Fran Brown put together one of the season’s biggest surprises in 2024, leading Syracuse to 10 wins in his first year as a college head coach. Brown’s recruiting prowess — honed during two title-winning years on Georgia’s staff — was on display immediately, as he landed commitments from Ohio State’s Kyle McCord and Texas A&M’s Fadil Diggs through the transfer portal.
Now Brown and the Syracuse staff have struck again, quickly adding former Notre Dame’s Steve Angeli to bolster depth in the quarterback room. As with McCord, the Orange staff didn’t need many introductory conversations with the Fighting Irish quarterback.
Angeli played high school football at Bergen Catholic in New Jersey, where Syracuse quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile served as head coach from 2010 to 2017. Brown is deeply familiar with the area — not only as a Camden, New Jersey, native but also from his time as an assistant at Rutgers and Temple. While this addition wasn’t quite as obvious as McCord — who knew Brown and Campanile since middle school and played youth football with offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon’s son — it’s no surprise Angeli committed following his official visit.
This is where Syracuse may gain an edge in the transfer portal: prospects from the Philadelphia and New Jersey area who are already familiar with the staff. Syracuse might not be a geographic fit, but there’s a cultural connection. Familiarity with coaches who have deep roots in the region has played a role in several high-profile transfer additions over the last two offseasons. Recruits who once bypassed Syracuse — as Angeli did with Notre Dame — may now see the Orange as a second-chance option, a way to reboot their careers with a touch of home, even if it’s a few hours away.
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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/syracuse-signs-ex-notre-dame-qb-steve-angeli-orange-staff-flexes-portal-recruiting-muscles-behind-deep-ties/
Author : Chip Patterson
Publish date : 2025-04-24 01:10:00
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