After starting quarterback Steve Angeli suffered a season-ending injury last September in the Orange's win at Clemson, the Syracuse football offense struggled for the rest of the 2025 campaign, dropping eight straight games.
SU offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon, and other Orange coaches, believe that the 'Cuse is positioned much better for success on offense in the upcoming 2026 season.
Sure, it starts with the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Angeli, a fifth-year player who is fully healthy and ready to roll for the upcoming campaign, which is just a few weeks away. On various occasions of late, Syracuse football coaches, and Angeli himself, have spoken to the team's depth at quarterback, which is important, in case Angeli can't suit up in a particular game, for whatever reason.
The rest of the offense is somewhat clouded in mystery, just based on who left the Orange after the 2025 season, and who is on the team's roster for the upcoming campaign. SU's 2026 starters at running back, tight end, wide receiver and on the offensive line remain to be seen, although Nixon thinks the 'Cuse has a lot of weapons.
Jeff Nixon, Syracuse's offensive coordinator, speaks about a few of his players.
In a recent media availability session, Nixon mentioned sophomore wide receiver Matthew Outten, who transferred in from Penn State. Yes, he's a receiver, but Nixon says he's a versatile player who can suit up at running back and on special teams as a return man.
"He has some size and speed," Nixon said of Outten. "He's a receiver, that's what we recruited him as, but I think we can use him a lot of different ways."
Two transfer running backs who will contend for the top spot on the depth chart are junior Ju'Juan Johnson from LSU and senior Ahmad Miller from Jackson State. Johnson can wear a lot of different hats, having in the past competed at running back, quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back.
"He's a running back here," Nixon said of Johnson. "He's been coached well. He understands the position. He will continue to get better. I've seen him grow tremendously since the spring."
Miller, meanwhile, has proven production at the college level, having rushed for 1,035 yards in 2025. Nixon says both transfers are in the mold of former SU standout RB LeQuint Allen Jr., who plays for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and is a strong runner, pass-catcher and blocker.
"Those are the types of backs who we want to recruit," Nixon says of Allen and his transfer running backs.
Nixon echoed recent comments from Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown regarding all the new assistants who joined the program this offseason and will be invaluable to the team's success in 2026.
On offense, that includes offensive line coach Juan Castillo, who has several decades of experience, and quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan, who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. Plus, returning coaches have moved into new roles, such as Josh Gattis leading the wide receivers room, Dennis Thomas leading the running backs and Michael Johnson serving as co-offensive coordinator and coaching the tight ends.
Nixon says that he's having input with every position group on offense, adding that it's allowed him to make his offensive coordinator position more of a true NFL-style one.
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