The Daily Orange is an independent, nonproft newspaper published in Syracuse, New York. The editorial content of the paper — which started in 1903 and went independent in 1971 — is entirely run by Syracuse University students.
The D.O., a 501(c)(3) nonproft, is editorially and fnancially independentfromSU,andthepaperreceivesnofundingfromthe university. Instead, The D.O. relies on advertising revenue and donations to sustain operations.
This fall, the paper will be published Thursday when SU classes are in session. The D.O.’s online coverage is 24/7, including while SU is on break.
To show your support to The D.O.’s independent journalism, please visit dailyorange.com/donate. Donations are tax deductible.
Syracuse football enters a new era under frst-year head coach Fran Brown. On Nov. 19, 2023, SU dismissed former head coach Dino Babers after eight seasons. It was the end to an inconsistent period of Syracuse football. A 10-win season in Babers’ third season showed potential, but the Orange failed to win more than seven throughout the rest of his tenure.
In his short time with Syracuse, Brown has changed the culture around the program. He’s helped SU exert its dominance in the northeast and become a recruiting powerhouse in the region once again. Fellow Camden, New Jersey, native Fadil Diggs has joined Brown at Syracuse, transferring from Texas A&M. The edge rusher is primed for a stellar season following four years in College Station. Kyle McCord was Syracuse’s other marquee transfer this ofseason. The former Ohio State quarterback brings stability to the position, which has been lacking in recent years.
Brown’s modern approach, along with the additions of McCord, Diggs and others, have created lofty expectations for his frst year. Whether Syracuse meets those expectations is yet to be seen. The Daily Orange’s 2024 Football Guide details everything you need to know as SU football takes center stage this season.
Thanks for reading,
SYRACUSE
1 Sat. 8/31 2 Sat. 9/7 3 Fri. 9/20
Sat. 9/28
Fri. 10/4 6 Sat. 10/12 7 Thu. 10/24 8 Sat. 11/2
Sat. 11/9
Sat. 11/16
Sat. 11/23 12 Sat. 11/30
BEAT WRITER PREDICTIONS
By Daily Orange Sports Staff
Syracuse football approaches one of its most hyped seasons in program history. Ever since the Orange hired Fran Brown on Nov. 28, 2023 as their 31st-ever head coach, an excitement has revolved around SU at a rate it hasn’t seen in quite some time.
Brown, the defending National Recruiter of the Year according to 247Sports, has Syracuse already set up with two top-40 recruiting classes in 2024 and 2025 — the program’s two best freshmen hauls since 2001. Plus, he secured bigtime transfer commits from Ohio State quarter-
AIDEN STEPANSKY
back Kyle McCord and Texas A&M edge Fadil Diggs to bolster SU in the short term.
With returning veteran stars like Oronde Gadsden II, LeQuint Allen Jr., Justin Barron and Marlowe Wax, Syracuse shows potential. Brown is in prime position to transition SU away from Dino Babers’ mediocre eight-year tenure at the helm. He’s done just about everything he can of the feld, establishing an improved northeast recruiting pipeline and instilling a brand-new culture. Time will tell if Brown can make more drastic changes to the on-feld product.
Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse football will fare in its frst season under Brown:
A FRESH FRAN CHISE
record : 8-4 | mvp: kyle mccord | x-factor: offensive line
The disappointing Dino Era is in the rearview mirror and a fresh period of Syracuse football is upon us. First-year head coaches often start their tenure trying to build something for the future, punting on the present. But in his frst ofseason at the helm, all Brown has done is hammer the gas pedal.
With a clear urgency and one of the easier schedules in the nation, the FRANchise will start of as immediate ACC contenders, going 4-1 at the least entering a ranked matchup at NC State. The key to ofensive success for SU comes in the trenches and adding two gargantuan tackles in Da’Metrius Weatherspoon and Savion Washington is pivotal.
Not only will they help Allen Jr. make a jump in year three if the unit can find suc -
COOPER ANDREWS
cess, but McCord will also excel further, as he ranked 19th in the nation in clean-pocket passing grade (90.0) in 2023, according to PFF. A formidable o-line will make McCord the MVP of the team, and help him become just the second SU quarterback to ever throw for 3,000 yards in a season.
Games against Virginia Tech and Miami at home will pose trouble against some of the top quarterbacks in the conference, but a fast start and consistency through ACC play that has been missing in the past will make for an improved record in the end. Eight wins in his frst year will give Brown the most by a SU frst-year head coach since Paul Pasqualoni’s 10 in 1991, perfectly ushering in the new brand of Syracuse football while paying homage to its glory days.
