Syracuse Football: 4-star, top-10 national cornerback puts ‘Cuse among his finalists

Consensus four-star junior Ben Hanks Jr. from Florida, one of the top cornerbacks across the country in the 2025 class, is turning his attention to a group of schools that includes Syracuse football.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds on the 247Sports Web site, Hanks has accumulated nearly 30 scholarship offers from a range of high-major programs throughout his recruiting process.

However, per a post on X from 247Sports national analyst Tom Loy, Hanks has whittled down his list of contenders to 10 suitors, although one of those schools has yet to be determined.

According to Loy, Hanks’ other nine suitors in the running are Georgia, Miami, Florida State, Louisville, Central Florida, Florida Atlantic, Nebraska, the Orange and Southern California.

Syracuse football has scored the top 10 of four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr.

Hanks said via his X page on December 18 of last year that he had picked up a scholarship offer from the new ‘Cuse coaching staff, led by head coach and ace recruiter Fran Brown.

Hanks is a standout junior at Booker T. Washington Senior High School in Miami. You can check out some of his statistics during the 2023 season at Booker T. Washington via the MaxPreps Web site.

When I wrote this article, both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking placed Hanks in the top 175 nationally, the top 25 at cornerback and the top 25 in Florida within the 2025 cycle.

Currently, 247Sports is the most bullish on him, ranking Hanks at No. 71 nationwide, No. 8 at cornerback and No. 12 in Florida within his class.

If you want to read an evaluation of Hanks by 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins from last October, please click here. I’ll be curious to see whether Hanks takes a visit to the Hill in the future, as that would be important for the Orange’s chances in his recruitment.

To date, Syracuse football coaches have one pledge in their 2025 cycle. In late January, four-star edge and top-300 national prospect Sharlandiin Strange of Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pa., verbally committed to the Orange over Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Southern California.

In recent days, the ‘Cuse has made list cuts of several highly ranked targets in the junior class.

Four-star Ty Jackson from Florida, a top-20 national prospect and the country's No. 1 linebacker according to several recruiting services, included Syracuse football in his top 10. He attends Seminole Ridge Community High School in Loxahatchee, Fla.

Four-star wide receiver and return man Vernell Brown III of Jones High School in Orlando, Fla., who recently soared into the top 60 overall in the 2025 class per Rivals.com, has the ‘Cuse in his top 11, according to a post on his X page not too long ago.

Late last week, four-star cornerback/athlete Dawayne Galloway Jr. of Marion-Franklin High School in Columbus, Ohio, unveiled a top 12 that included Syracuse football. He is a top-100 national prospect in the junior cycle.