S
teve Angeli had 24 hours. Twenty-four hours to feel bad for himself. Twenty-four hours to consider what he should’ve done differently. Twenty-four hours to create make-believes of what could’ve been.
At least, that’s what Vito Campanile told Angeli the day after his season-ending Achilles injury with Syracuse last year.
“I talked to him the next day and said, ‘So many of the best players in sports have been through this, and you’re gonna have to climb back up just like you have in the past,’” Vito said.
This was common motivation from Vito, who coached Angeli at Bergen Catholic High School (New Jersey) from 2018-21, and coached him hard. Vito immediately emphasized mental toughness in Angeli’s training by repeatedly putting him in uncomfortable situations against various defensive schemes and blitz packages.
Neither realized the impact it would have on Angeli’s career.
At nearly every stage of his football journey, Angeli has faced adversity. He weathered Vito’s tough coaching in high school and battled a deep bone bruise his senior year. Then, at Notre Dame, he was never truly given a chance, with new starters brought in every time he was next up.
And when everything looked like it was finally aligning last year, with three and a half masterful games for the Orange, Angeli’s Achilles failed him.
Eleven months later, that’s all behind him. Angeli is “100% healthy” as Syracuse’s starting signal-caller for the 2026 season, he said. He’ll look to return the Orange to the heights they reached in 2024 after a concoction of freshmen, walk-ons and unproven transfers led them to eight straight losses to end 2025. He can’t pinpoint one specific moment across his career, but those close to Angeli insist his past adversity conditioned him to return with even more confidence as Fran Brown’s No. 1 option.
“I looked at it as every day I walked into the training room or every day I walked into any part of my rehab, that’s my practice, that’s my chance to compete,” Angeli said of his recovery. “I’m a competitor, and for me it was one of the hardest competitions. It was against myself, my own body.”
Zoey Grimes | Design Editor
“I think adversity is the biggest creator of confidence. That’s my experience in my career,” said Kedon Slovis, Angeli’s close friend and former Arizona Cardinals quarterback. “Steve’s on the latter end of it, but it’s always gonna keep coming. So I think anytime you can taste that early in your career, the better.”
Angeli’s injury was so devastating last year not only because of the Orange’s poor backup quarterback play. He was simply one of the nation’s best quarterbacks.
Through his torrid start, Angeli accumulated 1,317 passing yards — second nationwide after Week 4 — 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.
He thrived in a similar offense to Bergen Catholic, which featured RPOs, option routes and deep shots. And he survived every punch he faced, from being roughed up in his debut against Tennessee to fighting back to steal a win against UConn. Former Notre Dame teammate Anthony Rezac summed it up best: Angeli entered a “flow state.”
Nunzio Campanile, Syracuse’s offensive associate head coach last year and Vito’s brother, saw Angeli’s confidence jump each week as SU went 3-1 in his starts. Then, it tanked against Clemson.
Angeli was rightfully upset following his injury; he struggles to even describe his initial thoughts now. That mood lingered until he began walking a few weeks later, Slovis said.
Vito and Rezac heard about Angeli’s injury in their respective locker rooms during game breaks, dampening the vibe of their wins. A bittersweet feeling similarly blanketed Syracuse’s players after upsetting Clemson. Nobody wanted to see Angeli’s starting opportunity end the way it did.
“It’s a little emotional talking about it now because sometimes there’s not an answer for it,” Angeli said at Atlantic Coast Conference Media Day. “It’s just tough when you watch the way the rest of the season goes. I tried to do everything I could, but it is definitely rough and definitely sucks.”
“He just seemed like he was so confident, felt so good about where he was going and where the team was going,” Vito said. “It was kind of a crazy pitfall to hit.”
Steve Angeli targets a receiver in Syracuse’s blowout win over Colgate on Sept. 12, 2025. Angeli passed for 382 yards in the victory, cementing himself as one of the nation’s best quarterbacks before getting injured the next week. Lars Jendruschewitz | Senior Staff Photographer
Thus, Angeli began his long road back. But he’d already dispatched similar obstacles before.
During one high school game his senior year, Angeli tweaked his knee. Vito’s son Dominic Campanile, who was BC’s third-string quarterback then, said he was “scared to death” once his father told him to get ready. Thankfully for him, Angeli only missed a few plays, reentered the game and steered the Crusaders to victory over Seton Hall Prep.
The injury turned out to be a bone bruise. Vito said he should’ve missed three weeks, yet Angeli didn’t sit out a single game, constantly getting fluid drained from his leg to remain active. After not throwing as much as usual the next game, Angeli led Bergen Catholic to a state title later that year.
