Fran Brown came away from Syracuse’s weekend scrimmage sounding encouraged about the quarterback room, and he made it clear that the Orange have more than one option as Week 3 of training camp rolls on.
Brown spoke with the media after Monday’s practice and discussed the group that sits at the center of Syracuse’s season. The Orange are nearing the Sept. 5 opener at the JMA Wireless Dome against New Hampshire, and Brown’s comments gave a snapshot of where things stand under center.
Steve Angeli drew the first round of praise. After the intersquad scrimmage, Brown said, "He wants to do better.
I thought he did pretty good. I thought he can help continuing playing winning football.
I'm sure he wants to do better. The coaches want him to do better.
Everyone wants to do better."
Brown also singled out the other quarterbacks on the roster, starting with Amari Odom. "Amari is really, really good.
Super talented. He is a leader naturally.
Very thankful for him being here. He is different.
He is a gun slinger. This kid can play football."
Odom arrives from Kennesaw State, where he was the quarterback last season. In a twist, former Syracuse quarterback Rickie Collins has transferred to Kennesaw State to take Odom’s place.
Brown was similarly upbeat about Malachi Nelson. "I thought Malachi threw a good ball.
He did a good job. He is a good kid.
Happy to have him here. ... Malachi has what it takes to have our football team win."
Nelson’s path has already taken him from USC to Boise State to UTEP before he joined Syracuse this spring. He entered college as the former No. 1 recruit in the country and is still working to find his footing.
The Orange have also added Lauter, who comes in from Georgetown and has family ties to SU.
Syracuse will spend one more week in camp before shifting into game-week preparation on Aug. 31. The AP Top 25 poll came out Monday, and Syracuse was left out, though three of its opponents were included.
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The good news for the Orange is that the group has moved forward since his arrival, enough for the staff to start shifting players into different roles and seeing what fits. The lingering question is the one every secondary coach eventually has to answer: who actually settles into the starting spots when the dust clears? Syracuse is still sorting that out, and until the lineup is finalized, the back end remains one of the more interesting parts of camp. [Read more 🡒]