Earlier this year, former Syracuse football passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Ross Douglas headed out west to become the wide receivers coach at Big Ten Conference powerhouse Oregon.
The Ducks, in 2024, had a terrific term, going undefeated in the regular season and earning the No. 1 seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff. While Oregon fell in the CFP's quarterfinal round to eventual national champion and No. 8 seed Ohio State, Oregon is a juggernaut in college football and recruits at an elite level.
So it would certainly be understandable if Rochester, N.Y., product Messiah Hampton, an Orange priority target in the 2026 class, ultimately committed to the Ducks, another one of his suitors. And for the time being, more and more recruiting analysts are projecting the four-star wide receiver and top-50 national prospect to, in fact, verbally pledge to Oregon in the near future.
Still, I'd never count out Syracuse football head coach and ace recruiter Fran Brown, especially when it pertains to a high school prospect who hails from the Empire State. That being said, Hampton's long-time strong relationship with Douglas may prove too much for the 'Cuse to overcome. We'll see.
Syracuse football is in a recruiting battle for 2026 4-star wide receiver Messiah Hampton from New York.
The Orange has pursued Hampton, the No. 1 prospect from New York in his class, for a while now. Yet Douglas was the team's lead recruiter for Hampton, and the same holds true in his new position at Oregon.
When I wrote this article on Friday night, there were several predictions logged in the Ducks' direction for Hampton between the 247Sports Web site and the On3 Web site. What's more, recently, Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney also forecasted that Hampton would pick Oregon.
Now, these sorts of projections aren't always 100 percent accurate, but the analyst buzz certainly seems to heavily favor the Ducks for Hampton, who is a standout rising senior and All-State first-team performer at James Monroe High School in Rochester.
Not too long ago, the 6-foot-1, 187-pound Hampton disclosed a top seven of Syracuse football, Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Miami.
He plans to make his college decision known on June 13, so we'll know in the coming weeks whether the Orange, the Ducks or any of his other contenders remaining in the mix has prevailed for this fast-rising wide receiver.
Hampton is expected to officially visit the 'Cuse on June 5, per his bio on the 247Sports Web site.