Fran Brown talks early lessons, Colgate matchup at weekly press conference
SU head coach Fran Brown spoke on what he’s learned about his team and the upcoming matchup against Colgate at his press conference on Monday. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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Fran Brown’s actions once again went viral. Following Syracuse’s narrow win over UConn Saturday, he ran his players through sprints.
The moment, which has been picked up by nearly every big-time sports media outlet and discussed on morning shows on Monday, has been both praised and criticized nationally. It was notably different than Brown’s viral “Winners get washed” antics last season. Yet it had a similar idea: Brown’s authentically himself.
When asked about the moment postgame Saturday, Brown said the Orange would run, whether they win, lose or draw if the new standard wasn’t met. He was asked again about the moment on Monday in his weekly press conference, basing his reasoning largely on consequences and following up on his word to the team. But while the sports world continues to melt in Brown’s unique decision, he seems to be past the moment.
“I’m ready to move on to Colgate,” Brown said. “That’s old. We went through it Saturday, watched the tape yesterday. So we moved on to Colgate.”
Here are some key takeaways from Brown’s press conference ahead of Syracuse’s matchup with the Raiders on Friday:
What they’ve learned
Brown didn’t mince his words when describing SU’s offensive line performance through its first two games.
“We can’t have as many busts on the offensive line. We’re getting our quarterback killed out there,” Brown said emphatically as his pitch rose. “And that’s not cool. It’s not cool at all.”
That’s one way to put it. Steve Angeli has been sacked eight times through two games, with the Orange having played eight different offensive linemen so far. On the flip side, SU recorded just one sack through its 120 minutes and change. Brown said Syracuse must start hitting the other quarterback.
He expressed a loyalty to Angeli postgame despite some early calls for backup Rickie Collins to replace him. When asked about where he builds loyalty in life on Monday, Brown said it comes from his name, word and upbringing. At times in his past, loyalty was a matter of life and death.
With two games down, Brown took a step back to reflect on what’s worked and plagued the Orange. Against the Huskies specifically, he thought SU’s offense moved well down the field early but couldn’t capitalize at the end of the drives. Defensively, he thought it was a lack of detail — one of Brown’s core values — that limited its ability to stop UConn in the first half. Syracuse allowed zero touchdowns in the second half.
“(I’m) happy that we did get a chance to win so I can coach all the mistakes with the win,” Brown said. “But I’m definitely not going to overlook all of those mistakes we had. Too many mistakes, and we got lucky and beat a good football team.”
While focused on the present season, Brown noted how he’s continuing to build the program forward for the future. He said there are multiple freshmen and sophomores currently playing that he expects to be key pieces again in 2026, which will strengthen the culture in his eyes.
As for his own growth, The Daily Orange asked Brown postgame on Saturday how he felt experiences from last season have helped him so far in Year 2. He said he received advice from Senior Deputy Athletics Director Herman Frazier and Director of Athletics John Wildhack on how to improve his sideline presence. Brown added to those conversations on Monday.
“Just to understand and watch everybody. Being able to focus on everybody. Those are things that the great coaches are able to do,” Brown said. “Even though they still got to manage the game, you got to do that. You got to manage everything right, and you got to have eyes everywhere, make sure that you’re constantly doing that, because you don’t want little things to end up being big things eventually. So just make sure that I’m constantly putting my eyes and ears open on everything.”
Previewing Colgate
Four-year head coach Stan Dakosty is out, and former Cortland head coach Curt Fitzpatrick is in. With the Red Dragons, Fitzpatrick went 25-0 in conference play across four seasons and won the NCAA Division III title in 2023. Brown said he tried to recruit Fitzpatrick to his staff, and the new Colgate head coach is a “class-act guy and real good dude.”
“It’s a homecoming for him,” Brown said. “So he’s gonna come and do everything he can to try to make sure they come and give us the best competition.”
Fitzpatrick’s Raiders are 0-2 so far with losses to Monmouth and Villanova. He’s tasked with fixing a squad that went 2-10 a season ago and finished last in the Patriot League. Brown noted the play of both quarterbacks, Zach Osborne and Jake Stearney.
Osborne has passed for 466 yards and rushed for a team-high 80, while Stearney has mixed in at times with 10 completions on 23 attempts. Colgate’s defense is yet to record a sack through its first two contests. Fitzpatrick has plenty of work to do, and a victory over the Orange would be a program-altering one.
“I just want to compete against him. Ain’t about to make this the Fitzpatrick show,” Brown joked.
Additional notes
An under-the-radar improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 was 17-year-old Demetres Samuel The youngest player on the roster upped his Pro Football Focus grade from 45.1 to 72.5, while his tackling grade was an 83.5. Brown said Samuel is a “baby” and at times the head coach must remember that.
He said he coaches Samuel as hard as possible because there’s little he can’t do. While Samuel hasn’t played both ways yet, Brown said he’ll be featured on offense this week “a lot” and possibly on some punt returns.
Jamie Tremble has become a popular figure lately due to his defensive presence in the season opener. The highest rated recruit in SU’s 2024 class was expected to be the future at tight end but will now be the starting SAM linebacker, as Brown proclaimed last Monday.
Though Tremble didn’t record a snap against the Huskies, Brown said he’ll play against Colgate. The absence was based around Tremble matching UConn’s offense and preparing him mentally for Atlantic Coast Conference play, which will kick off at noon on Sept. 20 versus Clemson.
