Without question, Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown and his staff have made talent-rich states such as Florida a huge recruiting focus in recent cycles, with all eyes these days on 2027 amid many prospects taking official visits to the Hill of late.
Still, the Northeast corridor will always remain a key recruiting emphasis for the Orange, and keeping New York-based high school players home for college, at Syracuse, is important.
DART: Liverpool, N.Y., native Braylon Otis (@BraylonOtis), a 2027 3-star edge and a top-5 prospect from the Empire State in his class, has flipped his verbal commitment from Boston College to Syracuse football, as our @NeilAdlerSU had anticipated. 🔽
— InsideTheLoudHouse (@LoudHouseFS) June 7, 2026
To that end, on Sunday, 2027 three-star edge Braylon Otis, a local product who had been on an official visit to the 'Cuse this past weekend, flipped his verbal commitment from Boston College to Syracuse football. Otis was a top-seven prospect in New York state, although for his senior season, he has transferred from Liverpool High School in Liverpool, N.Y., to Jones High School in Orlando, Fla.
On May 1, 2027 four-star running back Xavier Bala out of Saint Anthony's High School in South Huntington, N.Y., verbally pledged to the Orange. Within his class, ESPN rates Bala as the No. 2 prospect from New York state.
Syracuse football coaches are also heavily involved with 2027 four-star running back Elijah Kimble out of Canisius High School in Buffalo, N.Y., who took an official visit to SU in late May. Kimble, a top-250 national prospect, is the No. 1 player from New York, per several recruiting services.
Additionally, in late March of this year, the Orange landed a verbal pledge from 2027 three-star wide receiver Noah Collins-Howard out of Rush-Henrietta Senior High School in Henrietta, N.Y., near Rochester. He is a top-eight prospect from the Empire State.
Syracuse football's 2027 running back room is looking solid so far.
At running back in 2027, the Orange already has verbal commitments from Bala and three-star Sa'Nir Brooks of the powerhouse Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, who pledged to Brown and the SU program this past January.
As I noted above, the 'Cuse staff is also recruiting Kimble hard, and there's chatter that Syracuse football might be in the lead for him these days. Would Syracuse football coaches take three running backs in their 2027 class? My sense is absolutely, yes.
But wait. There's more. Last weekend, 2027 three-star running back Tylek Lewis out of Zachary High School in Zachary, La., took an official visit to the Orange. That trip to Central New York went quite well, he told 247Sports.
Could Syracuse football coaches take four running backs in their 2027 cycle? I guess it's possible, but that would surprise me. What I could envision transpiring is that the 'Cuse, ultimately, will have a 2027 RB room of Bala, Brooks and either Kimble or Lewis.
Not. Too. Shabby.
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