It seemed like Steve Angeli’s time with the Orange was going to have an unprecedentedly bad start.
The SU quarterback had already been booed by the Dome fans and was 15 minutes away from dropping to 0-2 on the season with a loss to independent UConn.
Then something switched. Angeli turned into a true field general. The redshirt junior led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, slung the game-winning pass in overtime to Justus Ross-Simmons, and finished the day with over 400 yards. He earned himself his first collegiate win as a starter and earned overarching praise from Coach Fran Brown after the win.
But does Angeli deserve the job security he apparently is now guaranteed? This Fizz writer isn’t convinced.
I’m all for a coach having confidence in his QB1. The head coach-quarterback relationship is one of the most important in sports. But SU doesn’t have a completely normal situation. Rickie Collins, the LSU transfer who was originally named QB1, is sitting in the wings. And he still hasn’t taken a snap yet.
Now we don’t know everything that’s going on in the Syracuse locker room and on the practice field. But there’s no reason to believe that Rickie Collins shouldn’t at least be given a chance at the starting job for Syracuse.
Brown has given no reason to believe Rickie could play Friday against Colgate. But this does seem like the best time to give the QB a try.
Colgate is pretty much the last game on Syracuse’s schedule that seems like an easy win (knock on wood). After that, you head into a gauntlet of ACC games that begins with Clemson on the road. So why wouldn’t you want to have seen both QBs in game action before that?
Steve Angeli didn’t lose the starting job this past weekend. But he sure didn’t earn it either. Rickie Collins still deserves a chance.
