Syracuse is 11 practices into fall camp, and Fran Brown likes the direction of the program - with one big caveat: there’s still a lot left to clean up before the opener against New Hampshire.
Brown said Monday that the Orange are making progress as they continue to come together, but he made it clear the work is far from finished.
“I just think the team is doing a good job and just trying to gel together,” Brown said. “We've got a long way to go; we still have three weeks until we get a chance to play a game.”
That patience hasn’t stopped Brown from pushing his team into uncomfortable spots. He’s been using practice to stress-test his players and see how they handle pressure.
“The team is doing well; we practice hard, and I try to put them in adversity situations,” Brown said. “Sometimes we respond better than other times.”
Brown also pointed to the coaching staff, saying the group is operating with a strong sense of support and shared responsibility.
“I think the coaches are doing a really good job of being there for each other,” Brown said. “The position coaches really got the coordinators back."
He singled out special teams as one area where that collaboration has stood out.
“Where they're exceeding things would be on special teams, where all the coaches can focus on that team part; that's where I see us take that jump,” Brown said.
For Brown, that kind of buy-in across the staff matters because building a winning program starts with everyone pulling in the same direction.
Defensive backs coach Perry Eliano echoed that theme while talking about his approach with players, especially two-way sophomore Demetres Samuel Jr. Eliano has coached plenty of top-end talent before, including Sauce Gardner, Coby Bryant and Ronnie Hickman, but he said the key is still the same: trust first.
“The old adage, ‘Just do what I say,’ I think is important with today's athlete; that relationship part is real, it's strong, the foundation is right,” Eliano said.
That relationship, he said, gives coaches room to demand more without losing the players.
“Once you start with that, it's how you build trust, and from there I think our guys have done a great job as a staff,” Eliano said.
And in Eliano’s view, that trust isn’t just a nice bonus - it’s central to the way Syracuse is trying to operate.
“The guys that we coach, I think there's phenomenal trust, unwavering belief in what we're teaching,” Eliano said. “Everything we're asking them to do, they know it's nothing but to help them and ultimately help us as a football team collectively.”
In Other News...
JJ Starling Just Put Syracuse In The Middle Of A Bigger Fight
JJ Starlings Syracuse tenure may not be finished in the broadest sense, even if his next step is no longer tied to the Orange. The former Syracuse guard has joined a California lawsuit involving players from the 2022 high school graduating class who are seeking an extra year of NCAA eligibility, a move that puts him squarely in the middle of the sports ongoing fight over how much time athletes should really be allowed to compete.
Starling also has entered the NCAA transfer portal, which keeps his basketball future open while he sorts through his options. He averaged 10.9 points per game last season, and with professional opportunities still on the table, his next decision carries real weight for him and for programs that could be watching the same eligibility battle play out in court. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Is Bringing A New Money Reality To The Dome
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Syracuse has not formally announced the partnership, but the move fits a school that has already been willing to lean into sponsorship revenue in creative ways. The Orange previously worked with SRC, Inc. on a sponsored home game relocated to Yankee Stadium, and this latest step shows the program is continuing to adapt to the new business reality around the Dome. [Read more 🡒]
Perry Eliano Has Syracuse's Secondary Facing One Big Question
Perry Eliano arrived in January and immediately stepped into a secondary with some real pieces already in place, including Chris Peal and Demetres Samuel Jr. For Syracuse, that made his job as defensive backs coach less about starting from scratch and more about figuring out how to blend established talent into a defense that can handle different looks. Eliano has leaned into the relationship side of the position, stressing trust as the foundation for developing versatility, especially at safety.
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 🡒]