Despite drama, 5-star Calvin Russell is Syracuse's highest-ranked commit in 2 decades

It was a nerve-wracking week and a nerve-wracking few months for Syracuse football fans as it relates to the recruitment of 2026 five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell lll from Florida.

The 6-foot-5 Russell didn't sign with the Orange on the first day of the early signing period, on Wednesday. News surfaced from recruiting analysts that other suitors were continuing to try and flip Russell from the 'Cuse and head coach Fran Brown. However, a day later, on Thursday, Russell officially signed with the Orange, providing the fan base with a collective sigh of relief.

Russell not signing on Wednesday, understandably, freaked out some Syracuse football fans, myself included. That came after months of flip-talk chatter over Russell from analysts, even though he had maintained over and over again that he was locked in with the Orange and his recruitment was shut down.

Recruiting is a fluid process, and it can drastically ebb and flow for highly rated prospects. That Brown and his top-flight staff were able to hold onto Russell, who is also expected to play for Syracuse basketball, speaks to the program's recruiting prowess.

A huge congrats and welcome from Orange Nation to Calvin!

Syracuse football signee Calvin Russell lll, a 2026 5-star WR, is an elite talent.

Russell is a standout senior at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. The Bulls are eyeing a second straight state championship in Florida soon. Russell verbally pledged to the 'Cuse in early July over Florida State, Michigan and Oregon.

More recently, analysts said that ahead of the early signing period, teams that may have been trying to flip Russell included Florida, Florida State, LSU and Michigan, among others. But none of them did.

So with Russell signing with the Orange, Syracuse football has its highest-rated commit dating back to the early 2000s. According to 247Sports, two 'Cuse commits that were rated higher than Russell were 2001 five-star dual-threat quarterback Cecil Howard and 2000 five-star wide receiver Johnnie Morant.

That's it. That's the list, at least in the modern era of recruiting services publishing full scouting evaluations and rankings over the Internet. As I noted on Friday, Syracuse football's 26-member class in 2026 is the Orange's highest-rated cycle in the modern era, with Russell leading the way.

Per 247Sports, Russell is five stars, No. 23 overall, No. 2 at wide receiver and No. 2 in Florida. The industry-generated Rivals Industry Ranking places him at No. 52 nationally, No. 7 at wide receiver and No. 6 in Florida.

Russell's Miami Northwestern teammate, 2026 four-star defensive back Tedarius Hughes, is also officially signed with the 'Cuse in this stellar class.