A NEW HOPE
record : 9-3 | mvp: lequint allen jr. | x-factor: secondary
Kyle McCord has never watched Star Wars. Yet in Syracuse’s version of A New Hope, he’s the star cast member. McCord’s December 2023 transfer from Ohio State energized SU’s new-look program. It was the frst major recruiting domino to fall for Brown, giving him a veteran quarterback with experience excelling against top Power Four competition.
McCord’s addition refects a major changing of the guard at Syracuse. Brown’s northeast recruiting dominance is a 180 from Babers’ shortcomings in the region, and he’s already taken crucial steps to fortifying SU’s local infuence. The future is enticing. But 2024’s roster might be one of the Orange’s best since the turn of the century.
Plenty of weapons, such as a Gadsden-Dan Villari tight end room and redshirt freshman
: 8-4 |
There’s a lot of optimism in central New York for Syracuse football, and rightfully so. Brown brings a swagger the Orange often lack from their head coach. McCord is set up to have one of the best single-season performances from a quarterback in program history. A defense commanded by fifth-year senior Marlowe Wax — who corralled 110 tackles and four sacks last year — has potential to be one of the best in the ACC.
While there’s an ongoing narrative that the Orange have one of the easiest schedules in the country, people are overlooking some of their matchups. Georgia Tech in week 2 to kick of their ACC schedule is no easy task. Having their frst road game across the country at Allegiant Stadium after four home games against UNLV could also present problems.
wide receiver Zeed Haynes, surround McCord to ft within what should be more of a pro-style, drop-back ofense. A more seasoned ofensive line blocks for Allen Jr., who is poised to be the bell cow of Syracuse’s ofense and one of the ACC’s best backs. The defense is more of an unknown, but having Wax to shore up the linebacking corps and a lethal secondary led by Alijah Clark and Duce Chestnut make frstyear defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson’s group dangerous.
If you don’t fnd this team exciting, you’re just a pessimist. Brown’s squad is positioned to compete atop the ACC in year one. I envision the Orange taking advantage of a fairly light conference slate en route to a respectable ninewin season, setting the stage for the program’s boundless future.
By Cooper Andrews managing editor
Fran Brown thinks the notion ing tree lineage makes
It’s tough to get attached lifestyle of coaching. As replacements swiftly arrive.
Brown still keeps in touch with plenty the University of Georgia, such as defensive champ and defensive coordinator Glenn that, there’s little discussion — certainly ed — with his past connections, who are
“I got a couple texts when my daughter’s Brown said after training camp practice ones don’t want to talk all the time.”
It doesn’t mean there aren’t any coaches emulate. While he was Georgia’s defensive 2022-23, he learned under two-time NCAA coach Kirby Smart. Brown might sound wishes he could physically take Smart’s own with it, just to bask in his extensive Brown’s self-assurance, however, holds anything he takes from other coaches. himself, a quality that’s helped him win level recruits and coaches to overhaul Syracuse
“I can’t be Kirby Smart,” Brown said. did at Georgia.”
Since he was hired as SU’s 31st head 28, 2023, Brown has reshaped the program’s 42-year-old Camden, New Jersey, native northeast recruiting, an area Syracuse in since Paul Pasqualoni’s exit in 2004. regional efect, Syracuse’s 2024 and 2025 as its two best recruiting hauls in the last Brown’s authenticity is what his commits most about him. What he gives is what bashful while howling at players to hustle
After a potential 3-2 start to the season, Syracuse has a pivotal stretch of conference opponents, beginning with No. 24 NC State on the road. From there, a potentially tough yet winnable stretch against Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Cal will defne SU’s season before a likely split against UConn and season conclusion against No. 19 Miami. If everything goes right, there’s a path toward Syracuse winning 10 games. If everything goes wrong, there’s a world where the Orange go 6-6 for the second-straight year despite all the positive changes made this ofseason. Naturally, I’m predicting something in the middle.
Eight wins would be a huge step in the right direction for the program in Brown’s frst season at the helm, but with the talent from top to bottom, the program could defnitely make some national noise.
notion that sharing coachyou family is “bullcrap.” attached within the expeditious As old colleagues leave, arrive. plenty of his contacts from defensive analyst Will MusGlenn Schumann. Other than certainly nothing football-relatnow his competition. daughter’s birthday was up,” practice on Aug. 19. “The other coaches Brown wishes to defensive backs coach from NCAA title winning head sound crazy, he said, but he Smart’s brain and replace his football knowledge. holds more weight than coaches. He’s unapologetically win over a litany of highSyracuse football.
said. “But I’m doing what we head football coach on Nov. program’s landscape. The native laid an emphasis on gradually lacked success 2004. Today, with Brown’s 2025 freshmen classes rank last 23 years. commits say stand out the you get, like how he isn’t hustle amid a typical high-
intensity practice. Even with his vigor, Brown’s down-to-earth presence has led people to follow his mission at SU.
