Syracuse is heading into training camp with one month on the clock before the 2026 season opener, and Fran Brown used Tuesday’s pre-camp media session to set the tone.
The Orange begin camp on Wednesday, Aug. 5, with the regular season set to kick off Sept. 5 at home against New Hampshire. Brown, speaking from the podium on Tuesday, also took aim at the idea that Syracuse will wind up 14th in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference.
There were also a few roster updates worth noting.
The biggest injury situation entering camp centers on Calvin Russell. According to Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com, Russell is the only player coming into camp with a significant injury.
The five-star receiving recruit from Florida tore his Achilles during spring practice, but he remains determined to play this season. Brown had already signaled back in April that Russell could still be a possibility for this year.
That makes the situation around quarterback Steve Angeli even more encouraging. Angeli, who tore his Achilles last year, is not listed with an injury designation heading into camp.
He told the media earlier this summer that he was OK after missing the final eight games of the 2025 campaign. Syracuse was 3-1 with Angeli at quarterback before dropping its final eight games to finish 3-9.
Brown also addressed a positional change for Dennis Kubala. The veteran has appeared in 36 games for Syracuse, all at linebacker or on special teams, and has compiled nine career tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Now he’s moving to tight end/full back, where he could help the Orange try to improve the run game.
On the personnel front, Brown said Syracuse does not plan to bring any alumni back under the new “5-in-5” rule that has become a major talking point across college football this week.
The rule, sometimes referred to as the new “aged-base eligibility model,” was adopted earlier this year and gives a player five years to play five seasons in the sport, starting from the time they enroll in college or after their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. For players who took the standard path from high school to college, that means five years to play five seasons.
The model also gives athletes already on campus this year an extra year of eligibility. So, for example, a player who enrolled last fall and played as a freshman would still have four years left.
But athletes who graduated in 2026 from the high school Class of 2022 were not included in that exemption, meaning they completed four seasons in four years and moved on.
That could still change. A judge has granted a preliminary injunction against the NCAA, which would make all high school Class of 2022 athletes eligible for a fifth year in the upcoming academic year. The NCAA is appealing, but the matter has to be settled soon, with the fall sports schedule set to begin in less than two weeks.
In Other News...
Gerry McNamara Just Sent Syracuse Fans An Early Rebuild Signal
Gerry McNamara is already shaping Syracuses next roster with an eye on both the present and what comes after it, and the early signs point to a program trying to stay competitive without losing sight of the long game. The Orange have landed Jack Donohue, a 6-foot-8 three-star prospect from Massachusetts in the Class of 2027, a move that fits the idea of building out the front end of the pipeline while the staff continues working the current schedule and the broader shape of the team.
There is also more immediate roster business still hanging over the season, with Syracuse adding Cornell to the non-conference slate and finalizing other games around it. At the same time, the possibility of player departures after this year remains part of the conversation, which is why McNamaras approach feels like more than just a recruiting note. It reads as a signal that Syracuse is planning for both the lineup it has now and the one it may need to assemble soon after. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Leaders Think This Orange Team Is Far Better Than Expected
Syracuse is heading into its third season under Fran Brown with a different feel around the program, and sophomore linebacker Antoine Deslauriers sounds like one of the players helping drive it. He is expected to take on a bigger leadership role this fall, and he pointed to the arrival of new defensive coordinator Vince Kehres as a reason the Orange have been able to settle in and play with more speed and comfort on that side of the ball.
That matters because the outside expectations are still low, with Syracuse picked to finish 14th in the ACC. Deslauriers, though, has made it clear he believes the team is better than that forecast suggests, and his confidence reflects a defense that believes it has made real progress heading into the season. The question now is whether that internal belief shows up once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown Is Already Leaning Into Syracuses Underdog Season
Fran Brown did not flinch at the way Syracuse was slotted in the ACC preseason chatter, and in some ways that is exactly the point. After a 3-9 finish last year, the Orange are being asked to prove they can climb out of the conference basement, but Brown sounded eager to use the low expectations as fuel as the season approaches.
Syracuse opens on Sept. 5 against New Hampshire, giving Brown and his team an early chance to show whether the outside skepticism is justified or badly misplaced. On the hoops side, Gerry McNamara already added Class of 2027 recruit Jack Donohue as the basketball program gets ready to tip off on Nov. 2, another reminder that there is plenty of Syracuse optimism to track across campus even as the football team tries to change its narrative first. [Read more 🡒]