Kyle McCord, Fran Brown Bringing a New Energy to Syracuse

By Alec Nederveld

When Dino Babers' time deservingly came to an end , Syracuse made a polarizing hire by grabbing Georgia DB coach Fran Brown . Opinions ranged from him being labeled a top-five hire to a bottom-five hire .

Two weeks in, it looks like the Brown believers are correct. He made immediate progress on the recruiting trail and has since continued that with a 28-player deep 2025 recruiting class which has prioritized keeping players home. At one point, the class was top-ten nationally and a major surprise .

To an extent, the recruiting was expected. Back at Georgia, Brown was named National Recruiter of the Year by 247Sports for the class of 2024. And he's answering his biggest questions with a 2-0 start and a top-25 upset over Georgia Tech. How has this happened? It starts with the quarterback position.

Kyle McCord - Playing like one of the best QBs in the country

Kyle McCord was good, not great as the Ohio State Buckeyes starter. And while an 11-1 record is great for most teams, Ohio State expects to go 12-0. For some Ohio State fans, a loss to The Team Up North is inexcusable, especially when McCord throws two interceptions and the game loser.

While not being officially pushed out of Columbus, McCord would have to battle for the offseason and faced scrutiny from the Buckeye fanbase. With only one year of eligibility, he wanted to make sure he would play to set himself up to be drafted in 2025. He seemed down to Nebraska and Syracuse, but a mix of Dylan Raiola and connections with Cuse coaches made the decision, despite twice as much NIL money offered by Nebraska .

With the Buckeyes, McCord never took over a game. He didn't throw for more than 335 yards or three touchdowns in a game which lesser quarterbacks without a top-five pick at receiver could do. He also provides little to no upside as a rusher.

Two games into his Syracuse career, McCord has proven he can do what he couldn't with the Buckeyes. In week 1 against Ohio, he set career highs with 354 yards passing and four touchdowns, although with an interception and a few more throws that could have been picks. Against Georgia Tech on Saturday, McCord one-upped himself with 381 yards, four touchdowns, and another career-high of ten rushing yards - showing a confidence and energy that has not been seen in years past.

McCord's confidence is an example of his leadership that was lacking with the Buckeyes. Ohio State was never his team, he was just the quarterback throwing the passes. Two weeks in, McCord looks to be in the race for All-ACC recognition and potentially national awards. His 735 passing yards are third nationally, his 59 completions are tied for third nationally, and McCord is tied for the national lead with eight touchdown passes.

Pena, OG return to bolster a deep receiving room

Syracuse's passing game was a mess throughout 2023. Garrett Shrader was always more of a running quarterback and he suffered a torn shoulder in a blowout to Virginia Tech. In the final four games, Syracuse played TE (and former QB) Dan Villari as a glorified wildcat quarterback. The Orange ended last in the ACC with 171 passing yards per game. It only emphasized the need for a quarterback like McCord.

It doesn't matter how poor the quarterback play was. If you had two pass catchers like TE Oronde Gadsden II and WR Trebor Pena , you would have thrown for a lot more yards. Gadsden was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2022, but only played two games after suffering a Lisfranc injury which required surgery. Pena meanwhile is a fifth-year senior who's breaking out in 2024. In the past, he was little more than a useful utility player, taking snaps as a return man and slot receiver. Pena only played in one game due to undisclosed injuries in 2023, but he and Gadsden have shown their true impact so far in 2024.

Gadsden has started his season with 13 receptions, 201 yards, and three touchdowns, two of which came on Saturday. He's second nationally among TEs for receptions and yards and tied for first in touchdowns. Pena meanwhile has been consistently good with 12 catches, 166 yards, and four touchdowns. He's also added six yards rushing and a touchdown while continuing to return punts. The four touchdowns put him tied for first nationally.

Behind them, Georgia transfers Zeed Haynes and Jackson Meeks are two more of Syracuse's six players with over 70 receiving yards. Umari Hatcher , second on Syracuse in receiving a year ago, and RB LeQuint Allen , last year's reception leader join them and he also has a touchdown.

Is any coach more confident than Fran Brown?

Working under Kirby Smart at Georgia, it looks like Fran Brown picked up a few lessons on bulletin board material and keeping your team motivated. Despite having the more talented roster and being three-score home favorites before the Week 1 contest with Ohio, he proclaimed the Bobcats as "a better football team", with the justification being they were coming off two straight ten-win seasons.

I can assure you he told his players the same thing as further motivation. It worked and postgame, Brown made another clip-worthy press conference comment, stating how he "should send Ryan Day champagne for allowing us to get him (Kyle McCord)".

Brown hasn't stopped there, he's actually added to his arsenal of press conference quotes by using another coach's words against them.

Leading up to the game, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key claimed "This game’s about our ability to go be the most physically tough football team we can possibly be from 12 until about 4 o’clock on Saturday. That’s it. Hands down."

This is a quote that's said all the time and doesn't mean much more than a key to the game. Brown didn't take it as such. After the win, he stated the following:

"I took it personal when he talked about, it wasn’t about X’s and O’s, it was about coming up here and being physical and tough for four hours. We’re from the Northeast – like, what do you mean by that? Like we don’t play football. Like we’re not physical and tough. I took that very personal."

Brown implied that Syracuse, and the northeast in general did not play physical football like the football-craved south. Brown, a native of Camden, New Jersey with coaching stops at Rutgers and Temple strongly believed Key was wrong and he made the quote a point of emphasis. Oronde Gadsden II remarked that Key's quote was played "over and over" at practice.

I will say that Brown made a lot out of nothing and he's putting a target on his back. But that's what a lot of the best coaches do. As mentioned earlier, Kirby Smart does anything he can to cast doubt on Georgia. Nick Saban did the same. By doing this, Brown is getting more buy-in from his players, and in the long run, that may pay off.

What is Syracuse's ceiling?

Entering 2024, Syracuse had one of the easiest schedules in College Football. And while the Georgia Tech game, alongside trips to Boston College, Cal, and UNLV, will be tougher than anticipated, the schedule is far from difficult.

Two of the three most difficult games, at NC State and at home against Virginia Tech now look to be easier than when the season started. The Wolfpack are coming off a game where they got dominated by Tennesee, and the Hokies were upset by Vanderbilt in week 1.

If things keep going the way they're looking, Syracuse may either be favored or be slim underdogs in every game prior to the regular season finale which is at home against Miami. So far, they look like the ACC's best team by a comfortable margin. And that would put Syracuse on pace to go about 9-3 or 10-2, in position to compete for an ACC Championship Game birth depending on how the rest of the conference shapes up.

Before that can happen, there are ten more regular season games. And there's a precedent for choking with Syracuse. Dino Babers-led teams had many seasons where strong starts were vanquished with numerous injuries and a tougher schedule. The hope is another collapse won't happen with a new coaching staff, but I need to see results first.

Either way, this Syracuse team is very different than what we've seen in the past. The energy is shifting, and so far, doubters have been proved wrong. Fran Brown is making waves and putting the program back in the national spotlight. And I'm all for it.