Syracuse Football: 4-star QB with Orange offer is top-150 national prospect

Four-star quarterback Stone Saunders from Pennsylvania, who was offered a scholarship by Syracuse football coaches in April of last year, continues to see his offer sheet grow and his national rankings soar.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Saunders is only a rising junior in high school, yet he’s already amassed more than two-dozen offers from a range of high-major programs, including some of college football’s biggest names.

Saunders, a standout at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pa., has received All-America honors in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. In those two terms combined, he has tallied more than 6,600 passing yards and 100 touchdowns through the air, with just 10 interceptions, according to recruiting services. Those numbers are simply ridiculous.

Understandably, many schools are in pursuit of Saunders, and as a member of the 2025 class, his recruiting process likely has a long way to go.

Syracuse football is probably a long shot to prevail for 2025 four-star quarterback Stone Saunders.

When Rivals.com published its first set of national rankings for the 2025 cycle earlier this spring, Saunders checked in at No. 145 overall, No. 14 at pro-style quarterback and No. 4 in Pennsylvania. ESPN ranks him at No. 203 nationally, No. 12 at his position and No. 6 in Pennsylvania.

At the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rated Saunders at No. 258 nationwide, No. 18 at quarterback and No. 7 in Pennsylvania. When I penned this column, he was No. 314 overall, No. 24 at quarterback and No. 8 in Pennsylvania, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Two of his more recent offers have arrived from Iowa and Miami. Saunders’ offer sheet also includes two-time defending national champion Georgia, Duke, Kentucky, West Virginia, Rutgers, Michigan, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Colorado, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Louisville, Cincinnati, Nebraska, UConn and Toledo, among others.

In the 2021 season, Saunders was named a second-team freshman All-American by MaxPreps. As a sophomore during the 2022 stanza, he helped guide Bishop McDevitt to a 13-1 overall record and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (“PIAA”) Class 4A championship.

As a sophomore, Saunders threw for 3,583 yards and 54 passing touchdowns with only five interceptions.

He received inclusion on the 2022 MaxPreps sophomore All-America first team, and Saunders’ other accolades in his sophomore campaign included the MaxPreps 2022 player of the year in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Football Writers’ 4A player of the year, and PennLive’s Mid-Penn offensive player of the year.

In 2021, Saunders threw for 3,037 yards, 46 touchdowns and a mere five interceptions. That season, Bishop McDevitt went 12-2 and reached the PIAA 4A title game.