Syracuse QB in 2025

[AZOrange]

Everyone’s concern is the pass pro. We no longer have a QB that can get the ball out quickly with smart pre-line reads. KM did that as well as anyone. We also don’t have a line that can run well enough to take pressure off the new QB.

How do you know these guys can’t get the ball out quickly? Also the ones here now are more mobile than 6.

 

[Nahson]

It’d be hilarious if all of you were wrong and Joe Filardi comes in throwing absolute dimes.

 

[Red2003]

I believe Fran is out there looking at veteran QBs and I doubt he's telling you guys about it.

 

[JeffCuse]

CDRW

 

[orangemass]

CDRW

Let’s rewrite the future

 

[sutomcat]

if we run with this group of QBs, we know one thing for sure. The offense will be different.
The guys that are left are all true dual threat QBs.

We all heard about the rpo features in the Nixon offense. We didn’t really see the options for the QB to run with Kyle but if any of these guys is playing, we will.

Here are their stats for their senior year of HS…

Rickie Collins 6’2 205
Threw for 1512 yards and 17 TDs.
Ran for 598 yards and 6 TDs. Other stats not available.

Jakari Williams 6’2 203

Threw for 2113 yards and 23 TDs. 61.7% comp %. 1 pick.
Ran for 674 yards and 15 TDs. 5.2 ypc.

Michael Johnson Jr 6’3 213

Threw for 1821 yards and 19 TDs. 57.8 comp %. 3 picks.
Ran for 1290 yards and 18 TDs. 7.8 ypc.

Luke Carney 6’2 205

Passed for 2627 yards and 20 TDs. 76.1% comp %. 2 picks.
Ran for 1075 yards and 21 TDs. 12.1 ypc.

Rich Belin* 5’11 180

Passed for 3112 yards and 30 TDs. 56.6% comp %. 4 picks.
Ran for 1351 yards and 19 TDs. 9.4 ypc.

*=These are for his junior season because it appears he was hurt for most of his senior season.

Joe Filardi 6’1 184

Passed for 3115 yards and 43 TDs. 65.6% comp %. 6 picks.
Ran for 1138 yards and 12 TDs. 15.0 ypc. That is not a typo.

My impressions before spring camp begins:

Rickie has the strongest arm. Followed closely by Jakari.

Michael Johnson has the weakest. I believe he had a bad shoulder separation that was initially thought to end his career as a QB but they switched him back. Watching him throw before games, I don’t think he can make most of the throws needed and will be a wildcat option at best.

In terms of experience, Rickie enrolled early at LSU and participated in spring ball in 2023. So he has been playing major college football for 2 full years. And he was the backup QB for LSU most of 2024. That is important because it means he will good enough to beat out some really good players to be the backup there.

Jakari spent most of the summer and the fall of 2024 at Syracuse but he was not an early enrollee. And he was on the scout team almost the entire season, which is important because this means he was not executing our playbook and was attempting to mimic opposing QBs.

Michael Johnson has some playing time in college ball, especially at FAU. But he has been used almost exclusively as a running threat to date. He was the top backup for SU in 2024 and did run the offense most or all of the season. I think it was said Jakari might have taken over the backup job from Michael at some point late in the year. But I don’t think that has been confirmed by anyone officially.

The others are all HS kids. We know Carney is enrolling early and will have his first day of classes tomorrow. Not sure about the other two. Not sure if Belin is healthy enough to play even if he does enroll early.

I would be surprised if Filardi enrolled early. Even though he is going to both two sports here, his scholarship is for lax and I think he will play his senior year of HS lax at HHH. I checked and confirmed he is not listed on the 2025 SU lacrosse roster. In any event, it is going to be hard for a guy who misses every spring, when starting jobs are normally won, to win the starting job at QB at Syracuse. But Joe is a special kid. The kind that might come through on a 1 in a thousand chance.

I think Go is on record as expecting Belin to be converted to another position. I agree this is likely. But I am pretty sure the staf really wants to have a great athlete on the roster who can run around and make something happen when the offense is struggling and Rich (and Joe) are guys who can do that.

I would expect Luke to be the likely third QB for 2025. It looks to me as though he is smart, athletic, has a good arm and good size. Really impressive but no experience. It is great for him to be a spring enrollee. He will get a chance to show the coaches what he can do and get a chance to get more physically ready to play P4 football in the SU training program.

As said before, all these guys are fast and athletic and can pose problems for the defense running the ball. Hopefully at least one of them proves he can make the reads, make the decisions and the throws too.

Let the best man win.

 

[FrancoPizza]

How do you know these guys can’t get the ball out quickly? Also the ones here now are more mobile than 6.

Anyone can get it out quick. But you have to identify the proper pre snap read AND just as important - throw it on time and to the right spot. KM had incredibly tight windows on many of his throws and Meeks was a dog.

 

[orangezen]

My memory of Carney’s statement was that it would nice to redshirt behind Kyle and learn under him. He said if Kyle did not return he would compete for the starting job.
All three qbs have athletic ability. To me the starter will be the one that can best read defenses and gets the ball out quickly in game situations.
We have all seen plenty of qbs that look great in shorts throwing the ball but fold in games. The one that can handle game pressure will be the qb.
I would also not start projecting win totals at this point. Even with the schedule no one knows how this team will do until they take the field. The season is a long way off.

