S
teve Angeli gets flashbacks when he hears the voice of his quarterbacks coach. To Angeli, the similarities are “insane.” He views it as your typical Italian guy from New Jersey.
No, it’s not Vito Campanile, his former head coach at Bergen Catholic High School (New Jersey). But it’s Nunzio, Vito’s younger brother. His voice has become Angeli’s added layer of comfort within college football’s most tumultuous process.
“It’s crazy, I hear some stuff and I get déjà vu,” Angeli said. “I’m like, ‘Am I back being 14,15 years old in high school?’”
Following three years as Notre Dame’s backup quarterback, Angeli took a leap of faith into the spring transfer portal. He left a quarterback competition with the national runner-ups after some “tough conversations” and jumped into another at Syracuse despite the Orange naming LSU transfer Rickie Collins their starter in April.
Angeli’s New Jersey roots and a deep connection with the Campanile family led him to Syracuse over other Power Four offers. And after winning the quarterback battle in fall camp, he’ll jumpstart Fran Brown’s second year helming the Orange in their season opener against No. 24 Tennessee.
To many around New Jersey high school football, Angeli’s been known for years. But to the national audience, Jan. 9 marked his formal introduction.
The Fighting Irish trailed Penn State 10-0 in the CFP Semifinal nearing the end of the first half. As it drove down the field, ND starter Riley Leonard was hit by defensive lineman Dvon J-Thomas in the backfield, with the back of his helmet hitting the ground. He was shaken up, thrusting Angeli into action.
Angeli felt ready for the moment. Wide receiver Deion Colzie said Angeli was poised, controlling the game’s pace. Wide receiver Jayden Thomas thought the team was confident in Angeli, no matter what Penn State’s ferocious defense threw at him. Leonard knew Angeli could hold down the fort.
“When he went in (against Penn State), he’s just always been that guy to come in, not say a word, just put his head down and go to work,” Leonard said. “And that’s just who he is.”
Angeli carved through the Nittany Lions, going 6-for-7 for 44 passing yards to lead a field goal drive entering the half. The score ignited the Fighting Irish, leading to their 27-24 victory.
Vito said he was slouched over on the couch and quickly moved to the edge of it once Angeli entered. Wide receiver coach Ron Carti was on the phone with Vito, both discussing how the performance was nothing new for their star quarterback. Former BC linebacker John Fiore III noted that the team’s old group chat erupted with text messages about Angeli’s play. The performance also caught the attention of multiple members of Syracuse’s staff.
Nunzio could tell Angeli wasn’t overwhelmed by the environment. Offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon joked he was partially upset due to his ties to Penn State. But Brown knew if Angeli ever entered the transfer portal, he would “be on him.”
He recruited Angeli with Nunzio at Rutgers. Brown remembers Angeli not answering the phone. The two joke about it now, but Angeli was busy becoming a star.
Steve Angeli escapes the pocket while playing for Bergen Catholic. While there, he was coached by Vito Campanile and caught the eye of then-Rutgers coach Fran Brown. Courtesy of Luther Schlaifer
Angeli’s childhood quarterback coach, Matt Bastardi, estimates he lost just one game as a starter since fifth grade. He attended the prestigious Bergen Catholic, over 45 minutes away from his home in Westfield, to compete. Angeli was with the varsity team as a freshman and split time with senior Andrew Boel as a sophomore.
Entering his junior season as the starter, running back Ryan Butler said Angeli set up practice sessions multiple times a week during the COVID-19 pandemic to build a rapport with his receivers. His connection with Vito continued to blossom, too.
Fiore recalls weekly film sessions between Angeli and Vito to break down opponents. Both Nunzio and Vito had attended Angeli’s games since seventh grade, as Butler remembers. Nunzio was Bergen Catholic’s head coach before Vito took over, allowing him to know Angeli. The relationship was capped with a perfect 12-0 2021 season and a Group A New Jersey State Championship.
Despite connections to Nunzio and offers from top Big Ten schools, Angeli chose Notre Dame to continue his college career. His great uncle, Pete Berezney, played for the Fighting Irish in the 1940s. Though beyond the family connection, he grew close with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
ND went through a coaching change following Angeli’s commitment, but he stayed with the Fighting Irish as Rees stayed on board. The current Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator said Angeli’s recruitment was “interesting” due to COVID-19 restrictions. They built a relationship through Zoom. Angeli, with the help of his older brothers, Jack and Nicholas, sent film of him throwing through different apparatuses and simulated a pass rush with pool noodles. Rees was impressed.
When Angeli arrived on campus for spring practice, Rees remembers a particular play where Angeli sprinted to his left, flipped his hips, backpedaled and threw a far crossing route on the money. Angeli had arrived.
“I just remember thinking ‘holy sh*t,’ Rees said. “If he can make that, I think we’ve got (a) pretty good player here.”
Angeli, however, never really got his shot.
