Former Notre Dame quarterback Steve Angeli announced his transfer to Syracuse Wednesday night, according to his social media accounts.
Last year, the New Jersey native and former three-star recruit was the backup to Riley Leonard. He threw three touchdowns across eight games.
More notably, Angeli was superb in the College Football Playoff. He completed 6-of-7 passes for 44 yards after Leonard went down with an injury in the 27-24 semifinal win over Penn State. That short performance set up a Notre Dame field goal before halftime. A score that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.
In three seasons with Notre Dame, Angeli threw for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception.
This move makes things interesting for Syracuse. Head coach Fran Brown named LSU transfer Rickie Collins the starting quarterback a couple of weeks ago. It’ll be worth watching to see if Brown reconsiders and opens up another quarterback competition heading into summer camp.
Collins and Angeli could benefit from this healthy competition, especially once Collins is fully received. He sat out of Syracuse’s spring game right after Brown named him the starter for the upcoming season.
A healthy Collins and Angeli duel might spark a stronger start to camp for the rest of the squad. That way, there’s no lingering speculation over which quarterback deserves the job. And if the chosen starter struggles early in the season, Brown could pivot to the backup quickly.
Despite this opportunity, Brown emphasized that he wanted to name a starting quarterback as early as possible in spring ball. He did. But SU fans will have to see if there are more conversations to be had amongst the coaching staff to see if a possible open competition installs itself once again.