Madie Williams had great skills and was greatl in practice but would get brain freeze in games.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

With McCord gone, I think it’s unlikely Carney redshirts now. He will be in the mix. If he redshirts it’s because Rickie has really impressed and won the job, and Jakari solidified the backup spot. I know he wasn’t highly rated but the coaches love Carney.

So, he doesn’t redshirt if Jakari wins the job and Rickie is the backup?!

 

[Archimedes]

As said before, all these guys are fast and athletic and can pose problems for the defense running the ball. Hopefully at least one of them proves he can make the reads, make the decisions and the throws too.

Let the best man win.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a great assessment. As excited as I am reading about the QBs, I'm even more excited about DART and the people running the program. We have a foundation and a palpable culture. In one year. FSU can't say that. Miami can't say that. SMU can't say that.

I've never been prouder to be a Syracuse University football fan.

 

[kcsu]

The key is Nixon. He is going to scheme around their talent. I believe that he is the guy who is getting Kyle drafted. The O that he put on the field was perfect for Kyles skill set. He will do it again with our new QB.

 

[vegasnick]

Everyone’s concern is the pass pro. We no longer have a QB that can get the ball out quickly with smart pre-line reads. KM did that as well as anyone. We also don’t have a line that can run well enough to take pressure off the new QB.

How do you know this? Have you seen the release from any of the QB’s? Everyone is saying they’re concerned because none of them have “seen the field” but now we know of their release speed and ability to read defenses?
Kyle was a rare situation and became a Syracuse legend. He’s moved on, and so we all need to as well. This years qb is not going to be McCord. It doesn’t mean they won’t be good. Also, reading defenses is taught on film, in the meeting rooms, and on the field. Could it be the staff made Kyle good at reading defenses? Also, Kyle has poor mobility- all of the options for next season are mobile. Maybe that opens a different path to success.
As of right now, three starters return on the OLINE. They brought in Betrand from Alabama, and might return Bradford. The only loss was Reed who ranked 14th out of 17 in ACC for centers. He is not hard to replace. The o line deserves way more credit than your giving it, especially with a year of experience under its belt.

 

[Cuse House]

Best part about having young guys is that whoever steps up and wins the job could theoretically be our starter for 4 years. There is still value in having consistency in that position versus trying to bring in a transfer every year.

Outlook does not look as promising for next year, but it is early. We may surprise come August.

 

[sufan59]

The key is Nixon. He is going to scheme around their talent. I believe that he is the guy who is getting Kyle drafted. The O that he put on the field was perfect for Kyles skill set. He will do it again with our new QB.

Agreed, formula is going to be different no matter who is the next guy after Kyle McCord. We’re going to find out if it works, but did anyone honestly believe we would throw the ball as much as we did to be the top passing team in the country this season in August? Staff does not seem married to playing a certain way. Even with McCord the staff learned after the Pitt game that we needed to be more proactive to change things up offensively since Pitt learned the spots we were getting the ball to in the previous games. The analogy that comes to mind here is a chef. Sure they are great chefs for particular cuisines. The greatest chefs can cook up something great no matter what ingredients they have to use. We actually saw that a little with Jason Beck last year with our wildcat November to get us to the bowl. I think Jeff Nixon is of that same mindset and should have more to work with offensively than Jason Beck did in 2023.

 

[Oakland]

I'm not a recruiting guru at all. However, why all the buzz for Carney? He wasn't highly recruited star wise. How would people compare him to Sellers (most on the board were correct about him). Who's came would they most likely compare Carney's to?

I see expectation similarities with McCord. McCord was very successful in college but the NFL buzz is low. Carney was wildly successful in HS, and his offer sheet was not A+. Neither one might make it at the next level, but if they do, people will look back and say how did everyone not see it coming.

 

[vegasnick]

Anyone can get it out quick. But you have to identify the proper pre snap read AND just as important - throw it on time and to the right spot. KM had incredibly tight windows on many of his throws and Meeks was a dog.

Now getting it out quick isn’t an issue like you previously questioned? Keys and reads are taught in meetings. They will all learn that just like Kyle did. We can’t try and compare these guys to Kyle. That era is over. Let these guys go out and prove themselves - but a real fan will wait to see what they can do before knocking them or doubting them.

The staff watches hours upon hours of film before they offer guys. They know what the can and can’t do. If nothing else, trust the staff and their confidence in who they brought it in. They haven’t given the fan base any reason not to you, at least not yet!

 

[gocuse44]

Everyone’s concern is the pass pro. We no longer have a QB that can get the ball out quickly with smart pre-line reads. KM did that as well as anyone. We also don’t have a line that can run well enough to take pressure off the new QB.

How do you know ..let me answer for you..you dont

 

[Chip]

And you know this how? McNabb wasn't McNabb until RS frosh season. With strong developmental coaching, players tend to improve as they progress year to year.

McNabb was the #2 option QB recruit in the country (behind Iverson I believe). Anyone who went to the spring game in 1995 knew he was going to be the starter. The coaches knew what they had. And as much as I like our receivers, McNabb got to throw to 5th year senior Marvin Harrison.

Anyone who went to the spring game in 1999 left in horror. Because we didn't have another one.

I do have high hopes for JW and the offensive players we have returning. And especially the staff (Nixon). We'll be fine, but 2025 will be bumpy.

 

[qdawgg]

The focus should really be on the D and the lines. I trust Fran and Nixon that despite whom the QB is they will make it work. We aren’t getting another McCord any time soon, the guy broke all sorts of records in one year and people think we just have another guy step in and do the same thing. We haven’t seen production like that since the 90’s. It’s such a ridiculous take. There’s QB’s all the time that are just ok and they’re in the playoffs. Tons of people comment all the time how bad other QB play is and the team is undefeated or in the playoffs.

Am I saying we will be in the playoffs with ok QB play? No, but we can still have success with a decent QB and that’s at least what we should be looking for as a baseline. A guy that can make plays and help score points. How many backup QB’s have we played in the last 10 years that made our D look like crap? I fully expect Fran and Nixon have a QB on the roster they think is better than some backup QB’s we’ve played before and had decent success.

 

[tptcuse]

How do you know this? Have you seen the release from any of the QB’s? Everyone is saying they’re concerned because none of them have “seen the field” but now we know of their release speed and ability to read defenses?
Kyle was a rare situation and became a Syracuse legend. He’s moved on, and so we all need to as well. This years qb is not going to be McCord. It doesn’t mean they won’t be good. Also, reading defenses is taught on film, in the meeting rooms, and on the field. Could it be the staff made Kyle good at reading defenses? Also, Kyle has poor mobility- all of the options for next season are mobile. Maybe that opens a different path to success.
As of right now, three starters return on the OLINE. They brought in Betrand from Alabama, and might return Bradford. The only loss was Reed who ranked 14th out of 17 in ACC for centers. He is not hard to replace. The o line deserves way more credit than your giving it, especially with a year of experience under its belt.

I just hope our run blocking improves. We’ll need Willis and Nixon to get a lot of yards. Regardless of how the QBs are progressing, we’re not getting 350 passing yards a game next season.

 

[All4SU]

David O backed up Diggs in 2024 and will hopefully be ready to be a key edge guy next year. Hopefully, Caden Brown can also contribute.

In the LB rotation, Heard and McDonald have experience, for better or worse. I’d like to see Moulrie-Goddard move up from specials here. I think Deslauries will play right away too.

Martin had a good bowl game. He might be a security blanket across from Kerr, who the staff clearly loves but hopefully can grow out of being so raw. McDaniel getting rotation would be a great sign too.

Safety is a question mark. Is Duce, Buxton, and Grant the answer? Can Duce step it up? Who are the rotation pieces.

I have unreasonable expectations like everyone else. I really hope DeSlauries will be a Dan Connelly type of player for SU - without the injuries, of course. That’s a pretty high bar. But that’s my hope.

 

[IthacaMatt]

My memory of Carney’s statement was that it would nice to redshirt behind Kyle and learn under him. He said if Kyle did not return he would compete for the starting job.
All three qbs have athletic ability. To me the starter will be the one that can best read defenses and gets the ball out quickly in game situations.
We have all seen plenty of qbs that look great in shorts throwing the ball but fold in games. The one that can handle game pressure will be the qb.
I would also not start projecting win totals at this point. Even with the schedule no one knows how this team will do until they take the field. The season is a long way off.

Aside from the QB competition, our secondary is awfully young.

There is experienced depth (but not really "stars") on both lines.

The special teams look mostly new. That's probably good.

We have depth at WR, and have promising prospects at RB.

Usually, the more questions a team has, they add up to more losses.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah.. I know.. but us going from 10-3 to 4-8 or 5-7 ain't bouncing back.. I said it's entirely possible this coming years squad could b more talented but finish at under 500 because of their schedule

The floor for this season has to be making a bowl game again.

I'd like to win 8, but that would take a big upset.

I know our roster isn't finished, but boy, we do not look more talented right now.

 

[All4SU]

McNabb was the #2 option QB recruit in the country (behind Iverson I believe). Anyone who went to the spring game in 1995 knew he was going to be the starter. The coaches knew what they had. And as much as I like our receivers, McNabb got to throw to 5th year senior Marvin Harrison.

Anyone who went to the spring game in 1999 left in horror. Because we didn't have another one.

I do have high hopes for JW and the offensive players we have returning. And especially the staff (Nixon). We'll be fine, but 2025 will be bumpy.

I thought it was Tommy Frazier.

He went Nebraska, so McNabb came to SU. I could be wrong.

Edit: Couldn’t remember for certain and had to look it up. Frazier was already at Nebraska (93-96) when McNabb picked SU. So I’m not sure who else was competing with him. Maybe it was Iverson. I just don’t remember that at all.

 

[PhatOrange]

McDonald is top slow

He should be playing on the edge. I wonder why he doesn't.