Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse football coach Fran Brown said star receiver Trebor Pena sought more money and expressed concerns about how the team’s first-year quarterback would perform next season before entering the transfer portal.
Brown didn’t specify how much Pena was seeking but made it clear he had no interest in meeting the number.
“We paid him enough,” Brown said Wednesday afternoon in a radio interview with ESPN Syracuse, his first comments on Pena since the sixth-year senior entered the transfer portal earlier this week.
“He was going to get paid more. But there were some numbers that were asked of me that I didn’t feel I would be able to do everything that was needed. I just said, ‘Yo, you’ve got to go’ [Tuesday] morning.”
Brown also said Pena questioned whether LSU-transfer quarterback Rickie Collins Jr. would be good enough in his first season as a starter.
“ ‘How you know Rickie gonna be good? He’s super talented but like, would he be good next year and not this year?’ ” Brown said.
“That ain’t your freaking job to be thinking that. I ain’t got time for you to be doing all that stuff. … When they start trying to do your job and think too much, you’ve got to go. It’s no point in them being there.”
Collins sat behind NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels and potential 2026 first-round pick Garrett Nussmeier while at LSU.
Brown said that Collins couldn’t control that and reassured the Syracuse fan base of his faith in Collins, who is stepping into the role after Kyle McCord shattered records and led the team to a 10-3 record in his only season with the Orange.
The idea of a top receiving target taking an interest in who is leading the offense is not new to Syracuse or to Brown. The coach said last year NFL-bound tight end Oronde Gadsden II told him he’d leave if the coach couldn’t upgrade the quarterback room.
Brown said he feels confident in offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon and the depth of Syracuse’s wide receivers room to survive without Pena.
See: How much offensive production is Syracuse losing?>>
Although Brown recruited Pena at Temple and said he will be there to help the senior after the 2025 season, he said he believes Pena was an affordable loss.
“Why would I try to convince somebody to be somewhere when I know the offense works?” Brown said. “He was worrying about things that players don’t worry about. Players work … and I worry about us. Trebor was worrying about his future: ‘I want to make sure I go to the league. I’ve got to make sure I have another year like I had last year.’ ”
Before his exit, Pena was set to return as Syracuse’s top receiver after finishing with 941 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Now, players like Darrell Gill Jr., Justus Ross-Simmons, Emanuel Ross and Darius Johnson will have more opportunities to emerge for the Orange.
Pena has not made any public comments explaining his decision to leave.
Brown set a tone for how Syracuse will handle pay negotiations with transfers and emphasized the belief he has in his coaching staff.
“Sometimes, people be asking for an outrageous number,” Brown said. “You’re not about to make more than every coordinator. … [I’m not] giving no wide receiver no $2 million in college. Nah, that ain’t me. I ain’t doing that. I can’t do it.”
Brown said to expect as many as 10 more players to enter the transfer portal in the coming weeks, as he will be telling some to leave his program.
There are others that he said are being pursued by other schools.
He also said he is looking for a linebacker in the transfer portal.
“If you can play linebacker and you’re out there, as the big homie Coach Prime said, ‘I ain’t hard to find,’” Brown said.
Syracuse is holding its final practice of the spring Wednesday evening in Rochester.
