Brown named him the team's starting quarterback in the spring, but then Angeli transferred to the 'Cuse afterwards. Angeli won out in a closely fought QB competition during preseason camp, while Collins has acted with class and integrity in backing him up and staying ready.
Collins has a strong arm and is ultra-athletic. He's more of a dual-threat quarterback than Angeli, who also has a great arm, is poised and came to the program with a bit more college experience. Do I think Collins will come in right away at home against Duke and sling it for more than 300 yards and multiple touchdown passes?
Maybe. Maybe not. But after he's had some time to settle in, I think that Collins will shine as Syracuse football's starting signal-caller. After all, he did throw for a touchdown pass versus Clemson and also earlier this month in the blowout win over Colgate on the Hill.
Brown is confident in Collins. Orange Nation should be, too.