We're getting toward crunch time in the recruitment of 2026 five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell lll, a long-time priority recruit for Syracuse football coaches.
He recently disclosed a top eight that includes the Orange, and the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Russell plans to make his college decision known on July 5. The big question on the minds of Syracuse football recruiting enthusiasts is whether this top-25 national prospect, per 247Sports, will take an official visit to the Hill before he makes his commitment announcement.
Based on observations from national analysts of late, it's difficult to gauge where the 'Cuse currently stands in his recruitment. Some comments I've come across state that Syracuse football has solid buzz for Russell, while some experts have recently said that other suitors have a better shot at landing him than the Orange does.
Candidly, who the heck knows? We'll find out soon enough. What is clear to me, though, is that if head coach Fran Brown and his staff were to score a verbal pledge from Russell in early July, it would be a program-defining recruiting victory. Here's why.
Syracuse football has a full-court press on for 2026 five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell lll.
Throughout his recruiting process, according to 247Sports, Russell has earned more than 50 scholarship offers from a who's who in college football. That the Orange is even in Russell's top eight speaks to the recruiting prowess possessed by Brown and his staff.
Russell's final group features Syracuse football, Miami, Oregon, Michigan, Florida State, Florida, LSU and North Carolina. That's quite a top eight.
When I wrote this column on Saturday, I didn't see any analyst projections for Russell on the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com or the On3 Web site. Certainly, as his commitment announcement inches closer, that could change.
Let's peek inside the other seven contenders still in the running for Russell. In-state schools Miami, Florida State and Florida could have an advantage because they're close to home for Russell, particularly the Hurricanes, given that Russell is a state champion with Miami Northwestern Senior High School.
Oregon made the 12-team College Football Playoff this past season. Two terms ago, Michigan won the national championship. LSU, which was hosting Russell on an official visit this weekend, is always a top recruiting program. And North Carolina's new head coach is NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick.
Brown, in his own right, is a tremendous recruiter, but if Russell ultimately picks Syracuse football after holding 50-plus offers and boasting that final eight, it would be absolutely massive for the Orange program.
To date, the 'Cuse has a top-15 national class in 2026, although none of its verbal pledges, some of whom are rated four stars, come close to Russell's national rankings in this cycle.
What's more, in its 2025, 2026 and 2027 classes, Syracuse football coaches have heavily emphasized their recruiting efforts in the talent-rich state of Florida. Beating out several Sunshine State-based college programs for Russell would send a message to the entire college football world that Brown and his staff are a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail.