“One of the best things about the offense that Coach Nixon has built is it’s malleable. It’s easy to adjust certain things that fit the skills of the guys.” No head coach out there will openly admit that their QB depth is “weak”. Admitting that is like telling your parents you failed in your first grade English. So, we weren’t exactly surprised when Fran Brown and Orange nation decided to stay relatively calm after Kyle McCord declared for the draft. A superstar season in 2024, a Holiday Bowl win, and 4,700+ yards on the stat sheet—yeah, that deserves a first-class ticket straight to Green Bay. But now that your franchise QB is off to the big leagues, who’s stepping up to keep Syracuse rolling in 2025?
Well, there is a candidate. Albeit, he comes with his own set of challenges.
“Now, honestly, my opinion is this would be a minor addition to Syracuse’s quarterback room in terms of his actual ability. I don’t think Zach Gibson would come here and threaten Rickie Collins’ starting job,” Jackson Holzer pointed out. Now when we mentioned “challenges,” we didn’t mean that hiring Zach Gibson would be hard because of other competing schools- what we meant is hiring Gibson is… pointless. We are genuinely intrigued by what pitch ‘Cuse has decided for this meeting when you already have a talented starter like Collins waiting.
Straight outta Baton Rouge, Collins locked down the starting QB role in just five months. So, unless Fran Brown’s looking to stir up some quarterback chaos for fun, this whole Gibson chase? Yeah, it’s got zero weight. And even if we pretend Collins isn’t already that guy, Syracuse still has Jakhari Williams holding down the backup spot.
So seriously—how on earth do you sell the Gibson move without pulling a muscle from all that mental gymnastics? Wait… hold up. Do you hear that? The transfer portal just claimed two souls—and somehow, like magic, a spot mysteriously opens up for Gibson.
You literally can’t script this stuff.
Double blow for the Orange
While tackling the mental gymnastics of fitting Zach Gibson into the Orange roster, 2 bombshells surrounding Fran Brown’s dream roster dropped on X. Syracuse QB Michael Johnson and WR Trebor Pena have decided to hit the portal. What kind of sick, twisted game is this?
The real buzz around Gibson’s Syracuse visit? It’s all about one question—where exactly does Fran Brown plan to plug him in? Well, with Johnson supposedly going away, Syracuse has the perfect backup spot ready for the Alpharetta native.
Not only does this give Brown a slight upper hand during the 2-day visit, but it also “almost” ensures that the Orange QB room will remain packed, heading into the 2025 conquest. Coming to Pena, though, well, that is just unfortunate. Over 1200 yards, now lost in the void.
Still, Fran has some leeway in the receiver corps. With Darrell Gill Jr. and Umari Hatcher finally getting their spotlight—and if Syracuse lands Gibson too—Coach Nixon’s “malleable” offense might just become the blueprint for the future.
The post Fran Brown Receives Upsetting News on Potential 4,064-Yds Kyle McCord Replacement as Syracuse Suffers Double Blow appeared first on EssentiallySports.