Syracuse football has added at least five college transfers during the spring portal window, and the Orange could ultimately bring on board even more. We'll have to wait and see on that, but the 'Cuse staff has hosted a variety of transfers of late on visits, and recruiting experts have noted that the Orange is in a good position with various transfer targets.
College football reporter Will Backus of CBS Sports and national analyst Adam Friedman of Rivals.com each put out articles, in recent days, where they looked at some of the top transfers currently in the portal who are not yet committed to a new college squad.
A couple of transfers on the experts' lists have recruiting ties to Syracuse football. I should note that while the spring transfer portal window closed on April 25, players didn't have to transfer to a new collegiate home by then. They just had to be in the portal.
Top analyst Mike McAllister of 247Sports put together a comprehensive piece earlier this week where he reviewed the Orange's scholarship situation for its 2025 roster. I'd carve out some time here.
One important caveat is that until federal antitrust lawsuits are settled between Division I student-athletes and the NCAA and its power conferences, the current scholarship limit in college football is 85. Assuming that a judge signs off on a settlement agreement, that limit would grow to 105.
Syracuse football is pursuing some top-flight transfers.
Three transfers included in the rankings from Backus and Friedman are Florida State offensive lineman TJ Ferguson, Washington wide receiver Johntay Cook II and Rutgers linebacker Mohamed Toure.
The 6-foot-4, 328-pound Ferguson recently visited the Orange, according to multiple media reports. Via national transfer rankings from 247Sports, he checks in as four stars, No. 145 overall and No. 14 at interior offensive lineman.
Syracuse football coaches also recently had the 6-foot, 185-pound Cook on the Hill for a visit. As I've discussed of late, the 'Cuse has some analyst buzz for Cook, who per 247Sports is three stars, No. 242 overall and No. 43 at wide receiver in its national transfer ratings.
The Orange is reportedly among the teams that have reached out to the 6-foot-2, 236-pound Toure since he entered the portal. Friedman wrote in part: "Miami has emerged as a major contender to land his commitment but Penn State has some strong connections to Toure. ... Florida State and Syracuse are also programs to keep an eye on in his transfer process."
In its national transfer rankings, Rivals.com places Toure as three stars and No. 194 nationally.
Former UNC OL and 5-stat recruit Zach Rice is currently visiting Syracuse. FSU’s TJ Ferguson and South Carolina’s Kam Pringle were scheduled to be on campus as well. A lot of offensive linemen visiting the Orange. https://t.co/ZKwiOiq5xG
— Mike McAllister (@McAllisterMike1) April 27, 2025
Another transfer to monitor is North Carolina offensive tackle Zach Rice, who recently visited the 'Cuse as well. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Rice, in national transfer rankings from On3, is three stars and the No. 41 offensive tackle.
As a prep recruit in the 2022 cycle, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite had Rice as five stars, No. 13 overall and No. 1 at offensive tackle within his class.