How Syracuse fortified its QB room after Angeli’s injury derailed 2025
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Fran Brown stood at a podium in Charlotte resplendent in a light-gray plaid suit with a white dress shirt and beige-gray tie dotted with small dark spots, finished with an orange Syracuse “S” lapel pin.
It was Atlantic Coast Conference Kickoff on July 16 — the first wider spotlight for the Orange head coach since his team lost eight straight games to conclude the 2025 season.
The first question Brown fielded in the press conference asked about the greatest lesson he took from that campaign.
Brown didn’t need long to reply.
“To have backup quarterbacks,” he said.
Brown expounded, but his reflex answer was illuminative. It’s easy to see how SU’s 2025 season was derailed. Quarterback Steve Angeli was second in the Football Bowl Subdivision in passing yards and guided the Orange toward a 3-1 record, which was punctuated by their first-ever win at Clemson on Sept. 20.
But that victory in Death Valley proved not only Pyrrhic but the death knell for SU’s season. Angeli exited in the third quarter and was diagnosed with a torn Achilles. His season was over. The Orange didn’t win another game.
So, what did SU do in the offseason? It remodeled its quarterback corps using the transfer portal. Angeli has fully convalesced, and Brown confirmed on Aug. 24 he’ll be Syracuse’s starter, beginning against New Hampshire Saturday. To back Angeli up, the Orange added three QBs who’ve started a Division I game — Amari Odom, Malachi Nelson and Danny Lauter — and hired quarterback coach Sean Ryan, who has NFL pedigree.
Zoey Grimes | Design Editor
In 2025, Brown and Syracuse had to turn to backup signal-callers, and it didn’t go well. The Orange platooned between LSU transfer Rickie Collins, freshman Luke Carney and even started freshman Joe Filardi, who was recruited to the school’s lacrosse team and walked on to the football team, three times. Combined, they mustered seven touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Each week, the Orange’s games were noncompetitive.
“We’ve been working on doing something opposite of that as the next season comes in,” Brown said of the QB situation following SU’s season-ending loss to Boston College on Nov. 29, 2025.
Brown admitted SU’s backup quarterbacks were “extremely young and new to the system.” He added high school may not be the route to take when choosing a quarterback.
Brown said he learned to ensure he has “four-to-five really good quarterbacks, especially when you’re able to use the portal.”
So Syracuse went to work.
It snagged Nelson, the former class of 2023 No. 1 recruit, who’d played for three schools in three years and threw for 1,163 yards for UTEP in 2025. The Orange added Kennesaw State’s Odom, who logged 2,594 yards last season. Syracuse even grabbed Lauter, a Georgetown transfer who’s thrown for 2,898 yards in three years.
“A lot of talent in that room,” transfer wide receiver Cole Weaver said Tuesday. “It’s awesome that you can be at practice and let’s say we rotate in Amari, rotate in Malachi. It almost feels like there isn’t a step lost. No matter who’s leading the offense, they can make all the throws, make all the plays. They know how to read a defense, so it’s honestly great being a receiver in that offense.”
The additions gave Syracuse experience it lacked after Angeli went down. But Brown also changed the room’s leader.
Quarterbacks coach Ryan has almost 20 years of NFL experience and won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. He’s coached Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford, Cam Newton and Sam Darnold.
“We have guys that can step up and play and win without a question,” Ryan said of SU’s quarterback corps on Aug. 20.
“Amari Odom and Malachi Nelson stand out to me right now,” Ryan added. “We certainly have guys behind them that can also play. If Danny Lauter came in the game, there’s certain things that he could do. And then (three-star 2026 recruit) Zaid (Lott’s) a young player, but he’s trending in the right direction. But those top three guys, I feel very good about that room and believe wholeheartedly that we can step in and win with the quarterbacks that we have in that room.”
Angeli played a role in recruiting, mentoring and teaching the system to the new quarterbacks, even as he recovered from his injury, offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon said on Aug. 5.
“Those guys do a great job, and I think having them as my second set of eyes, whether it be on the sideline or in the film room, they’re with me every step of the way,” Angeli said. “It’s a credit to Coach Ryan. It’s been a fun, competitive environment.”
Nelson said he transferred to SU for stability at his fourth school. Brown promised him a fair shot in the starting quarterback competition. Although Angeli got the nod, Nelson said he’d “be ready in a heartbeat” if called upon.
Syracuse transfer quarterback Amari Odom (left) winds up to throw a football at practice next to starter Steve Angeli (right). Odom tossed 2,594 yards and 19 touchdowns with Kennesaw State last year. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
Asked to evaluate SU’s quarterback depth, Nelson extolled the Orange’s options. Angeli is “a hell of a player who has tons of strengths as a quarterback and is exciting to watch. Odom is a freak athlete who can do everything on the field,” Nelson said. Lauter is the oldest in the room and brings “tremendous energy.” Nelson called Filardi, sophomore Rich Belin and freshman Lott “the future,” saying they all give each other insight in practice.
Ryan has also been a vital voice leading the unit.
“He’s been a tremendous asset for not only me but the entire room to kind of learn and pick some things up from,” Nelson said. “So everything he says is gold, and I’m just trying to soak up as much stuff in.”
When Ryan addressed the media on Aug. 20, he emphasized footwork.
“The quarterbacks will tell you, we’re obsessed with footwork here and always will be,” Ryan said, “That will never change.”
Ryan’s inspiration came from the 2026 documentary “Rise of the 49ers,” about the 1980s and 1990s San Francisco 49ers under legendary head coach Bill Walsh. An integral part of Walsh’s successful West Coast offense — a trend-setting scheme prioritizing short, high-percentage passes over traditional running plays — was footwork.
Ryan stressed the importance of footwork with the Giants, Detroit Lions and Boston College. He wants fans to focus on Syracuse’s quarterbacks’ legwork this season.
“It’s always been there and I’ve always leaned on it, but now it’s exclusively what I believe in,” he said.
As SU’s opener versus New Hampshire quickly approaches, the Orange’s quarterback picture looks like a desirable passing pocket — clean.
On Monday, standing at another podium at Syracuse’s John A. Lally Athletics Complex Football Performance Center, Brown wouldn’t reveal who the second-choice signal-caller is. After last season, he doesn’t want to rely on one. But Brown knows if he has to, the options are proven and prepared.
“I’m praying that Steve’s just the quarterback the entire year, but I do think that we have a bunch of guys that are getting ready, they are willing to go in,” Brown said Monday. “They can play football. They’ve done well on the football field at other universities, and we felt there was a need for that to happen here; for them to go in and keep the train rolling the way it’s been rolling.”
