Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff did it. Despite some anxious moments on Saturday, in recent days and in recent weeks, the Orange landed a verbal commitment from 2026 five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell lll, a state champ from Florida who revealed his pledge at his birthday party.
More than anything else, a huge congrats and welcome from Orange Nation to Calvin! The early signing day for 2026 prospects isn't for a few months, so I assume other suitors - his final four also included Michigan, Oregon and Florida State - will try to flip the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Russell.
However, I am confident that the 'Cuse will hold onto him. For one, Russell is extremely close with Brown. Many members of the Orange staff have recruited Russell hard for a long time.
Oh, and a source confirmed to me that Russell will be playing for Syracuse basketball, too. Heck yeah. To top it off, in football, Russell is the highest-ranked commit for the Syracuse program in the modern recruiting era, according to data on the 247Sports Web site.
More on the commitment of 5-star WR Calvin Russell lll to Syracuse football and basketball.
Okay. Here's the deal. Russell is a standout at Miami Northwestern Senior High School in both hoops and football. In the 2024 campaign, as a junior, Russell was awesome as Miami Northwestern's football team won a state title in Florida.
Here are his 2026 rankings:
247Sports: 5 stars, No. 21 overall, No. 3 at wide receiver and No. 2 in Florida
247Sports Composite: 4 stars, No. 47 overall, No. 5 at wide receiver and No. 4 in Florida
ESPN: 4 stars, No. 28 overall, No. 4 at wide receiver and No. 5 in Florida
On3/Rivals Industry Ranking: 4 stars, No. 32 overall, No. 4 at wide receiver and No. 2 in Florida
Since recruiting services came into full force in the early 2000s, I'm seeing two other five-star commits for Syracuse football. They are 2000 five-star wide receiver Johnnie Morant and 2001 five-star quarterback Cecil Howard. Via 247Sports, they are listed at No. 30 and No. 23 overall, respectively.
I know it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but in one sense, Russell is currently the highest-rated commit for the Orange in the modern recruiting era.
On Sunday, the 'Cuse had 26 verbal pledges in a 2026 class that has moved up to No. 20 nationally, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. Syracuse football now has one five-star commit and several four-star pledges.
Russell, throughout his recruiting process, held more than 50 scholarship offers in football from a who's who of programs. For Brown and his assistants to prevail is a program-defining, and program-changing, recruiting win on the Hill.
And as a proud Syracuse University alum, I couldn't feel more excited for my alma mater.