Syracuse, NY – Western Carolina transfer quarterback Taron Dickens, who led the FCS college football division in yards per game and passing last season, will visit Syracuse this week, Syracuse.com said | Post Standard.
Dickens said he will visit Syracuse Wednesday through Friday.
As Western Carolina’s quarterback last year, Dickens averaged 389.78 passing yards per game and threw 38 touchdown passes. He had a 38-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and led his team to a 7-5 record.
His passing yards per game were 60 more yards than the next top quarterback at the FCS level, Mercer’s Braden Atkinson.
Dickens was runner-up for the Walter Payton Award, which honors the player of the year at the FCS level. Youngstown State quarterback Beau Beauregard won the award last weekend. It is considered the Heisman Trophy at the FCS level.
Dickens played high school football for Miami Northwestern, a Florida school Syracuse acquired with much fanfare the past two years under head coach Fran Brown.
The school is the alma mater of SU freshmen Darius “Boobie” Johnson and DeAngelo Thompson, as well as incoming freshmen Calvin Russell and Tedarius Hughes.
Dickens is undersized at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds. He made up for it with his mobility, leading Western Carolina in rushing attempts and racking up 321 yards on 97 carries.
Dickens said on social media that he also received transfer offers from James Madison, North Texas and Toledo. On3.com ranks him the 55th quarterback available on the transfer portal and the No. 815 transfer overall.
He was a three-star recruit out of high school who was offered by Coastal Carolina and Buffalo during the recruiting process, according to 247Sports.
Brown previously said he hopes to add two linebackers to the roster this offseason.
Brown also said he expects Steve Angeli to be the team’s starting quarterback next year, a reality that would make it difficult to add a quarterback who has shown signs of success at the FBS level.
Syracuse’s season fell apart last year, in part because none of Angeli’s defenders had any experience.
Dickens offers an extremely different biography, which is part of what probably makes him an attractive option.
Angeli is about to return the Achilles tendon. The team hopes he can participate during the spring and be fully healthy by the fall.
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