Syracuse football is planning to welcome numerous four-star targets who hail from New Jersey to the Hill this coming weekend on visits, according to recent posts on X by the analysts at The Juice on Rivals.
Recently, The Juice on Rivals noted in articles and in a chat forum that at least seven prospects from New Jersey are eyeing visits to the ‘Cuse this weekend.
However, those stories and the chat forum are subscriber-exclusive items, so out of respect for our friends at The Juice on Rivals, I’ll only discuss here those visits that have been noted in publicly available social media posts.
Those planning to visit Central New York on or around January 20 include 2025 four-star cornerback/safety Deshawn Stewart, 2025 four-star wide receiver Dez Jones and 2025 four-star wide receiver Michael Thomas III.
Syracuse football continues to recruit New Jersey hard.
Orange head coach Fran Brown, most recently the defensive backs coach at Georgia, is from Camden, N.J. So, too, is new ‘Cuse defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Elijah Robinson.
Other Syracuse football coaches, including associate head coach for offense and quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile, are from New Jersey. The new Orange staff, as a whole, has deep recruiting connections to the Garden State and along the Northeast corridor.
As such, Syracuse football coaches are making New Jersey a big-time focus, whether it be in landing commitments, welcoming targets on visits, and making scholarship offers to new recruits.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Stewart is a junior at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. He received a scholarship offer from the Orange in May of 2023.
"I think Coach Fran (@FranBrownCuse) and the new staff are going to turn around #Syracuse.”
— The Juice on Rivals (@TheJuiceOnline) January 13, 2024
We caught up with 2025 DB Deshawn Stewart (@shawnstewartjr), who will visit Central New York on Jan. 20. https://t.co/VHKjPAQK7q
Multiple recruiting services place him as a top-300 national prospect in the 2025 cycle. Currently, On3 is most bullish on Stewart, ranking him at No. 123 overall, No. 14 at cornerback and No. 5 in New Jersey.
One of Stewart’s teammates at DePaul Catholic is the 6-foot, 180-pound Jones, who was offered by Syracuse football back in November of 2021.
One of New Jersey’s top 2025 wide receivers, De’Zie Jones (@dezjones88) has set a visit to #Syracuse.
— The Juice on Rivals (@TheJuiceOnline) January 12, 2024
He’s the No. 11 prospect from the Garden State. Read more ⬇️ https://t.co/KLVPGmFLcw
Like Stewart, Jones resides in the top 300 of the 2025 class, per several recruiting Web sites. It looks like his highest rating, at the time of this writing, is from 247Sports, which ranks Jones at No. 167 overall, No. 16 at wide receiver and No. 4 in New Jersey.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Thomas is a junior at Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River, N.J. The Orange offered him in May of 2023.
"Coach Fran (@FranBrownCuse) is great guy and a man of his word."
— The Juice on Rivals (@TheJuiceOnline) January 12, 2024
One of New Jersey's elite prospects, 2025 WR Michael Thomas III (@DCFutureMT3), discusses his upcoming #Syracuse visit with us. https://t.co/ePfi7L2UqX
Thomas resides in the top 200 overall, according to many recruiting services. ESPN, for one, ranks him at No. 98 nationwide, No. 10 at wide receiver and No. 3 in New Jersey within the 2025 cycle.
Per their bios on recruiting Web sites, Thomas, Jones and Stewart all hold numerous other high-major scholarship offers. Given that they’re juniors in high school, their recruitments could have a way to go, with more impressive offers likely on the way.