In just a few days’ time, it will officially be college football’s opening month. The Orange begin their 2025 slate on August 30 against the Tennessee Volunteers, who come off of a College Football Playoff appearance.
And with all of that in mind, we still don’t know who’s going to be under center for Syracuse to start the season. The last we’ve heard was all the way back near the beginning of spring practice, when Fran Brown named LSU transfer Rickie Collins Jr. the starter. But then Steve Angeli came over from Notre Dame and made things a lot more complicated.
Both are good options. Angeli has played in big games and has a plus arm with room to grow. Collins is an SEC transfer who has a great pocket presence and is a former top recruit.
Of course, things will be a lot clearer when training camp opens and the coaches have their eyes on these quarterbacks for an extended period of time.
But once fall camp gets into the swing of things, there needs to be a decision. At this point, it doesn’t matter which one it is. Both show upside and you can easily make a mid-season (or even mid-game) switch if needed.
A quarterback is a leader. Kyle McCord obviously was a great player in 2024 for Syracuse, but he also rallied the troops when needed and was a vocal captain of the squad. The more time that there isn’t a clear choice for QB1, the shorter that person will have to capture everyone’s trust once the decision is made.
Does Rickie Collins going to media day give a hint at the decision? Maybe. But until then, the pressure needs to be riled up for SU to make a decision.
