There’s no debating who will be under center for SU’s first matchup of the year on August 31st against Ohio, that will be Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord barring injury. Behind him though, things get a lot more interesting for who will be the second guy called off the bench if needed. Last season, it was Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who when called upon didn’t give Orange fans any hope for the future. But a new face has entered the room who can compete for that spot. That being, Florida Atlantic transfer Michael Johnson Jr.
Johnson Jr came out of high school in the Class of 2019 as a three-star quarterback recruit according to 247 Sports. He committed to Penn State, but transferred to the FAU Owls in 2020. There, he worked under his father, Johnson Sr, who was the offensive coordinator in pursuit of starting at quarterback. In his sophomore season, Johnson Jr. suffered a torn labrum that would sideline him for months and not allow him to play at signal-caller. He would play some snaps at receiver before transferring to SU this past spring, where his father is now the tight ends coach.
Transferring in, it was assumed that Johnson Jr. would be working out as a receiver, however it appears his sights are still set on getting back behind center. At the ‘Cuse Caravans Event this past Thursday, Johnson Sr. told the media that his son has exclusively worked out as a quarterback this camp, and wants to compete for the backup role.
“He started out at wide receiver because we didn’t know what his shoulder was going to be like,” said Johnson Sr.“His shoulder is healthy now. He’s throwing the ball well. He’s slid back in the quarterback room and that’s what he’s focused on now. We needed backup quarterback depth, it was a good situation here. We knew Kyle was going to be the starter, but he had the opportunity to compete. When you have two years left, you are just looking for an opportunity and somewhere you’re going to get a fair shot. … Coach (Fran) Brown is all about creating depth and competition at every position. The more competition you have, the better everyone gets. We wanted to make sure we brought in someone else so we could get the best out of everybody.”
There’s still over a month of time for Johnson to prove his worth as the backup quarterback, but don’t think Kyle McCord is in danger of leading the offense for this hyped-up 2024 campaign. It is something to keep an eye on if there were to be an injury, or if Syracuse starts blowing teams out.
