As we look ahead to the summer, Syracuse football and several of its 2025 opponents have top quarterback battles to monitor around the country, according to a top expert.
On3 college sports business and transfer portal reporter Pete Nakos recently detailed some of the top signal-caller competitions to watch for the 2025 campaign, following spring practices and the closing of the spring transfer portal window, and as we gear up for summer workouts and then preseason camps.
Making the cut, per Nakos, are the 'Cuse and two of its foes in the upcoming term, Notre Dame and Tennessee. As I noted earlier this week, we've learned the kickoff times and television information when Syracuse football heads to the Fighting Irish in late November and also begins its 2025 stanza in Atlanta against the Volunteers in late August.
After sporting a 10-3 record and a top-20 national ranking in 2024, in the first season with Fran Brown as the team's head coach, the Orange appears to have, on paper, one of the toughest 2025 schedules nationwide. With that, though, also comes opportunities to knock off some highly rated opponents.
With summer workouts up next for the 'Cuse, I totally agree with Nakos that Syracuse football could have an intriguing quarterback competition on the horizon ahead of 2025, especially after record-setting QB Kyle McCord exhausted his eligibility and headed to the NFL.
The quarterback position for Syracuse football in the next term is something to monitor.
In early April, per various reports, Brown named Rickie Collins as the Orange's starting quarterback for the 2025 season. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Collins is a three-star transfer from Southeastern Conference member LSU who will be a redshirt sophomore in 2025.
Collins committed to the 'Cuse last December during the winter transfer portal window. However, in late April, not long after the Orange's annual spring game and amid the spring transfer portal window, Syracuse football got a pledge from another three-star transfer quarterback, Notre Dame junior Steve Angeli.
Neither Collins nor Angeli has a ton of playing experience at the collegiate level, but both of them possess talent, without question. Orange redshirt senior quarterback Michael Johnson Jr. transferred to Akron during the spring portal window, while other 'Cuse signal-callers include redshirt freshman Jakhari Williams as well as true freshmen Luke Carney and Rich Belin.
As far as I can tell, the starting quarterback spot for Syracuse football is likely to come down to Collins and Angeli, and as the On3 expert noted, it should prove a fun competition to keep tabs on throughout the summer.