Fran Brown has made the call at quarterback, and Syracuse will open the 2026 season with Steve Angeli under center.
At his weekly press conference Monday, Brown said the fifth-year quarterback will start when the Orange face New Hampshire on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the JMA Wireless Dome. Angeli, listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, missed most of last season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury and appeared in just four games.
The decision puts Syracuse back around the player who was driving the offense before everything changed last September. Angeli was leading the country in total passing yards when he went down in the win at Clemson. That victory lifted SU to 3-1, but the Orange then dropped eight straight and finished 3-9.
Quarterback play was a major factor in the collapse after Angeli’s injury, even if it was far from the only problem. Syracuse also had issues on defense, and the season unraveled from there. Now, with camp rolling on, Brown is leaning on the quarterback he clearly trusts most.
Brown described Angeli as someone with a “relentless approach” who keeps teammates accountable. He also praised the quarterback’s attention to detail and toughness.
“He's detailed,” Brown said of Angeli. “Tough kid.”
Brown also addressed one of the more complicated roster questions hanging over the program: wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons and his eligibility status.
Ross-Simmons, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Rochester, N.Y., was a senior for Syracuse last season and is trying to play for the Orange again in 2026. But he and other 2022 athletes took a hit last Friday when the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver granted the NCAA’s request to stay a preliminary class-wide injunction that had been issued in late July by U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge Charlotte Sweeney.
That earlier ruling would have given those players a fifth season of eligibility, if they wanted it and met certain conditions.
Brown said Ross-Simmons and his representatives will decide what comes next. “I don't get involved in that,” the head coach said.
Still, Brown made it clear he supports the receiver as he works toward his degree at Syracuse. “He's a good kid ... we love each other,” Brown said of Ross-Simmons.
During the ongoing preseason training camp, Syracuse recently held its second scrimmage, and Brown said the group has brought energy and edge to the field. “We got some fight in us,” Brown said.
He also pointed to several wide receivers and defensive backs who have stood out to him lately. At wide receiver, Brown mentioned sixth-year player Umari Hatcher, senior Cole Weaver, sophomore Darien Williams, sophomore Darius Johnson, freshman Phoenix Henriquez and freshman BJ Garrett.
In Other News...
Syracuse Is Bringing A Program Legend Back At The Perfect Time
Syracuses training camp will get a familiar boost later this week when Fran Brown said Dwight Freeney will be around for a practice session as the Orange continue getting ready for their season opener against New Hampshire. It is the kind of reminder that still carries weight in this program, because Freeneys name means a lot in Syracuse, where he starred before building a decorated NFL career.
The timing makes sense, too, with Brown trying to sharpen the roster in the final stretch before game week. Freeney has remained connected to the program over the years, from having his jersey retired to showing up for a coaching clinic, so his return to the field fits into a long-running relationship with Syracuse. The bigger question is what kind of impact his presence will have on a team that is trying to make its last camp reps count. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Could Get Pulled Deeper Into A New Ross-Simmons Fight
The transfer and draft landscape around college football may be shifting again, and Syracuse has a direct stake in it because of Justus Ross-Simmons. The wide receiver was initially ruled eligible to return, a development that mattered for a team trying to manage its roster and keep experienced depth in place, but that status changed after an NCAA stay. Now the broader conference conversation is starting to move in the same direction as the Big Ten, which has already passed legislation preventing professional football players from coming back to college.
The ACC is reportedly weighing similar rules, and if that happens it could drag Syracuse further into the middle of the Ross-Simmons situation rather than settling it. The conference is looking at language that would make players who declared for the NFL Draft or signed pro contracts ineligible to return, a framework that would only sharpen the uncertainty around cases like this one. For Syracuse, the issue is no longer just about one players path, but about how quickly the rules around that path may harden around the sport. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Enters Final Camp Week With A Real Receiver Depth Concern
Day one of Week 4 of Syracuse Orange training camp brought the program into its final full week before game preparation begins, and the receiving room is suddenly one of the more unsettled spots on the roster. Justus Ross-Simmons was on hand but did not take part in practice as his eligibility dispute continues to play out after a court ruling and an NCAA stay, leaving Syracuse to keep moving forward without a player it had hoped to count on.
The depth issue is only sharper because of the injuries to Terrell Wilfong and Calvin Russell III, which have already thinned out the group. In their absence, transfers Cole Weaver and Zamondre Merriweather are expected to take on the lead roles, and the next few practices will go a long way toward showing how quickly Syracuse can settle on a workable rotation before the season turns from camp mode into game-week urgency. [Read more 🡒]