The transfer portal can remake a roster in a hurry, and Syracuse has spent another offseason doing exactly that. Fran Brown watched 40 players leave and brought in 19 newcomers, then mixed them into a younger group that’s going to be asked to shoulder bigger roles right away.
That makes the question of immediate impact pretty simple: who has to help now, not later?
At quarterback, Syracuse already knows how valuable a portal hit can be. Kyle McCord was the centerpiece of a 10-win season in 2024, and for a while it looked like Steve Angeli might be the next one to stabilize the position before a torn Achilles stopped that plan cold. Now the backup situation matters more than ever.
If Angeli goes down again, Syracuse at least has options. Amari Odom from Kennesaw State, Malachi Nelson from UTEP and Danny Lauter from Georgetown join the room, giving the Orange four quarterbacks with starting experience and a combined 1,394 pass attempts in college games. That’s a huge contrast to where the room stood at the start of last season, when Syracuse had quarterbacks who had thrown only 87 passes in game action.
The offensive line got a quieter portal makeover, but David Ndukwe from Houston and Oluwafunto Akinshilo from UCLA could be the pieces that help close some of the gaps up front. The backfield has been overhauled even more dramatically, with Ahmad Miller from Jackson State and Ju’Juan Johnson from LSU bringing a new look to the running back room.
There are also potential safety valves for Angeli in the passing game. Noah Meyers, who came over from Western Kentucky, and Cole Weaver from Miami of Ohio could both help Syracuse move the chains.
Still, the answer I’d circle is on defense.
To me, the biggest immediate impact has to come from the edge, where Keyshawn Johnson from UT-Martin and Tunmise Adeleye from UNLV are expected to bring heat. Syracuse finished with just 20 sacks last season, which ranked 100th nationally, and that kind of pass rush simply won’t cut it against the quarterbacks the Orange are going to see this year.
Linebacker Chris D’Appolonia from Toledo is another name to watch, especially since his former defensive coordinator Vince Kehres is now at Syracuse. He could settle in quickly in a system he already knows.
And that’s really the theme of this transfer class: there are answers all over the roster, but the Orange need some of them to show up fast. The backup quarterback spot matters.
The offensive line matters. The running backs matter.
But if Syracuse is going to make the biggest leap from this group, the edge rush has to be the first thing that changes.
Fans around the program seem to agree. Some point to Johnson as the obvious answer, while others see D’Appolonia as the key to fixing a run defense that struggled a year ago. There’s also a strong case for the running back additions, with Miller drawing attention as a possible breakout after earning All-SWAC first-team honors last season.
Plenty of candidates fit the bill. But if the question is who has to make the most immediate impact, the pressure on Syracuse’s pass rush makes the answer hard to ignore.
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Since that commitment, Lawsons profile has exploded, with nearly 20 schools jumping in and putting fresh pressure on Syracuse to hold serve. Florida, Georgia and LSU are among the programs that have offered, and Lawson plans to take visits this fall while still saying he remains committed to the Orange, leaving Syracuse to navigate a recruiting battle that is only getting more crowded. [Read more 🡒]
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There is still plenty of uncertainty baked into the optimism, though, because this is almost an entirely new group. Syracuse will bring back only a small core while blending in 11 new players, and the schedule will give the Orange no shortage of early tests against teams like Indiana, Oklahoma and Providence. Rothsteins ranking is a nice vote of confidence, but the real question is whether the pieces can come together quickly enough for Syracuse to justify it. [Read more 🡒]