What can Orange football fans look forward to this fall? We got an inclination on Saturday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Saturday night marked the conclusion of the 2026 spring football practice session for the Syracuse Orange.
The session ended with the annual spring game inside the JMA Wireless Dome, which was the first chance that SU fans had to take a look at the 2026 version of Fran Brown's group. The Orange group won a contentious battle over the blue team, 9-7.
What are some of the storylines Orange fans should be following over the next few months? Here are my five biggest takeaways from this year's spring game.
No Steve Angeli until September?
From Tom Goslowski, Syracuse Roundtable.After covering spring practices in March and seeing Angeli in drills, it was a possibility Angeli could take the field Saturday night, but he ultimately did not.
Angeli suffered a torn Achilles tendon less than seven months ago - in the fourth game of the 2025 season. The projected starting quarterback for the second straight season, Angeli's injury resulted in eight straight losses for the 2025 version of the Orange. Syracuse finished 3-9.
It seems likely that Angeli won't see any full-speed action until the Orange host New Hampshire in Week 1 of the 2026 season (Sept. 5), but we'll have to monitor his workload in training camp.
New chants/crowd engagement
Head coach Fran Brown addressed the crowd in between a unit switch to discuss how he wants the crowd to respond to Syracuse's offensive and defensive units during regular season home games. The video in our live spring ball article shows Brown describing the new song and his hope for what fans should do to support their offense.
Brown's defense will hope to be fired up by 1998 hip-hop classic by DMX: Ruff Ryders' Anthem
Biggest Question Mark: Secondary and running backs
Despite the secondary having some impact players returning to the lineup, six members of the unit were inactive for the game. Cornell Perry, Braheem Long Jr, Tedarius Hughes, Chris Perry, Chase Geter, and Demetres Samuel Jr. all did not take the field Saturday night. It is difficult to figure out what role the second and third-team players will have in the fall based on this game alone.
After losing running back Yasin Willis to the transfer portal, the question of who replaces him still remains. Malachi Coleman found the endzone late into the game and could be a possibility.
The name to know: Umari Hatcher
Hatcher was honored during the game with the Spring Offensive MVP award. Hatcher entered the transfer portal this past December, but decided to return to Central New York for the 2026 season. Hatcher has totaled 797 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in his career. It's possible Angeli and Hatcher will be considered the two best players on the team this fall, especially with top receiver recruit Calvin Russell III out for a good portion of the year.
Goz's Breakout Player for 2026: Jamie Tremble
The #82 is not known for defensive standout plays, but junior Jamie Tremble continued to bring energy and toughness rep after rep during spring practice. The junior from Johns Creek, Ga. is listed at 6'4' and 222 lbs.
It's not so much the size and speed that is fascinating about Tremble, but the position listed: TE/LB. Although identified incorrectly by the public address announcer after the big play, Tremble had a fourth down stop that fired up the Orange squad's sidelines. If Tremble continues to make plays like he did this past spring, it's possible he has a breakout season.
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