Syracuse isn’t planning to make room for any surprise fifth-year additions, and Fran Brown made that clear Tuesday.
The Orange coach said he’s satisfied with the roster he already has and doesn’t intend to pull players from last year’s team back into the mix, even as a court ruling has created a brief window for some fifth-year eligibility cases.
“We’re just real comfortable with the team that we have and we’ve gotten the chance to develop,” Brown said. “We’ve been together since January.
I feel like we’ve really bonded in a good way. It’s a lot of genuine love and care for each other.”
That stance quiets the speculation around several former Syracuse contributors, including Rochester receiver Justus Ross-Simmons. Ross-Simmons was a big-play piece for the Orange last season, catching the game-winning touchdown against Connecticut and later hauling in two scores in the win at Clemson.
Ross-Simmons said Monday that he wants to return to college and has people helping with that effort, though he does not have an agent. He also said Brown and he have not discussed a possible return to Syracuse.
“Syracuse is always an option for me because I came from there,” Ross-Simmons said in a phone interview with syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. “But sometimes things don’t work out. I’d be willing, but I don’t know if that can happen for me.”
Brown also pointed to Title IX compliance when explaining why the roster won’t be affected by a judge’s ruling last week in Colorado that temporarily allows some fifth-year players to return to school this fall.
U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney clarified Sunday that the ruling does not alter NCAA eligibility rules for players who signed pro contracts, which complicates the path back for players like safety Devin Grant and defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr.
Grant and Jobity signed with the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively, as undrafted free agents in April. Grant’s agent, Gavin Lewis, told syracuse.com that Grant will stay with the Chargers and try to make the 53-man roster.
Jobity, who led Syracuse in sacks last season, is expected to do the same. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Ross-Simmons led Syracuse in touchdowns last season even though he was limited to eight games. He started the first four, was limited over the next four, and missed the final four. Across two seasons at Syracuse, injuries to his finger, hamstring and ankle cost him seven of 21 possible games.
He said he is healthy now and has been staying in shape while also working a variety of jobs, including trucking, since leaving SU.
Another possible fifth-year player, defensive end Denis Jaquez, did not sign a pro contract. Jaquez played in 34 games over four seasons with 18 starts, finishing his Syracuse career with 59 tackles, nine for loss, 6.5 sacks, a blocked punt and a forced fumble.
In Other News...
Gerry McNamara Just Sent Syracuse Fans An Early Rebuild Signal
Gerry McNamara is already shaping Syracuses next roster with an eye on both the present and what comes after it, and the early signs point to a program trying to stay competitive without losing sight of the long game. The Orange have landed Jack Donohue, a 6-foot-8 three-star prospect from Massachusetts in the Class of 2027, a move that fits the idea of building out the front end of the pipeline while the staff continues working the current schedule and the broader shape of the team.
There is also more immediate roster business still hanging over the season, with Syracuse adding Cornell to the non-conference slate and finalizing other games around it. At the same time, the possibility of player departures after this year remains part of the conversation, which is why McNamaras approach feels like more than just a recruiting note. It reads as a signal that Syracuse is planning for both the lineup it has now and the one it may need to assemble soon after. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Leaders Think This Orange Team Is Far Better Than Expected
Syracuse is heading into its third season under Fran Brown with a different feel around the program, and sophomore linebacker Antoine Deslauriers sounds like one of the players helping drive it. He is expected to take on a bigger leadership role this fall, and he pointed to the arrival of new defensive coordinator Vince Kehres as a reason the Orange have been able to settle in and play with more speed and comfort on that side of the ball.
That matters because the outside expectations are still low, with Syracuse picked to finish 14th in the ACC. Deslauriers, though, has made it clear he believes the team is better than that forecast suggests, and his confidence reflects a defense that believes it has made real progress heading into the season. The question now is whether that internal belief shows up once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown Is Already Leaning Into Syracuses Underdog Season
Fran Brown did not flinch at the way Syracuse was slotted in the ACC preseason chatter, and in some ways that is exactly the point. After a 3-9 finish last year, the Orange are being asked to prove they can climb out of the conference basement, but Brown sounded eager to use the low expectations as fuel as the season approaches.
Syracuse opens on Sept. 5 against New Hampshire, giving Brown and his team an early chance to show whether the outside skepticism is justified or badly misplaced. On the hoops side, Gerry McNamara already added Class of 2027 recruit Jack Donohue as the basketball program gets ready to tip off on Nov. 2, another reminder that there is plenty of Syracuse optimism to track across campus even as the football team tries to change its narrative first. [Read more 🡒]