Transfer portal quarterback Taron Dickens, who previously played at Western Carolina University and had interest from the Syracuse University football program, has signed onto play the University of North Carolina, one of SU's rivals.

Dickens visited Syracuse shortly after the new year, right when the transfer portal opened. That visit was set for Jan. 8-10. Dickens said he had an offer from SU on his own social media (Jan. 2).

A sophomore who played two years for the Catamounts, he tore up the FCS competition. This past season, he threw for 3,508 yards and 38 touchdowns - against just two interceptions. As a freshman, he threw for 12 touchdowns and had just three picks.

It should be noted that Dickens has already redshirted, so he'll have two years left of eligibility in Chapel Hill. 

A Miami, Fla. native, he led Western Carolina to seven wins in 2025. He was the runner-up for the Walter Payton Award, the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

Even though Dickens is a good player, the Orange certainly have a good starting point at QB in 2026. Steve Angeli, who had the Orange out to a 3-1 start in 2025, will be back after tearing his Achilles in the fourth game of the season.

Beyond that, SU brought in three transfers from the portal: Amari Odom (Kennesaw State), Danny Lauter (Georgetown) and Malachi Nelson (UTEP).

The former top overall recruit in the country for the class of 2023, Nelson has been at three schools in three years.

He spent the 2023 season at Southern California, earning a redshirt after playing in just one game. He played three games in 2024 at Boise State, going 12-of-17 for 128 yards and an interception. And he played six games at UTEP in 2025, throwing to a 54.7 percent completion percentage, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He'll have two years of eligibility left for the Orange.

Odom will come to Syracuse with two years of eligibility left. He played two seasons at Wofford, but only accumulated one year of eligibility there. He then spent the 2025 season at Kennesaw State, completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 19 touchdowns. He also had eight interceptions. Kennesaw State won 10 games and went 7-1 in Conference USA. They won the league title game over Jacksonville State.

At Wofford, he had 1,565 passing yards and seven touchdowns in 2024.

A Connecticut native, Lauter comes to Central New Year with two years of eligibility remaining.

He started 10 games for the Hoyas in 2025, throwing for 187.1 yards per game and 11 total touchdowns. Not much of a runner, he only had four rushing attempts all season.

Interestingly enough, his grandfather was a manager for the 1959 Syracuse national title team.

Georgetown went 6-6 at the FCS level.

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