Syracuse football 4-star commits from Florida opt to stay home; that's understandable

Syracuse football coaches, in recent days, have seen their three-member 2026 class shrink down to one commit, and of course that stings a bit.

As I often say, recruiting is a fickle and tough business. High school prospects can change their minds and renege on their verbal commitments as their recruiting processes carry on. It happens to the Orange program and its peers nationwide.

On July 31, word broke that 2026 four-star athlete/defensive back Demetres Samuel Jr. of Heritage High School in Palm Bay, Fla., was flipping his verbal pledge from Syracuse football to Southeastern Conference member Florida and plans to reclassify to the 2025 cycle, per various media reports.

Then, this past Sunday night, reports came out that 2026 four-star linebacker/edge Izayia Williams of Tavares High School in Tavares, Fla., was de-committing from the 'Cuse and would have a top three moving forward of Florida, Florida State and Miami.

Both Samuel and Williams verbally pledged to the Orange this past spring. Each highly coveted player has decided to play college football at home in the Sunshine State, where they currently reside. That's completely understandable, and I wish them nothing but the best in the future.

Syracuse football, though, remains in pursuit of numerous top-flight 2026 prospects.

Naturally, when two four-star players de-commit from the 'Cuse in a matter of days, some fans opine on social media and in chat rooms that the sky is falling for head coach Fran Brown and his excellent staff.

I couldn't disagree more. Yes, it hurts to see Samuel and Williams move on. Williams, within the 2026 class, is ranked as high as No. 39 nationally by ESPN. Samuel is rated as high as No. 123 overall via On3.

Currently, the Orange's lone 2026 verbal commit comes from four-star running back D'Antae Sheffey of Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Pa. The 'Cuse had a lofty top-five national ranking in the 2026 cycle when all three recruits were pledged to the program; on Monday, this Syracuse football class arrived at No. 35 nationwide per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

I can understand the frustration from some of my fellow fans. However, let's provide context here. For one, it's relatively early on in the recruiting processes of 2026 prospects, who are set to enter their junior years of high school. These players can't sign official national letters of intent for quite a while.

For Williams and Samuel to have verbally pledged to Syracuse football in the spring, to me, was super early on in their recruitments. A lot could happen between then and when they ultimately could sign an NLI.

What's more, reports have indicated that both former Orange commits made the decision that they wanted to play college football in their home state of Florida. Candidly, I respect that decision, it's understandable, and there's not much the 'Cuse staff could likely have done to kept them pledged to Syracuse football.

Furthermore, even though Williams and Samuel have moved on from the Hill, the fact that they did initially give verbal commitments to the Orange says a lot about the direction of the 'Cuse program under first-year head coach Brown.

The 2024 season is fast approaching. Should Syracuse football perform well on the field, I believe that will catch the attention of other highly ranked prospects in the 2026 and 2027 classes, and beyond.

And to be fair, 'Cuse coaches are in the mix for other elite 2026 prospects, for example. One is five-star wide receiver and top-10 national prospect Calvin Russell of Miami Northwestern Senior High School. Several recent reports say that Russell is high on Syracuse football.

Another thing I'll add here is that I credit Brown and his assistants for their recruiting efforts from a geographic standpoint. The Orange staff will always focus on the Northeast corridor, but 'Cuse coaches are also recruiting other states hard, including Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Tennessee, among others.

It's a challenge for Syracuse football coaches to prevail for top prospects in these other states. For one, as we all know, Syracuse University is located in Central New York. That location may or may not be appealing to high school prospects who hail from states further away in proximity.

What's more, if these kinds of players elect to stay home, that's just the way it goes. To me, it's no different than a high school prospect from, say, New York or even New Jersey picking the Orange over other schools further away.

Brown officially took over the Syracuse football program in early December of last year. He and his staff hauled in a 2024 class that includes several four-star prospects and is rated in the top 40 at the prep level and in the top 25 out of the transfer portal.

The Orange's 2025 cycle, currently, has 28 verbal pledges and is ranked No. 37 nationally by the 247Sports Composite. So from a recruiting standpoint, Brown & Co. are doing a mighty fine job, despite these two recent de-commitments in 2026.

This stuff happens. The 2026 class for the 'Cuse still has the makings of a special cycle, even though Samuel and Williams are staying home for college.