Four-star wide receiver Jaden Upshaw from Georgia, a top-100 national prospect in the 2027 class, will be at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday to watch Syracuse football host Pittsburgh, a source tells me.
Mike McAllister of 247Sports had this development first on Monday. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound Upshaw is among numerous highly ranked prospects who are expected to be on the Hill for this Saturday night's Atlantic Coast Conference showdown as the Orange takes on the Panthers.
Another visitor is 2027 four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor, who recently de-committed from Penn State and attends Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa., near Pittsburgh. On Sunday, leaders of the Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin, and several verbal pledges to Penn State in the 2027 cycle, including Taylor, have reopened their respective recruitments.
Later this month, on Halloween, when North Carolina travels to Central New York to take on Syracuse football, the Orange will host 2027 five-star prospect Kemon Spell on a game-day visit, a source has told me. Spell, the nation's No. 1 running back in this class, is a standout at McKeesport Area Senior High School in McKeesport, Pa. He de-committed from Penn State this past Sunday.
Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Syracuse 🍊#AGTG @ChadSimmons_ @rockerlee229 @NicholasSearcy4 @adamgorney @247Hudson pic.twitter.com/elR1oQDqLm
— Jaden “J5” UPSHAW (@J2Upshaw) August 14, 2025
Upshaw, meanwhile, received a scholarship offer from the Orange staff on August 14 of this year, according to his X page. His lengthy scholarship offer sheet also includes schools such as Auburn, Boston College, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Southern California, among others.
Syracuse football will get a visit from an elite wide receiver this Saturday.
Upshaw is a junior at Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. The state of Georgia is a recruiting focus of the 'Cuse coaching staff. Before Fran Brown joined the Syracuse football program as its head coach in early December of 2023, he was most recently the defensive backs coach at Southeastern Conference powerhouse Georgia.
According to MaxPreps, Lee County is 5-2 so far in the 2025 season. Upshaw has hauled in 26 catches for 522 yards and six touchdowns. In 2024, as a sophomore, he caught 63 passes for 842 yards and 11 scores through the air. During the 2023 campaign, as a freshman, Upshaw tallied 15 receptions for 220 yards and three touchdowns.
When I wrote this article on Tuesday morning, within the 2027 class, the industry-generated 247Composite placed Upshaw at No. 93 overall, No. 15 at wide receiver and No. 13 in Georgia. Over at the industry-generated Rivals Industry Ranking, he is No. 109 nationally, No. 18 at wide receiver and No. 15 in Georgia.