4-star DB CJ Hester, top-125 national prospect, raves about Syracuse football visit

This past weekend, 2026 four-star defensive back CJ Hester, a state champion from Florida, went on an official visit to Syracuse football.

The top-125 national prospect and top-20 cornerback, per On3, spoke about his trip to the Hill with top 247Sports analyst Mike McAllister. According to a post on X from McAllister, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Hester said his official visit to the Orange was "amazing."

As part of that trip to Central New York, Hester spent some time with Demetres Samuel Jr., who during the upcoming season will be a freshman defensive back/wide receiver for Syracuse football. Samuel, a 2025 four-star prospect, hails from Heritage High School in Palm Bay, Fla.

He and Hester know each other well, and the 'Cuse coaching staff is recruiting the Sunshine State extremely hard across its 2025, 2026 and 2027 classes.

Last weekend, Hester was one of numerous 2026 four-star recruiting targets and Syracuse football three-star verbal pledges in this cycle who were officially visiting the Orange program.

Syracuse football faces stiff competition for 2026 four-star DB CJ Hester.

While Hester has obtained dozens of high-major offers throughout his recruitment, he has whittled down his list of contenders remaining in the running to a top six of the 'Cuse, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Miami.

It's true that head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff are faring well with their recruiting efforts in Florida. It's also true that Brown, before joining Syracuse football, was most recently the defensive backs coach at Georgia.

However, some recruiting analysts continue to maintain that the Florida Gators are in the No. 1 spot for Hester at this juncture. From the chatter I've read, the Orange could be in the No. 2 position, but swaying him to the 'Cuse won't be easy.

When I wrote this article on Sunday evening, there were several predictions logged in Florida's direction for Hester, a standout rising senior at state champ Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Fla., via the On3 Web site. I didn't see any projections on the 247Sports Web site or Rivals.com.

On June 5, top Rivals.com national analyst John Garcia Jr. wrote in part, "Elsewhere in the state the buzz remains with Florida for blue-chip defensive back CJ Hester after his weekend in town, too."

Garcia's comments were prior to Hester's official visit to Syracuse football, so we'll have to see if any analysts start forecasting some buzz in the Orange's direction for this talented 2026 prospect who plans to make his commitment announcement on July 1.