Per On3, Syracuse football out in front for 4-star DB, top-100 player who will visit

On Tuesday, Syracuse football held a small lead in the recruitment of 2026 four-star defensive back/athlete Andre Clarke Jr. from Virginia, per the On3 Web site.

I'd like to preface here that while this is encouraging for the Orange, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Clarke has a bunch of top-flight suitors, and his recruiting process could have a way to go.

Clarke, ranked in the top 100 of his class by ESPN, holds more than two dozen offers from a range of high-major programs. He visited the 'Cuse last April and received a scholarship offer from Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown and his excellent staff in that month as well, according to 247Sports.

As I noted in another recent article, in late January of this year, during a contact recruiting period, the Orange coaching staff conducted an in-home visit with Clarke, who is a standout junior at Hermitage High School in Henrico, Va., near Richmond.

Elite 2026 four-star defensive back Andre Clarke Jr. will make another trip to Syracuse football.

According to top analyst Mike McAllister of 247Sports, Clarke has scheduled an official visit to the Orange that will run from May 30 through June 1. Per McAllister's reporting, Clarke has additional official visits set to Virginia Tech, Miami, SMU and Kentucky, and he's also eyeing a possible trip to Louisville, which recently offered Clarke.

On Tuesday, via his X page, Clarke also noted his upcoming official visit to Syracuse football that is slated for late May into early June.

When I penned this story, within the 2026 cycle, both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking placed Clarke in the top 175 nationally, the top 15 at safety and within the top six in Virginia.

To date, the Orange has secured verbal pledges from at least nine high school juniors, including several four-star prospects. The 247Sports Composite and Rivals.com, at the time of this writing, had the 'Cuse 2026 class inside the top 20 overall.

In recent weeks, national recruiting analysts have praised the Syracuse football staff for its strong job so far with its 2026 recruiting efforts. Numerous four-star 2026 targets, lately, have announced plans to visit the Orange in the coming months, while the 'Cuse has also made the list cuts of various highly ranked players in the junior cycle.