And Josh Miller announces his return
Amidst the controversy around the commitment of LSU transfer QB Rickie Collins, the Syracuse Orange turned around and picked up two more players out of the transfer portal. Saint Francis LB Fran Brown Jr. and Iowa K Tripp Woody are the 4th and 5th guys to commit to the Orange.
All in the family pic.twitter.com/IVPKthgLTI
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) December 19, 2024
Brown Jr., the son of Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, was an unranked prospect coming out of high school, and in seven games as a redshirt freshman at Saint Francis he recorded 33 tackles (19 SOLO), two TFLs, a sack, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. Brown signed with Syracuse on Thursday (12/19), less than a week after he announced he was transferring from SFU. Brown listed at 5-11 and 210 pounds will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Commited
After a great official visit and talks with @FranBrownCuse I am blessed and very excited to announce my commitment to play at Syracuse University on a full scholarship!! I’m very grateful for this opportunity and ready to get to work. Go Orange @DanOrnerKicking… pic.twitter.com/DfqdAjnTvD
— Tripp Woody (@TrippWoody) December 21, 2024
Woody announced his commitment to play at Syracuse on Saturday (12/21) after his official visit. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native did not play in his freshman season at Iowa, but as a senior at Charlotte Christian High School he went 41 of 44 on PATs and 10 of 14 on FGs (50 LONG). Woody, although recruited as a placekicker and kickoff specialist, averaged almost 40 yards per punt as a punter in high school, downing seven inside the 20-yard line.
Syracuse was last in the ACC in field-goal kicking this season (12 of 20) and near the bottom of the conference in NET kickoffs (39.9 YDS).
The Orange also got one of their own back out of the portal. Offensive lineman Josh Miller decided he’d stay with Syracuse. Miller transferred from Georgia last season after Brown’s hiring and he’ll be sticking with the Cuse.
I’ll be withdrawing my name from the transfer portal. #GoOrange
— Joshua “Doogie” Miller (@TheRealJMiller4) December 20, 2024
Despite some success in the early transfer window, Fran Brown still has a long way to go in 2025 if he wants to touch the record-shattering 19-player transfer class he put together in 2024. Momentum should pick up after SU’s bowl matchup with Washington State in San Diego on December 27.
The transfer portal will close on December 28, meaning players interested in transferring cannot enter their names after that until a spring session that runs from April 16 to April 25.