Could 5-star WR Calvin Russell III actually play for Syracuse football against Cal on Saturday?

It's unlikely that Syracuse football five-star freshman wide receiver Calvin Russell III will play on Saturday in the Orange's 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference opener against California at home, but the fact that he's merely listed as questionable on SU's initial availability report submitted to the Atlantic Coast Conference on Wednesday night is fairly remarkable in and of itself.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Russell, who hails from Opa Locka, Fla., also plays for Syracuse basketball and was SU football's highest-ranked commit in more than 20 years, as part of the team's 2026 class. In late March, Russell unfortunately went down with a torn Achilles tendon; reports have indicated that the usual recovery timetable for that kind of injury is six to 12 months.

During his weekly media availability with reporters this past Monday, head coach Fran Brown said that he anticipated Russell would come back "in a few weeks." Brown has said in the past that he was eyeing an October return for Russell, who was a two-sport standout at Miami Northwestern Senior High School.

Fifth-year wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons, who did not play in the 2026 season opener against New Hampshire, does plan to compete this Saturday afternoon against Cal, Brown says. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Ross-Simmons, a Rochester, N.Y., native, is working his way back toward game shape after being deemed eligible via a temporary restraining order issued by Judge Martin Hoffman of the 68th District Court in Dallas, Texas, late last month amid ongoing litigation at the federal and state levels involving 2022 athletes and the NCAA.

More injury-related updates for Syracuse football players ahead of the ACC clash with Cal.

On Wednesday evening's availability report submitted to the ACC, the Orange lists six players as being out against the Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome. They are freshman defensive back Tedarius Hughes, freshman linebacker Maurice Medley, sophomore offensive lineman Jackson Iak, sophomore offensive lineman D'Joni Scatliffe, junior wide receiver Nate Edwards and sophomore wide receiver Terrell Wilfong.

Expected to play on Saturday versus California are transfer running backs Ju’Juan Johnson, a junior from LSU, and Ahmad Miller, a senior from Jackson State. They both missed the season opener last Saturday on the Hill, when the Orange crushed New Hampshire.

In the absence of Johnson and Miller, freshman Shavane Anderson Jr. and sophomore Tylik Hill put forth terrific performances, while sophomore Matthew Outten, a transfer running back/wide receiver from Penn State, was solid with 10 carries for 51 yards.

Anderson rushed 10 times for 102 yards and three scores on the ground in his college debut, earning ACC rookie of the week honors. Hill had 15 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown. By the way, last weekend in a 45-24 home loss to in-state rival UCLA, the Golden Bears allowed a whopping 277 rushing yards. Yikes.

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