Recruits want someone they can trust, and Brown is someone who delivers. It’s been a perfect match thus far.
“He tells you that he’s going to do something, and he’s going to make sure that he gets it done,” freshman running back Yasin Willis said of Brown. “Having a guy like that in your corner, it’s like you can’t lose.”
Willis said Syracuse wasn’t on his radar early in his recruitment. The Newark, New Jersey, native visited SU as a sophomore at St. Joseph Regional High School. He said it was just “cool” to meet former head coach Dino Babers and tour the facilities. But Willis, the No. 2 recruit in New Jersey, per Rivals, didn’t see Syracuse among his top options. According to Willis, though, Brown’s arrival changed everything.
Willis, originally committed to Pittsburgh, admired the trust Brown instilled in him. He took note of Brown securing local talent and wanted to be a part of “something new,” he said. Once Brown told Willis he’d play a major role in year one, his interest piqued.
Yet it wasn’t just learning behind LeQuint Allen Jr. and adding to SU’s running back legacy that sold Willis. It was how easily he connected with Brown.
“He’s basically from the same community as I am, so he knows how to turn your feelings on and of,” Willis said of Brown. “That’s a real head coach right there. That’s somebody that you want to be your coach.”
Willis fipped his commitment to Syracuse last December. His experience encapsulates Brown’s northeast sway. Brown established his recruiting base in his home region during his time as an assistant coach with Temple, Baylor, Rutgers and Georgia.
In eight years under Babers, the Orange didn’t take advantage of the northeast. All of Babers’ recruiting classes failed to eclipse the top 50 mark in the country, per 247Sports. But Brown arrived with a plan to change Syracuse’s northeast fortune, sticking with the approach that led his infuence to grow.
“I was always able to go out and recruit, get the best players, but it wasn’t because I was saying all this stuf or selling all this
stuf at Temple, it was because of the relationships,” Brown said at his introductory press conference on Dec. 4, 2023. “I recruit just by being genuine, telling kids the truth.”
Today, Brown holds the title for 247Sports’ National Recruiter of the Year. Syracuse’s 2024 class ranks No. 36 in the nation, better than any class generated under Babers. Its transfer class is rated No. 24 in the country too, highlighted by Brown plucking former fve-star quarterback and Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord — a product out of St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia.
“He’s the best recruiter in the country for a reason,” senior tight end Oronde Gadsden II said of Brown.
While Brown took questions at July’s ACC Kickof, he revealed Gadsden told him he was transferring if he didn’t get him a quarterback. The two had a phone call on the day he was hired, which Gadsden enjoyed due to Brown’s emphasis on exploiting his role as a tight end more. But Gadsden needed consistency under center to be assured.
So, Brown plucked McCord from the portal. The senior quarterback committed on Dec. 17, 2023. Gadsden says he’s pleased the Orange got who he considered to be the best guy available, and it helped his decision to return.
Brown had even more convincing to do, however. He needed to ensure that linebacker Marlowe Wax and safety Justin Barron, staples of SU’s defense in the latter-half of Babers’ tenure, were locked in as well. Brown said Barron was the hardest to convince. Yet they all came to a consensus: Brown earned their trust.
The head coach surrounded Gadsden, Wax and Barron with not just talent, but the prospect of a proven, unbreakable culture they would be at the forefront of. It was exactly what Brown had to do to set a stable foundation, and create a team that can compete right away.
“The vision he had for the team and that we didn’t have to wait for that to happen, he wanted to win and win now,” Barron said of Brown. “Marlowe’s one of my best friends, Oronde and I are really close too, but we have two of the biggest playmakers on the team come back and it turns into a no-brainer for me.”
Brown’s vision centers around being detailed, accountable,
cant mix of freshmen, veterans and transfers, Brown’s ability to rally the program behind his values is striking. Players feel it’s the blueprint to turning Syracuse into a powerhouse — meeting the lofty national-title expectations that Brown has repeatedly named as his main objective.
It’s safe to say Brown’s messaging resonates.
“Everybody just cares a little bit more,” Wax said of the diferences he’s noticed with Brown’s coaching staf. “It’s a diferent standard. It’s more intentional. We’re working harder.”
The beast within Brown comes out in full force at any given practice. He’ll yell “rip his arm of” to his defensive backs during one-on-one work, which the former secondary coach prides himself on manning each day. He even uses a microphone and speaker system to call out players during group drills who don’t hustle back to the huddle.
Willis said he hasn’t seen a coach act like Brown does in practice, but that’s what he feels makes him easy to play for. It’s Brown’s tough but necessary love that he never shies away from passing out.
