Greg McElroy breaks down what Steve Angeli offers as transfer quarterback

Steve Angeli became one of the top quarterbacks who became available in the spring cycle after entering the portal following practices last month at Notre Dame. He’ll now be taking the play that he wasn’t able to ever fully show in South Bend to Syracuse with his transfer there a week and a half ago.

Greg McElroy broke down what Angeli was as a portal addition during a recent episode of ‘Always College Football’. That began with a look back at what he was able to do, despite seemingly losing the position battle again this spring, while with the Fighting Irish, including one drive that helped advance them to the national title game last year in the College Football Playoff.

“It was a hard-fought, three-way quarterback battle there in South Bend throughout the spring,” said McElroy. “Steve Angeli – he’s a senior, he’s been around the program for a while, has great comfort within the program.”

“Had a decent career up to this point, has thrown for nearly 800 yards. Has been around on a handful of different occasions in which he was needed as far as spot-play was concerned but no bigger than having to step in in the Orange Bowl where he takes the offense on a six-for-seven, 44 yards right down the field to kind of stop the bleeding in a game that was very one-sided there in the first half. Now, that poise that Steve Angeli showed kind of lit a fire under Notre Dame and sparked what was a really impressive comeback to win 27-24 and punch their ticket to the national championship,” McElroy recalled.

Angeli entered the portal at the opening of the spring window coming off the competition against CJ Carr as well as Kenny Minchey. He did so as a Top-25 QB transfer per the latest update to On3’s Industry Ranking of 2025’s Top Transfer Portal Players with him committing to ‘Cuse soon after a visit there.

With that, Angeli isn’t the best quarterback in the country going into his fourth collegiate season. What he is, though, is a reliable option that can lead a team when asked says McElroy, which is what Fran Brown may do this fall.

“Here’s the thing with Angeli. He doesn’t have the ceiling that a lot of guys have, right. He doesn’t have a Nico Iamaleava–ceiling. He doesn’t have a CJ Carr-ceiling. He doesn’t have the mobility that a Kenny Minchey has there for Notre Dame. So, it’s understandable that, maybe, guys want to go with the slightly younger option with a higher ceiling because, in time, that guy can elevate where the program is currently at,” said McElroy. “With Steve Angeli, you kind of know what you’re going to get – pocket passer, super accurate, super poised, and a guy that you can win with.”

“There are not a lot of guys in the portal right now that I’ve looked at and I sit there and think to myself, ‘Yeah, I can win with this guy’. There’s a bunch of unknowns, if I’m going to be honest with you,” McElroy added. “With Angeli, he’s played, he’s performed and, albeit his skill set is not going to blow you away because he’s a physical freak, he can win you games by intellect, accuracy, and poise – three very, very important qualities.”

McElroy said all this prior to Angeli’s commitment to Syracuse. Still, the take aged well as he would compare him to their last quarterback in Kyle McCord, who was the nation’s leading passer last season for the Orange before being a sixth-round pick last weekend in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“Steve Angeli? His skill set is not that dissimilar from a guy that played and threw it pretty well for the Orange last year and that would be Kyle McCord,” noted McElroy. “That could be very, very interesting.”

Angeli still has to win a job as Syracuse already named Rickie Collins, a transfer himself from LSU, as the starter. Still, if he were to get the gig, McElroy trusts that he has what it takes to be among the better quarterbacks who were in the portal this offseason.

“If I had to have a starter for this upcoming fall, Steve Angeli would, without question, be at the top of the list among those names,” said McElroy.