ESPN has refreshed its 2026 class rankings of the top-25 programs, and Syracuse football is placed well inside the top 10 around the country.
According to a recent piece from ESPN's college football national recruiting coordinator, Craig Haubert, the Orange moved up one spot to No. 7 nationwide. That's an extremely strong rating.
The 'Cuse 2026 cycle is hovering around the top 10 per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and Rivals.com, while it's inside the top 25 on the On3 Web site.
The latest pledge for Syracuse football came last weekend, when four-star wide receiver Amare Gough of Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond, Va., verbally committed to the Orange, giving the program at least 16 verbal pledges within its 2026 class.
Syracuse football is rolling among prospects who are heading into their senior years.
As 'Cuse head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff continue to add to their 2026 class, in recent weeks and months, I've come across a handful of comments from national analysts praising the job that the Orange has done to date in this cycle.
When I wrote about the team's 2026 class in another recent column, I noted that there is a solid geographic presence for Syracuse football, meaning that the program's commits hail from traditional recruiting hotbeds as well as other markets across the country, including talent-rich states Florida and California.
So far, the Orange's 2026 cycle is heavy on the offensive side of the field, but I'm sure that the 'Cuse will keep landing pledges from players who suit up on defense, too. To that end, Syracuse football is in the mix for various four-star prospects such as defensive lineman James Johnson of Miami Northwestern Senior High School, defensive back Tedarius Hughes of Miami Northwestern, defensive back CJ Hester of Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Fla., and edge Carter Gooden of the Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., among others.
In the latest ESPN 300, one Syracuse football commit is included. He is four-star edge/outside linebacker Kamron Wilson of Miami Southridge Senior High School, who is No. 273 overall.
Here's what Haubert wrote about the Orange: "The Fran Brown era in Syracuse certainly isn't boring. He led the Orange to just their second 10-win season since 2001 behind Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord, then landed a solid 2025 recruiting class. Now he's pushing for more talent in 2026. Four-star defensive end Jarius Rodgers out of Florida is one of Brown's biggest gets so far. The 6-5, 220-pounder has tremendous length and an impressive track background. He has considerable physical tools and upside if Syracuse's coaching staff can harness it. Kamron Wilson is another big pull out of Florida; the edge defender has good initial quickness and tallied 17 sacks in 2024. ... Javeion Cooper has real upside too. He has good size (6-5, 300 pounds), yet plays with impressive balance for someone with his power and contact explosiveness. The Orange also have been active in the Mid-Atlantic, landing three receivers from Delaware."
By the way, among Atlantic Coast Conference schools, only Clemson is currently higher than Syracuse football in ESPN's most recent 2026 class rankings. The Tigers check in at No. 5 overall.