Gadsden said he wishes the team opened up its practice sessions to the public more. He says live repetitions have been unlike anything he’s experienced in his four years at SU thus far, saying there’s an unmatched ferocity to 2024’s group.
“Everybody’s getting riled up,” Gadsden said. “Pads are popping out here.”
In the same way he proclaims to his players, Brown doesn’t take half measures. He said in his introductory press conference that he isn’t scared of any coach in the country, expressing immediate confdence he can control recruiting territory over top programs.
As Brown described at the podium, he’s made his confdence known to his former boss in Smart. It’s a swagger Brown wants to refect throughout SU — that a hard-nosed team from central New York can take on Goliath.
“‘Don’t come back up north,’” he said to Smart upon taking the Syracuse job.
THE FRAN EFFECT
ccandrew@syr.edu @cooper_andrews
Next man up
31
McCord is the highest-ranked player to commit to Syracuse since ESPN began recording recruiting rankings in 2006, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
By Justin Girshon asst. sports editor
yle
Was
McCord’s intrigue and confusion were further sparked after Brown’s follow-up call. The former Georgia defensive backs coach revealed he and SU quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile, who have each known McCord since he was in middle school, were fying into Columbus that night.
Brown and Campanile immediately headed to McCord’s apartment once they landed. The coaches spent the next four hours with McCord and emphasized the Orange were a quarterback away from contending. From there, McCord said his recruitment process revolved around comparing other schools to Syracuse. Thirteen days later, SU had its guy.
“When I looked at the team, it was really just a quarterback shy of being a contender,” McCord said of Syracuse. “And I felt like it just made a lot of sense for me to come in here and take that role.”
McCord will command Syracuse’s ofense in his fnal year of collegiate eligibility after spending the last three seasons at Ohio State. Following three state championships in as many years at St. Joseph’s Prep (Pennsylvania), McCord — ESPN’s No. 31 class of 2021 recruit — backed up CJ Stroud during his frst two seasons with the Buckeyes.
After Stroud’s departure to the NFL, McCord took over as Ohio State’s starter in 2023. He notched an 11-1 regular season record while completing 65.8% of his passes for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns. SU hasn’t won 10 or more games since 2018 or seen a 3,000-yard passer since Ryan Nassib in 2012.
“Me and him needed each other, and we understood each other, we were from the same area and all and I just felt that it would be great for my career to have such a good leader right away,” Brown said of McCord during July’s ACC Kickof. “And then it would be great for him to have a coach that — and nothing toward his last coach — just to have a coach that truly wanted him to be the leader of our football team.”
After backing up Stroud, McCord had a clear path toward the starting job in 2023, yet had to compete with sophomore Devin Brown throughout training camp to earn the role. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day called it a back-and-forth battle before naming McCord its starting quarterback three days before the season opener. Despite getting the opening day nod, Day didn’t commit to McCord for the full season.
Following two straight wins to open the year, Day committed to McCord for the rest of the season on Sept. 12. McCord’s biggest step forward came two weeks later when he helped lead the then-No. 6 Buckeyes on a game-winning, 65-yard touchdown drive with 1:26 remaining against then-No. 9 Notre Dame on the road.
“I think (McCord) can add his football IQ to the table, his playmaking ability, go out there and win when the game is on the line and execute,” said Kentucky running back Chip Trayanum, who was teammates with McCord at Ohio State from 2022-23 and scored the game-winning touchdown against ND.
Even with another top-10 win over then-No. 9 Penn State and a season-high 335 passing yards against Michigan State, McCord was evaluated under a microscope. Ohio State’s last three starting quarterbacks — Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and Stroud — became program legends before becoming frst-round NFL Draft picks. OSU hadn’t had a quarterback selected in the NFL Draft’s frst round since Art Schlichter in 1982 before the trio.
McCord had nearly impossible shoes to fll. Still, he led the Buckeyes to an undefeated record and a No. 2 ranking heading into the fnal week of the regular season.
But all that mattered was the rivalry game against then-No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Due in part to McCord’s interceptions in the frst quarter and fnal minute, the Wolverines secured a 30-24 victory. Michigan went on to win the NCAA title while Ohio State lost in the Cotton Bowl.
“With what happened last year, if you really look at it, we’re a play away from probably beating the national championship team,” said former high school and college teammate wide receiver Marvin Har-
‘MISSING
rison Jr. on The Trenches Show with Zaire Franklin. “The situation didn’t really work out in (McCord’s) favor … he wanted to do what was in the best interest of himself in going to Syracuse, kind of starting over. I expect him to do great things.”
