This spring was supposed to be exciting for the Syracuse Orange fans. After all, when Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders wanted to play different spring games, breaking free of the traditional setup, Fran Brown was the first one to pitch in. He was all excited and tweeted, “We will come to Boulder for 3 days.” But as soon as the spring window of the transfer portal opened, it ushered in an air of instability. That’s because Brown has now landed the Notre Dame quarterback transfer Steve Angeli. But didn’t they already confirm their starting quarterback a few days back? That’s when the locker room scenes start shifting. Meanwhile, Brown has too many things on his plate as he is dealing with a $2 million disaster.

This spring has not been easy breezy for the Orange fam. Brown had to part ways with David Wohlabaugh Jr., who started three games on the offensive line in 2024. Well, the offensive lineman kept on struggling with injuries. However, even then, he gifted Brown’s squad with 258 offensive snaps, all but two at left tackle, allowing two sacks on 174 dropbacks. This marked one of Syracuse’s highest-graded pass blockers. But finally, Wohlabaugh Jr. chose to hit the transfer portal. Not because of a playing time issue, though. But he was looking for a change of scenery. But Brown was able to lift up Syracuse fans’ mood by declaring Rickie Collins as their starting quarterback. The former LSU Tigers quarterback jumped into the portal last December. And the head coach only had good things to say about Collins.

 

“The players are behind him. Everybody is behind him, so it seems like he’s going to be our quarterback. I’m very excited and happy about it. He puts the work in daily learning how to lead.” But what made fans and Syracuse believe that it’s a seal deal with Collins? A green pass from Brown’s former QB. As Brown shared Kyle McCord’s take, “We just talked Sunday about him, and Kyle said ‘he’s sharp… he really understands the game.” But turns out that the head coach’s attention span is really short. While he needs to be attentive about making a successful scheme for Collins, he hunted down Angeli. This did not fit well with Blake Ruffino. On the April 23rd episode of The Ruffino & Joe Show, the analyst sounded upset. “I’m a Fran Brwon Homer…but I don’t appreciate.”

But what makes Collins’ seat heat up? Collins never started for the Tigers and served as a backup during his two years with the program. Well, while Angeli, too, has been a backup in his previous two seasons at Notre Dame, he brings in more experience to Brown’s table. That’s because he has been in college football for one more season than Collins. The game numbers make the picture clearer. Angeli played in 21 games while Collins played in just four. So, it’s highly likely that Brown might opt for the former Fighting Irish star as Syracuse’s starter for the 2025 season. However, this move by the head coach surely does not leave a good message in the locker room. 

As Ruffino talks about the mental toil Collins has to pay for Brown’s whimsicality. “If I was in Rickie Collins’ shoes, I transfer, I go there, you tell me I’m going to be the starter, you name me the starter, and then you going and naming Steve Angeli…if I was kid in that locker room, I also wouldn’t liked that either.” This just adds to some extra pressure, as Brown is yet to wrap his head around a major loss in the roster. 

How Fran Brown refused to budge on big money, even for his big star

The redshirt senior, star wide receiver Trebor Pena, had been Orange’s pride. He had caught a team-high 84 passes for 941 yards and nine touchdowns last season. With this, he was the leading returning receiver for the Syracuse gang. Sadly, on April 14, came the biggest blow for Brown when he jumped into the portal. This indeed was a big loss. He had appeared in 41 career games. The wide receiver was named a team captain. And with this, things took a bitter turn.

As Syracuse encourages its fans to donate to help pay its players, Brown showed he’s willing to make the hard choices with that money. The main reason behind the wide receiver hitting the exit door was that he reportedly wanted more NIL money. However, no matter how talented Pena has been, Brown refused to compromise. “We paid him enough. He was going to get paid more. There were some numbers that were asked to me that I didn’t feel I would be able to do and move on.”

The head coach declined to reveal the specifics of what amount Pena was after, but he did deliver a strong statement. “You gonna make $2 million at wide receiver? That’s the homie at Ohio State [Jeremiah Smith].  Ain’t nobody else making that money. I’m not giving no wide receiver $2 million in college. That ain’t me.” Syracuse went 10-3 in Fran Brown’s first season in charge in 2024, notching the program’s best finish since 2018. With the quarterback situation in flux and a key player sidelined, the 2025 season may already be throwing curveballs.