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Justus Ross-Simmons knew the ball was eventually coming his way. SU Wide Receivers coach Myles White told him so.

Ross-Simmons had two catches for 15 yards through three quarters, and Syracuse had yet to score a touchdown against UConn. Someone desperately needed to make a play.

His time didn’t come until there was just under six minutes remaining, while SU trailed by double digits and faced a fourth-and-4 on their own 47-yard line. Don’t convert, and the first losing streak under Fran Brown would start.

Enter Ross-Simmons. Steve Angeli gave a quick look up the middle, then to his right. Ross-Simmons had a couple yards of separation while running a go-route, and the quarterback hit him in stride. With no safety help, he glided into the end zone.

“When the big plays come, it’s just best that I stay composed because I know I can make those plays,” Ross-Simmons said.

Syracuse (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) desperately needed a spark during its home opener against UConn (1-1, Independent). Ross-Simmons gave it one. It wasn’t just his fourth-quarter score that helped SU defeat the Huskies 27-20 in overtime. He hauled in another six-yard touchdown in overtime, which gave SU a lead it never surrendered. Ross-Simmons finished with five catches for 83 yards and hauled in Angeli’s only two touchdown passes.

Angeli has yet to pick a go-to receiver. Johntay Cook was his main target in SU’s Week 1 loss against Tennessee with six catches for 58 yards. Ross-Simmons was close behind with three catches for 50.

Saturday, Dan Villari led Syracuse with a career-high 107 yards. Darrell Gill Jr. collected 84. Neither of them had as big of an impact as Ross-Simmons Saturday. It’s safe to say without the receiver, Syracuse doesn’t escape with a win.

“I have a lot of confidence in Justus,” Angeli said “He’s an unbelievable receiver, unbelievable route runner and big body, just very strong hands.”

An extra period seemed far-fetched, as SU’s offense sputtered through three quarters. Following an Angeli first-half fumble, the offense looked out of whack. An ill-advised throw with 10 minutes remaining along the sideline was picked off by D’Mon Brinson. Per ESPN, UConn had a 96% chance of winning, but SU quickly got the ball back.

Then Ross-Simmons got on the end of Angeli’s go-ball.

“For this offense, all it takes is one play,” Angeli said. “We showed throughout the day you need one play to create a spark. (The) more plays you make, the more energy that’s created.”

SU’s first touchdown of the day commenced a manic final five minutes. The Orange forced a stop and got the ball back with two minutes left on their own 20-yard line. Angeli marched them down the field. A nine-yard reception from Ross-Simmons put Syracuse on the six. Two plays later, Yasin Willis gave SU its first lead of the game with 48 seconds left.

With all three timeouts, Joe Fagnano surgically led UConn into field goal range to send the game to overtime.

White reiterated his previous message to Ross-Simmons before the extra period, where the Orange received the ball first.

“I got you, coach,” Ross-Simmons responded.

The receiver didn’t panic. His heart rate didn’t explode. He just trusted himself to make another play. Ross-Simmons said he practices making them non-stop. It’s become second-nature to him. “It’s routine,” Ross-Simmons said.

Angeli looked his way again on third-and-1. Ross-Simmons was blanked by Cam Chadwick as he ran an out route on the goal line. Ross-Simmons somehow got his hands on the ball. Even more improbably, he hung onto it.

With Ross-Simmons crashing to the turf, the nose of the football was pointing directly at the ground. To prevent the ball from getting jarred loose, the receiver contorted his body, so he landed on his hip and, in one motion, extended the ball over the pylon.

“He has some of the strongest hands I’ve ever seen at a receiver position,” Angeli said. “The way he’s able to just catch the football, focus, just his body control. It’s extremely impressive.”

“I’ve seen it countless times in practice, so I feel very confident in throwing him the football.”

Ross-Simmons’ trajectory with Syracuse isn’t linear. After transferring from Colorado State in April, 2024, he waited until November to make his first catch. He missed a chunk of time due to a hamstring injury which occurred on the first day of fall camp. During rehab, Ross-Simmons kept re-aggregating the injury.

It was a new experience for the receiver, who’d never gone through a setback like that. He nearly redshirted.

“It was frustrating,” Ross-Simmons told The Daily Orange on Aug. 12. “It just took a lot mentally, but I got myself together.”

Then came a four catch, 88-yard, two touchdown performance against Virginia Tech on Nov. 2, where Syracuse came back from down double-digits to win in overtime.

Sound familiar?

Ross-Simmons pulled off the ultimate déjà vu moment. The difference this time?

The receiver had a stable offseason. He wasn’t rushing to build chemistry with his quarterback. He doesn’t have to worry about whether his hamstring is going to give out whenever he runs a route. Most importantly he has time to show what he’s capable of.

Last season, Ross-Simmons couldn’t parlay his success from Virginia Tech into anything notable. He hauled in just five more catches for 114 yards.

“I’ll characterize his growth as a daily grind with unlimited potential,” Brown said of Ross-Simmons.

In the wake of Syracuse’s wild comeback, Ross-Simmons is at a crossroads. Build off this performance or fade into mediocrity like he did last season. If Saturday showed anything, it might be the latter.

Published on September 6, 2025 at 7:17 pm
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