The loss was Ohio State’s third straight to Michigan. The Buckeyes lost the top spot in the Big Ten East and failed to qualify for the fourteam College Football Playof. McCord shouldered much of the blame. In a press conference the following weekend on Dec. 3, Day wouldn’t name McCord as the team’s 2024 starting quarterback.
Later that night, McCord said he fnalized his decision to enter the transfer portal, adding it was “kind of a last-minute decision.” While Ohio State wasn’t willing to commit to McCord, Syracuse viewed him as a potential program-altering quarterback.
“That was the guy that, if we got him here, we had a chance to do great things and help build this frst year around him,” Campanile said of McCord. “It was really important to us to make sure that we got what we thought was the best guy in the country on our team. And I think that will pay huge dividends for us and for him this year.”
Under Campanile, who took over as SU’s interim head coach when Dino Babers was dismissed, the Orange lacked a passing threat because of ffth-year senior Garrett Shrader’s injuries. In its bowl game, Syracuse fell 45-0 to South Florida. It marked the program’s ffth straight year without a bowl victory.
The Orange desperately needed a polished signal caller to start the Brown-era strong. Having three coaches who had extensive familiarity with McCord played a big role in turning that glaring weakness into a key strength.
When McCord was in middle school, his father, Derek McCord, worked at GE Healthcare as a Product Sales Specialist. He met Brown’s wife, Teara Brown, as she was working a fellowship to become a Certifed Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Derek showed Teara a couple of his son’s highlights, and Brown — then an assistant at Temple — soon began watching Pennsauken Middle School (New Jersey) practices.
“He’s been ready for a long time,” Brown said of McCord. “I’m just very thankful to have him be our quarterback. It means a lot to have him, he’s a great dude, that’s my guy.”
The McCords met Campanile around the same time. Derek, a quarterback at Rutgers from 1988 to 1992, was introduced to Campanile — then the head coach at Bergen Catholic High School (New Jersey) — through a family friend.
Well before meeting Brown and Campanile, the McCords knew Syracuse ofensive coordinator Jef Nixon because he lived in their hometown of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Derek coached McCord and Nixon’s son, Will Nixon — now a running back at SU — when they were in kindergarten. McCord also grew up competing with Duce Chestnut, Alijah Clark and Fadil Diggs, among several other Orange players.
“Had we won (the Michigan) game, things might be a little different this year,” Derek said. “But my wife, Kyle and I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I 100% believe he’s in the right spot for him, and he’s going to fourish this year under coaches that we’ve known for years, who have his back and support him wholeheartedly and will allow him to play free.”
Beyond his familiarity with the coaching staf, McCord believed in SU’s ofensive weapons. Running back LeQuint Allen Jr. and tight end Dan Villari became breakout stars on a depleted roster last season. Wide receiver Trebor Peña and tight end Oronde Gadsden II are also set to return following early season-ending injuries.
After Brown arrived at SU, he added former Georgia wide receivers Zeed Haynes and Jackson Meeks. Additionally, he picked up wideout Justus Ross-Simmons from Colorado State to bolster Syracuse’s ofense.
“Kyle is going to be a playmaker,” Meeks said. “Kyle is going to get the ball around to all of his diferent weapons and he’s going to continue to lead like he did at (Ohio) State. One game doesn’t determine who a person is, and y’all gonna see that this fall.”
SU’s program and McCord’s camp know a couple of plays last year are the diference between McCord returning to Columbus and transferring to Syracuse. But a 2023 season full of highs and lows has led him to the center of a program needing him to kickstart a new era.
“I wanted to go somewhere where I could win right away,” McCord said. “Last year going 6-7 wasn’t the goal for Syracuse, but I feel like the pieces were there. I feel like all it needed was a few shifts in the culture and Fran has done that. And then me coming in here, I feel like I was the missing piece to tie it all together.”
justingirshon@gmail.com @JustinGirshon
‘MISSING PIECE’
CAMDEN’S FINEST
By Aiden Stepansky asst. sports editor
Shortly after Fran Brown was named Syracuse’s head coach on Nov. 28, 2023, he built his staf among lifelong Camden, New Jersey, connections. However, along with highly-qualifed coaches, he needed to recruit established players to build credibility.
Again, he turned to his home state. The frst big-time signing came at quarterback as Brown added Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord, who grew up in the Garden State despite attending high school in Philadelphia. McCord committed on Dec. 17, quickly fortifying Fran Brown’s movement.
Next, SU’s head coach needed a defensive standout. Insert Fadil Diggs — one of Camden’s fnest.
“He was the other guy,” Fran Brown said of the Texas A&M transfer. “There was one on ofense. We got that one. Then there was one on defense … From our area, the entire tri-state, (McCord and Diggs) are big-name guys and they’ll be for a long time.”
