Fran Brown didn’t spend Monday sounding like a coach in the middle of a quarterback debate. He sounded like a man who already made his call.
As Syracuse gets ready for Saturday’s non-league road game at Connecticut, Brown said Steve Angeli will remain the Orange’s starter, even though the conversation around the position has been growing louder after a 1-2 start. Brown opened the subject by saying, “We're going to stick with what we've been doing at quarterback,” then added, “But we have a mixture of wanting to try and play more than one guy. I am excited about our guys, and the competition we have here, and happy we do have other quarterbacks that can come in and play.”
That second part matters because Angeli has not exactly slammed the door shut through three games. He is 57-of-104 for 727 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions, ranking 47th nationally in passing. Brown also acknowledged that Angeli has had to adjust to the speed of the game and the live contact that comes with it, and that he doesn’t look quite as nimble running as he did in 2025.
Still, Brown’s answer left no real mystery about who will take the first snap Saturday at UConn. Michael Odom remains the other name in the mix after his fourth-quarter appearance in Syracuse’s 23-17 loss at Pittsburgh on September 17.
Odom completed all eight of his passes for 51 yards in that game, showed off his running ability, and got the ball out quickly. On the season, he is 10-of-11 in reserve duty with one touchdown.
Brown’s Monday availability also turned into a checkpoint on Calvin Russell III, the five-star freshman wide receiver who has been working back from a torn Achilles suffered on March 30. Russell is expected to make his collegiate debut Saturday in East Hartford, a little more than six months after the injury.
Brown was asked whether there were any concerns about putting Russell back on the field so soon after the injury. He brushed that aside quickly.
“The doctor cleared him,” Brown said confused about a potential issue on risking the safety of anyone of his players.
“The doctor cleared him, I am not a doctor so I just sit on the side and wait (for their clearance). The doctor (Dr. Martin O'Malley-Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City) who did his surgery, cleared him to play football.”
Brown said Syracuse will use Russell as much as the game plan and the flow of the game allow against the Huskies.
The matchup also comes with a web of familiar faces. UConn coach Jason Candle spent a decade at Toledo, where Syracuse defensive coordinator Vince Kehres worked under him for six seasons. Brown also has a connection on the other side through longtime assistant Nunzio Campanile, who took Candle’s invitation to run the UConn offense last spring.
Brown wasn’t interested in making that the story of the week.
“Nunz's is a good dude, a great coach, as are all of those guys (at UConn), but I am just focusing on us,” Brown said. “There's a lot of relationships (between the staffs) but I am only focused on us and competing this week to be 1-0. I will wish them (Huskie coaches the best after the game.”
In Other News...
Former Orange Playmaker Finally Broke Through In A Busy NFL Week
Week 3 brought a familiar kind of NFL snapshot for Syracuse fans, with a cluster of former Orange players showing up across the league and making their presence felt. Zaire Franklin led the way defensively for the Packers with 10 tackles, Matthew Bergeron helped steady the Falcons ground game, and Andre Szmyt stayed perfect for the Browns on field goals and extra points. Even beyond the headline names, Tommy DeVito, LeQuint Allen and Jackson Meeks all got on the field and chipped in during their games, a reminder of how many Syracuse products are now carving out roles on Sundays.
For Orange fans, though, the most interesting part of the week may have been watching a former playmaker finally break through after a long wait. In a league where chances can be scarce and momentum even scarcer, those first real signs of traction matter, especially for a player trying to turn brief appearances into something bigger. With so many Syracuse alumni in action, the broader theme was encouraging enough, but one of the weeks quiet breakthroughs felt like the one worth tracking a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Former Syracuse Standouts Just Landed A Real NBA Shot
Former Syracuse standouts William Kyle III and Cole Swider have both landed with the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of training camp, giving each a real shot to turn a summer opportunity into something more. For Orange fans, it is a familiar sort of NBA story: two players who took different paths through college, then found themselves in the same place with a chance to impress an organization that is always sorting through young talent and looking for useful depth.
Kyle brings a reputation built on defense after appearing in 131 college games, while Swider arrived in Syracuse as a scoring threat and averaged 13.9 points per game in his lone season there. Both are trying to earn a place on the Lakers roster, though the G-League is also part of the picture, and the next few weeks will determine whether this turns into a camp storyline or something a little more substantial. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Just Put Itself In Position For An Early QB Recruiting Win
Syracuse is trying to get ahead of the curve in the quarterback market, and its first offer in this cycle went to Philadelphia Belmont Charter signal-caller Nafis Watkins after he visited for Franchise Camp. The Orange gave Watkins a reason to remember the stop, and the young passer came away appreciative of the coaching staff and the program as he continues to build his profile.
Watkins already has the kind of early experience that tends to grab attention, having started as a freshman for a Belmont Charter team that finished 10-2 in 2025. For Syracuse, the pitch is simple: identify talent early, make the relationship count, and see whether the Orange can turn a camp visit into a head start in the recruiting race. [Read more 🡒]