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Syracuse football 2025 class vaults into top 40 nationally with two more pledges

Neil Adler
Neil Adler

Inside the Loud House

Syracuse football scored two more verbal pledges on Saturday, as the Orange's 2025 class moved into the top 40 nationally. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Late Saturday night, Syracuse football received two additional pledges for its 2025 class, moving the Orange's junior cycle into the top 40 nationally.

According to posts on X, 2025 three-star offensive lineman Byron Washington and 2025 athlete/defensive back Marcus Upton have both verbally committed to the 'Cuse, giving the team at least five verbal pledges in this class.

Both the 6-foot-8, 380-pound Washington and the 6-foot, 185-pound Upton were on visits to the SU campus in recent days, per their X accounts. A huge congrats from Orange Nation to Byron and Marcus!

Washington is a junior at DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas. Upton attends Winslow Township High School in Atco, N.J., which is the same program as Syracuse football 2024 commit Jaylan Hornsby, a three-star wide receiver who is officially signed with the ‘Cuse.

Syracuse football has bolstered its growing 2025 class.

In late December of 2023, Washington said on his X page that he had received a scholarship offer from the Orange coaching staff. Upton was offered by the 'Cuse about a month ago.

When I wrote this article on Saturday evening, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rated Washington at No. 936 nationally in the junior class, along with the No. 67 offensive tackle and the No. 132 player in Texas.

According to his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Washington's offer sheet has also included schools such as Arizona State, Duke, Houston, Oregon, TCU, Texas and UCF, among others.

Upton, a talented defensive back/wide receiver, said in a post on X that during the most recent 2023 season, he hauled in 30 catches for 611 yards and seven touchdowns. On the defensive side, Upton tallied 69 tackles, five forced fumbles, seven interceptions and one pick-six.

Besides Syracuse football, his offer list has featured Temple, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Boston College, Buffalo and UConn, among others, per 247Sports.

In late January of this year, the Orange got on the board in its 2025 class when four-star edge and top-300 national prospect Sharlandiin Strange of Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pa., verbally committed to the 'Cuse over other finalists Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Southern California.

Then, last weekend, Syracuse football landed pledges from 2025 three-star wide receiver Darien Williams of the Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, and 2025 speedy defensive back Javon Lawrence of North Rockland High School in Thiells, N.Y.

At the time of this writing, the Orange's junior cycle checked in at No. 37 nationally via the On3 Web site, No. 38 overall from Rivals.com and No. 41 nationwide on the 247Sports Web site.

Neil Adler

Neil Adler

Since 2016, Neil has served as a writer with Inside The Loud House, while also taking on the role of editor in 2020. Neil, a graduate of Syracuse University in 2000, primarily covers 'Cuse basketball, football, recruiting, NIL and conference realignment issues. Neil has been an avid Syracuse sports enthusiast dating back to the 1980s. While with Loud House, Neil is regularly heard on the radio in Central New York, while also participating in numerous podcasts related to the 'Cuse. His exclusive reports are often picked up by other media outlets, too. When not writing about Syracuse sports, Neil also co-owns a marketing agency in the Washington, D.C., market. He loves playing hoops and buying basketball cards with his son, spending time with his parents, brother and nephews, and listening to Duran Duran.