The prolifc edge rusher frst established himself as one of the best players from Camden by winning the New Jersey Football Gatorade Player of the Year in 2019. Following highschool dominance, Diggs moved across the country to play four seasons with the Aggies, totaling a career-high four sacks and 36 tackles in 2023.
But for his fnal college season ahead of a possible NFL Draft selection, Diggs transferred to SU, where he’ll reconnect with his roots and move to the forefront of Fran Brown’s quest to dominate northeast recruiting.
“His story is still being written in terms of his efect on the football feld,” said Preston Brown, Diggs’ former head coach at Woodrow Wilson High School (now Eastside High). “But in the history of our city and the sport of football, he’s one of the best to ever do it.”
Diggs’ Syracuse connection ran deep prior to his transfer. The frst person Diggs talked to when considering the Orange was cornerback Alijah Clark, a childhood friend of his.
The bond with Clark (and fellow SU teammates McCord and Duce Chestnut) also stems from 7-on-7 football, where Diggs developed his two-way talent with Marcus Hammond’s Next Level Greats. Diggs played with the program from eighth grade through his senior year of high school, helping the team win multiple national championships.
In eighth grade, Diggs already stood at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds. Over the years with NLG, his agility fourished while dropping in coverage defensively and being a primary pass catcher ofensively. Hammond said that when Diggs became a defensive end, he was one of the rare cases of someone at that position playing 7-on-7.
Then, Syracuse hired Fran Brown, who Diggs has known since seventh grade. Fran Brown previously ofered Diggs a scholarship to Temple while he was an assistant there and Diggs was still a freshman in high school. The head coach even brought in one of Diggs’ closest allies, Elijah Robinson, as SU’s defensive coordinator.
Robinson most recently served as Texas A&M’s interim head coach in 2023 after Jimbo Fisher’s fring. Before the brief promotion, he was the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for the Aggies, a key role in Diggs’ progression.
Though, long before Robinson was recruiting Diggs to A&M, and eventually Syracuse, he was an all-state player at Diggs’s alma mater, Woodrow Wilson. Additionally, he was a teammate of Preston Brown, a bond that trickled down to Diggs.
“Elijah Robinson was the factor in Fadil being at Texas A&M,” Preston Brown said. “He wanted Fadil to understand the school, the philosophy, how he would ft in and the growth process that he would go through at the time.”
While there was a clear link between Robinson and Diggs before they teamed up in College Station, the young prospect blossomed into a highly-touted superstar at Woodrow Wilson.
With a mammoth yet still developing frame entering high school, Diggs played mostly receiver and safety. However, Preston Brown saw the potential to be a diference maker on the edge. He told Diggs he’ll focus mainly on edge rush skills while still developing on the ofensive side.
Though, Preston Brown made his vision abundantly clear to Diggs: he was going to be a defensive end if he reached the NFL.
After not making much of an impact as a freshman, Diggs made a jump as a sophomore. He found his groove on both sides of the ball, recording three receiving touchdowns while registering 10.5 sacks. That’s when Diggs became “Big Frank.”
The nickname emulates the freakish nature of the fctional creature Frankenstein. Former Woodrow Wilson
defensive coordinator Brandon Bathers presented Diggs with the moniker as he matured as an underclassman, joking that he was a monster on the feld, but “ugly.” Though the label was bestowed in a jovial manner, it was a microcosm of Diggs’ game.
He increased his production in his junior season, tallying 12 sacks while upping his receiving yards to 422 and touchdowns to fve, all while helping Woodrow Wilson to a state title. As collegiate ofers piled in, Diggs hit the road.
Diggs, the fourth-ranked player in New Jersey, visited 10 schools from February 2018 to April 2019 before committing to Texas A&M in May 2019, per 247Sports.
While touring the nation for his next destination, Diggs continued to work at his craft. Transitioning from his junior to senior season, he trained with Woodrow Wilson defensive line coach Melik Brown at least three days a week. They mirrored game-like experience while working on hip and ankle fexibility.
Going into his senior season, Diggs was now a 6-foot-5, 240-pound behemoth. He’d already claimed a state championship and committed to play in the top conference in the nation. All that Preston Brown saw Diggs had left to accomplish was to be renowned as the best player in the state.
The head coach laid it out for his star player, saying he would need to win Gatorade Player of the Year while recording 20-plus sacks and 1,000 receiving yards to cement his legacy.
