4-star RB Elijah Kimble on Syracuse's Fran Brown: 'One of the realest guys I know'

New Syracuse football verbal pledge Elijah Kimble, the 2027 four-star running back from Buffalo, N.Y., says it was vital for him to stay home in college, and he's got a lot of positive things to say about Orange head coach Fran Brown, an ace recruiter.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Kimble, on Friday evening at a ceremony at his high school, picked the 'Cuse over offers from nearly 40 other college programs. He had taken official visits to Syracuse football, fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad North Carolina and Indiana, which won this past season's College Football Playoff national title. Last month, as I reported, Kimble also took an unofficial visit to the Hill.

During his commitment announcement on Friday night, Kimble said that he's known where he wanted to play in college for about a month. I had also been told a few weeks ago by a source that Kimble would be verbally pledging to the Orange (hey, I can keep a secret, too!).

Kimble, according to ESPN, is a top-300 national prospect in the 2027 class. The rising senior at Canisius High School is also New York's No. 1 player in this cycle, according to multiple recruiting Web sites.

Brown and his top-flight staff aren't always going to prevail for the Empire State's No. 1 prospect in a given recruiting class, however, in the wake of Kimble's commitment to the 'Cuse, he said, "The best in New York stay in New York."

Syracuse football has notched a huge win on the recruiting trail.

Kimble, on Friday, highlighted his strong relationship with both Brown and Orange running backs coach Dennis Thomas. The running back said of Brown: "Coach Fran is one of the realest guys I know. He just told me he wanted me to come play for him. At the time, I knew that's where I really needed to be."

Additionally, Kimble called Brown and Thomas "real genuine people ... It seemed like nobody was trying to put on an act just because I’m the No. 1 player (in New York) and they want to land me. It just seemed like a real family situation."

With his pledge to SU, Kimble becomes the highest-ranked verbal commit for the program in its top-35 national class in 2027. Of course, the early signing period won't arrive until early December, so it could be a few anxious months for Syracuse football recruiting enthusiasts as other suitors possibly try to flip Kimble.

The Buffalo standout plans to officially sign with the Orange during the early signing period. He will make a tremendous RB tandem in the 2027 cycle with high-three-star Tylek Lewis out of Zachary High School in Zachary, La., who verbally committed to Syracuse football a few days ago.

In 2025, Kimble rushed for 1,726 yards and 23 scores on the ground. Lewis, meanwhile, tallied 1,129 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns this past season. Not. Too. Shabby.

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