ESPN’s David Hale provided an updated ranking of P4 quarterbacks
and I am sure that Syracuse fans won’t be too surprised by Rickie Collins ranking 66th in the update. That’s down 3 spots from the last ranking and only ahead of Wisconsin and Oklahoma State. Again it’s not all on Collins, but it does show that quarterbacks get too much of the glory when their team wins, and too much of the blame when they lose.Ohio State’s Julian Sayin tops the rankings followed by Haynes King, and here’s where the rest
of the current ACC starters are listed:
- CJ Carr- 7th
- Darian Mensah- 15th
- CJ Bailey-20th
- Mason Heintschel-25th
- Carson Beck-26th
- Cade Klubnik-28th
- Kevin Jennings-30th
- Tommy Castellanos-33rd
- Chandler Morris-36th
- Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele- 46th
- Miller Moss-48th
- Kyron Drones-50th
- Robbie Ashford- 61st
- Grayson James/Dylan Lonergan -62nd
- Ben Gulberson/Elijah Brown-64th
- Gio Lopez-65th
What I found interesting about the list is where some other familiar names find themselves. The Orange’s highest profile transfer target last winter, Kaidon Salter, pairs with top recruit Julian Lewis to put Colorado 57th. Former Syracuse commit LaNorris Sellers has gone from Heisman hopeful to 49th in a season where his offensive line can’t block. Sellers’ status as a projected top NFL pick has been taken by Francisco Mendoza, a quarterback who didn’t impress against the Orange in 2024, but ranks 3rd here.
Arch Manning is 35th and fellow pre-season Heisman hopeful Garrett Nussmeier is 40th- one spot ahead of Nico Iamaleava. The wild swings in performance can result from coaching/scheme and the other 10 players on offense, but the high profile position gets the brunt of the scrutiny.
Syracuse’s biggest task this spring and summer is to improve the pieces on offense so that the unit can once again be functional. If not, all the goodwill earned in 2024 will be gone from a fanbase hesitant to invest in another rebuild.