Diggs’ benchmarks were lofty, but not impossible. In the end, the senior had 1,031 receiving yards for 11 touchdowns while adding 17.5 sacks and 95.5 tackles. The accolade followed. No game represented his commanding era in Camden High School football better than the sectional championship against Somerville. Melik Brown approached Diggs on the sideline mid-game and urged him to go speed to power with a long arm inside. He did just that on the next play, lifting the ofensive tackle of his feet and slamming him into the ground. He fnished the game with two sacks and nine total tackles while recording 126 receiving yards and two touchdowns, securing the frst back-to-back sectional championship wins in Camden history.
“We wanted to be diferent,” Diggs told the Courier Post after the game. “We wanted to stand out, show everybody that we’re diferent than anybody else that has played football here and in the city of Camden. And that’s what we did.”
After etching his Camden legacy, Diggs moved more than 1,500 miles to College Station. Uniting with Robinson was an opportunity for Diggs to reach his potential at the next level. The defensive line coach helped former Camden natives in the past, turning Haason Reddick into a frst-rounder at Temple. Now, it was Diggs’s turn.
Following a redshirt in 2020, Diggs worked his way into the mix with future professionals like Micheal Clemons, McKinnley Jackson, Edgerrin Cooper and Demani Richardson on defense.
Despite recording just one sack in 12 games in 2021, he battled through injuries the following season and became one of the key fgures on the line. Diggs put on a show against thenNo. 10 Arkansas, recording six total tackles in a two-point win over the Razorbacks.
Two weeks later, at then-No. 1 Alabama, Diggs made two strip-sacks in the frst half. The Crimson Tide narrowly scraped by the Aggies, but Diggs had his best college game on one of the country’s biggest stages.
“(Diggs) is really one of the most dominant guys, because I’ve seen him knock back 6-foot-6, 350-pound frst rounders and ragdoll them all around,” said Jackson, who was selected in the third round by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The junior increased his production in 2023, but Texas A&M struggled, going 4-4 in the SEC and fring its head coach with three games left. Robinson took over as the interim head coach, but didn’t receive the full-time role. On Dec. 3, 2023, he was hired by the Orange and three days later, Diggs hit the transfer portal.
Ranked as the No. 56 overall transfer, according to 247Sports, Diggs committed to the Orange on Dec. 19.
“It’s not really a pitch,” Diggs said of Fran Brown and Robinson’s recruitment. “We was already family, and I understood what kind of coaches they was. So me knowing them and knowing what they’re about, it was easy for me.”
Transferring to SU brings Diggs three hours away from the place where it all started. And despite being in Texas for the past four years, he never left his roots behind.
“Even when I went to a diferent school, I’m gonna always carry Jersey on my back,” Diggs said. “I feel like people got to respect us ‘cause we’re tough and don’t give up easy.” amstepan@syr.edu @AidenStepansky
WINNING TIME
ANDREWS COOPED UP
Bold proclamations are a prerequisite for an introductory press conference. Fran Brown’s was no diferent. On Dec. 4, 2023, Syracuse’s first-year head coach promised he’d restore the program’s longlost national championship standard through recruiting mastery and a coaching style centered around his unabating intensity.
Brown’s opening address did not feature visualizations of an ofense that doesn’t huddle, a well-coached special teams unit and a relentless defense. This one was direct. It was authentic. It was exactly what the program needed to hear.
Of course, actions speak louder than words. Unfulflled proclamations are a prerequisite for those who are fred prematurely. But Brown is a man of conviction. He’s fulflled every single promise with Syracuse thus far.
He delivered SU’s best recruiting year since 2001, notching the No. 36 overall class of 2024, per 247Sports. His northeast recruiting prowess rapidly established Syracuse as a force within the region once again. He even beefed up the roster through the transfer portal, convincing Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord and Texas A&M edge rusher Fadil Diggs — two stars with northeast roots — to join the Orange for their senior seasons.
If you pile on Brown’s recruiting success in the southeast, carrying over from his Georgia days, his retention of Oronde Gadsden II, Marlowe Wax and Justin Barron after Dino Babers’ dismissal and his clear installation of a brand-new culture, he’s efectively revitalized Syracuse football. All before coaching in a meaningful game.
Brown’s loftiest goals, however, revolve around competing for national titles. In a matter of months, he built SU into a contender. It may only be Brown’s debut year, but the Orange need to take advantage of their most-complete rosters in more than two decades. Syracuse needs to display a sense of urgency early in the Brown era for it to transform from an intriguing program to a winning one, and this is the year to do it.
Gadsden, who’s likely entering his fnal year with the Orange, sure thinks so.
“Like how Clemson was great over these past couple of years, we’re trying to get ahead of them,” Gadsden said following an Aug. 13 training camp practice. “Everyone thinks because of Fran being a frst-year head coach, people don’t think we’re going to do too good. But we’re here to prove them wrong.”