Steve Angeli surveys the field during one of Syracuse’s summer practices. After winning the starting quarterback job over Rickie Collins, Angeli will lead the Orange this fall. Angelina Grevi | Staff Photographer
As a freshman, he grew under junior Drew Pyne. Pyne took the starting spot from Tyler Buchner after two games following a season-ending injury. Both from the Northeast, Pyne said the two were “like-minded” and Angeli attended every meeting, went through game scripts the night before and watched film as if he was the starter. Both Pyne and Buchner departed after the season. But so did Rees, who left for Alabama.
As Rees left, the Fighting Irish brought in Atlantic Coast Conference transfers the next two years to run the show. First, it was Sam Hartman from Wake Forest. Angeli said Hartman immediately took him under his wing, becoming a mentor. The two became best friends, and Angeli’s role remained the same as the year prior.
Hartman opted out of the Sun Bowl, giving Angeli his first — and only — college start. He completed 15-of-19 attempts with three touchdowns to lead Notre Dame past Oregon State 40-8. But the performance wasn’t enough to get the starting job as the Fighting Irish brought in Leonard from Duke two weeks earlier.
Leonard said he felt the two were “50/50” for the starting job throughout camp. Though Leonard was unsurprisingly named the starter ahead of the season and ran with the role. Colzie thought, despite Leonard being a year older, Angeli was well respected as the longest tenured quarterback in the room. Leonard bounced ideas off Angeli and vice versa.
“We considered him at Notre Dame an elder statesman,” Colzie said of Angeli. “He always knew what to do.”
As Leonard moved on to the NFL, it seemed to at last be Angeli’s job entering his redshirt junior season. ND didn’t bring in a veteran this time around, instead creating a competition between Angeli, redshirt freshman CJ Carr and redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey. Thomas, who departed for Virginia in the winter transfer portal, thought Angeli would be the starter. But Leonard said he truthfully didn’t know what would happen after seeing all three excel in 2024.
The trio battled throughout the spring. Just days after the spring game, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said he wanted to cut the quarterback competition to two players entering the fall. He said they’d have conversations to determine what’s best for the program. A few days later, Angeli entered the transfer portal.
“I had a moment toward the end of spring ball where I had some conversations at the place I was at before, and had to have some tough conversations,” Angeli said. “I understood that making a move and entering the portal, as a grad transfer, would have been the best opportunity for me…It’s business. It’s business. Everything happens for a reason. It’s business.”
When Angeli committed to ND, it ran a pro-style system, one that Rees thought Angeli fit naturally. When turning to Leonard under new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, it looked for a more mobile option under center. The Fighting Irish’s turn to Carr looks like a return to the pro style.
Angeli graduated from Notre Dame. He made the best of his opportunities. And it was time for a new chapter.
“It’s different than any other transfer in the country. He shouldn’t be treated or seen as a transfer quarterback,” Leonard said. “He should be seen as one of the most loyal guys in college football, because he did stick with Notre Dame for so long and gave it every chance that he could.”
Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
Carti remembers Angeli being calm through the transfer portal process as he navigated between some Southeastern Conference and Big Ten offers. Even with interest from other schools, though, Syracuse was his only visit. And he learned more about it from the Bergen Catholic community.
Angeli played alongside Jayden Bellamy and Jaeden Gould at BC, all ranking as top players in the state. Bellamy and Angeli’s friendship grew as freshmen at Notre Dame while rooming together. Gould began his college career at Nebraska but transferred to Syracuse for the 2023 season. Bellamy did the same.
While both transferred out of Syracuse’s program at the end of the 2024 season, they helped Angeli understand Brown’s culture. Then his Northeast connections spoke for themselves.
“I can’t thank the Campanile family enough for all their help,” Angeli said. “Having coach Nunzio as my coach, I love him to death. He’s been absolutely everything for me.”
“Having so many ties to New Jersey, I think it was something that really sparked Steve’s interest,” Vito said. “He saw the value of what Syracuse accomplished last season.”
What the Orange accomplished was their greatest passing season ever. Scooping Kyle McCord, also a New Jersey quarterback neglected by a top program, out of the transfer portal proved to be a rapid success in Nixon’s offense. Angeli scrimmaged against McCord and St. Joseph’s Prep (Pennsylvania) when he was younger, and saw his record-breaking season from afar.
When Angeli entered the transfer portal, he spoke with McCord to understand SU’s returning cast and system. It felt like a perfect match based on their similar play styles and cerebral, pocket passing.
“I had a lot of belief that we could do what they were able to do last year,” Angeli said. “Replicate that.”
Angeli now has the opportunity to do just that. Brown said he doesn’t want his new starter to be McCord. He wants Angeli to be the best version of himself. Angeli was chosen due to his ability to “operate the best.” He met with assistant coaches over Zoom in the offseason to learn the playbook before getting live reps in fall camp.
Brown has already echoed to Angeli the importance of understanding the history of the position at Syracuse. Don McPherson, Donovan McNabb. Now McCord. Angeli says it’s one of the greatest honors of his life.
And whether Angeli’s hearing the words of Brown, Nixon, Nunzio or even thinks it’s Vito at times in his helmet, he’s finally got his shot to lead the way.
Photograph courtesy of SU Athletics
Published on August 28, 2025 at 12:01 am