“He was always kind of banged up, but he never complained. He kept practicing,” said BC teammate and former SU defensive back Jayden Bellamy. “He’s hurdling people on a bad knee. He’s just always gonna keep going.”
Angeli stayed healthy at Notre Dame, but that wasn’t the issue. Every time he was in line to start, he was relegated into the shadows. First he sat behind Drew Pyne, then Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard, all of whom were deemed better than him. It didn’t help that head coach Brian Kelly, who recruited Angeli, left before he arrived.
As ND’s backup, Angeli sometimes received first-team reps in practice. But he wasn’t “getting whacked” like the No. 3 or 4s, since he was essential if the starter got hurt, his childhood quarterback coach Matt Bastardi said.
WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT
CLEAN SLATE: Football Guide 2026
The Daily Orange published its annual Football Guide, with stories highlighting Syracuse’s biggest names, what to look for this season and predictions for how the Orange will fare in their third year under head coach Fran Brown.
Still, Angeli practiced like he was the starter. He made sure he knew anything and everything about the team’s game plan each week, firing off questions about receivers’ routes and opponents’ defenses to anyone who would listen, former ND quarterback Kenny Minchey said.
That’s because Angeli believed he was the team’s best quarterback. It wasn’t egotistical; Rezac said it was just healthy confidence.
The mindset guided Angeli through his toughest hurdle yet.
“Playing QB is about handling one adversity to another. Steve has done that his whole career and will continue to do it at a high level,” Hartman said in a statement to The Daily Orange. “No one I know is in a better spot to succeed and come back from an injury than Steve.”
Angeli finally had enough of riding the bench and transferred to Syracuse. He won a starting competition for the first time in his career, beating out LSU transfer Rickie Collins, who’d already been with the program for four months. The short turnaround forced Angeli to gain teammates’ trust fast, and he did.
As quickly as he earned the job, he returned to the bench after his injury. The first part of his recovery was mental.
Every few weeks, Angeli, Rezac, Minchey and other former teammates at Notre Dame caught up over the phone. Angeli told them about Syracuse’s atmosphere, the city and areas around campus and acted optimistic about his rehab, Minchey said.
A little over a month after his surgery, Angeli began traveling with the team again. He served as an additional coach during games and practices and was given a task at each session to help him “feel committed to the team” despite being sidelined. Brown thinks it helped him learn how to “truly lead” entering 2026.
That time translated to Angeli’s relationships with his teammates. He called Miami (Ohio) transfer receiver Cole Weaver the day after he committed, telling him to “get ready to work” while breaking down the Orange’s offense. Former Toledo linebacker Chris D’Appolonia added that Angeli tries to form personal bonds with each of SU’s players.
Brown certainly didn’t enjoy Angeli’s injury last fall but has since realized its hidden benefits.
“I think him getting hurt was more than likely… the best thing to happen to him and myself,” Brown said. “Probably the best thing that’s going to happen to our program because we’re going to be able to take off and go to another level.”
Steve Angeli winds up to throw during Syracuse’s preseason practice on Aug. 17. After tearing his Achilles last season, Angeli returns as the Orange’s starting signal-caller this year. Madison Cox | Staff Photographer
Once he could walk, though, Angeli did everything possible to progress in his rehab. Nunzio was amazed when Angeli started throwing again in November. At first, Angeli only did stationary throws using his upper body but could be seen “ripping the ball around” before SU’s late-season games, Nunzio said.
Angeli also worked with SU Director of Performance Chad Smith, who Angeli said helped him add 10 pounds of muscle.
“He did the best he could to keep his chin up and be a man about it. He went right to work after the surgery,” Nunzio said. “He was out there doing everything he could.”
In March, Angeli traveled to California with Slovis and Hartman to work with Taylor Kelly, a former college signal-caller who now trains others for 3DQB, a company that specifically works with quarterbacks. Angeli wasn’t completely healthy yet, but he was so eager to begin a full workout that 3DQB’s coaches had to restrain him from overdoing it.
His workouts focused on mechanics rather than dropbacks and footwork, but Slovis was more impressed by his mentality than his throws.
When fall camp started in August, he was practicing in full capacity, a black compression sleeve covering his left leg and his walking boot stuffed in his apartment’s closet. Angeli said he’s also worked with Syracuse’s defensive coaches to see how they attack him and figure out ways to combat their tactics.
Before the season, Angeli has been asked ad nauseam about his health status. He’s never had much to say, besides that he’s 100% and ready to go. He’s told the same to friends, family and coaches who reach out.
He wants to put his injury in the past — and with it, his previous adversity.
A fully healthy season, one where he returns to the level he hit in 2025, would validate it all.
Photo courtesy of SU Athletics