Critics still fnd Syracuse to be unassuming. It was picked to fnish 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason poll. According to Gadsden, McCord told his teammates about an encounter he had at July’s ACC Kickof where someone asked if seven wins would be a successful season. McCord shrugged them of and said they’re going for 12.
There’s no reason not to exude confdence in a wide-open conference, and McCord is exhibit A of why Syracuse feels assured heading into 2024. After all, McCord was one regular season fnale road win over Michigan away from being Ohio State’s starter this year.
McCord passed for 271 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Buckeyes’ 30-24 loss at the Big House on Nov. 25, 2023. It was McCord’s frst loss as OSU’s starter.
Even in a year where he threw for 3,170 yards, tallied 24 touchdown passes and ranked 18th in the nation with a 161.6 passer rating — ahead of QBs like former Washington star Michael Penix Jr. and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders — McCord’s Buckeye career was fnished.
The Columbus Dispatch reported in January that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day’s inability to guarantee McCord’s spot as the starter
2001
Before Fran Brown was hired last December, Syracuse hadn’t generated a top-40 recruiting class in 247Sports’ overall rankings since 2001, when Paul Pasqualoni was SU’s head coach. Now, Brown is set to garner back-to-back top40 classes in 2024 and 2025.
going forward pushed him into transferring. He entered his name in the portal on Dec. 4, 2023, and committed to Syracuse 13 days later.
The ft was seamless. The Orange needed an accomplished signal-caller and McCord needed security. Ever since transferring, he’s said his decision to join SU was “people-based,” as Brown — one of his many New Jersey connections — is someone McCord has known since his childhood in New Jersey. And the confdence Brown instills in him will only help to bring the best out of the former fve-star.
Brown was bullish on McCord during training camp, often naming him as a player who stood out after any given practice or scrimmage. The head coach admires his veteran experience and knows he’s capable of leading a new lineage of SU quarterbacks. McCord’s history in a pro-style ofense at Ohio State is a welcome transition from former quarterback Garrett Shrader’s more erratic ofensive style and last year’s late-season wildcat set.
Syracuse developing consistency under center would be a major addition to running back LeQuint Allen Jr. and a top-tier tight end room of Gadsden, Dan Villari and four-star freshman Jamie Tremble.
Incoming freshman wide receiver Zeed Haynes, a former Georgia commit, and UGA transfer Jackson Meeks highlight McCord’s arsenal as well. With a quarterback who can move around the pocket like McCord, SU can bring the most out of its weapons by installing a balanced ofense.
“I felt like it was a great situation for me to come in and have a lot of talent around me to have success early on,” McCord said at ACC Kickof on July 25. “Now I think we have the opportunity to go on a fast start.”
Brown got his quarterback. He got his defensive stud, too, in Diggs. He gave McCord speed to work with on ofense, persuaded team staples in Gadsden, Wax and Barron to return and fortifed SU’s defense in the portal with cornerback Duce Chestnut and defensive lineman Dion Wilson Jr.
Syracuse boasts one of its best rosters of the millennium. To establish themselves as a national threat under Fran Brown, the Orange must win now.
It’s the most noticeable change from the Babers regime: Brown gets what he wants. Babers faltered as a northeast recruiter, failing to set the same standard Paul Pasqualoni and others once set when crafting a strong base in the region. Brown immediately steered Syracuse into the right direction. The Camden, New Jersey native lives and breathes the northeast. His personable recruiting approach has earned him what are currently top-40 recruiting classes in 2024 and 2025, per 247Sports. Babers’ last class in 2023 ranked 73rd.
The milestones of Brown’s frst ofseason make winning in 2024 all the more important. Dominating the northeast is a necessary frst step. But, to create a national recruiting base, Syracuse has to show it can compete against the Football Bowl Subdivision’s upper-echelon.
The geographic challenges of recruiting in SU’s climate are damning. Regardless of its local success, a national recruiting balance will always prove harder to come by for Syracuse. Brown’s program can ofset these obstacles by winning.
In an unpredictable ACC, where preseason favorite No. 10 Florida State fell to Georgia Tech in the season opener, the time is now for Syracuse — with one of its best-rated rosters of the millennium — to emerge among the conference’s best.
SU’s future is bright. But exceeding expectations in year one would slot Brown’s program into the spotlight and extend its national outreach. There must be a sense of urgency to win now.
The Orange have all the tools to shock the college football world in 2024. And with Brown’s sweeping changes, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise — only a fulflled proclamation.
Cooper Andrews is the Managing Editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at ccandrew@syr.edu or on X @cooper_andrews.
18
Kyle McCord generated a 161.6 passer rating last season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, which ranked 18th in the country. McCord, who transferred to Syracuse last december, has the potential to spark a major ofensive boost at SU.
