Syracuse Football: Analyst predictions for 5-star, 4-star recruits - and not to 'Cuse

In recent days, analysts on Rivals.com have logged predictions for a Syracuse football five-star recruit and two four-star targets.

Those projections are not in the Orange's direction, by the way.

Now, this doesn't mean that the 'Cuse can't prevail for these highly ranked prospects, because analyst predictions are often, but not always, accurate.

In any event, the three Orange targets whom I'm referring to in this column are 2025 five-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. from Florida, 2025 four-star athlete/wide receiver Jeff Exinor Jr. from Maryland, and 2025 four-star quarterback Malik Washington, who is also from Maryland.

All of them have unofficially visited the Syracuse football program at least once. Exinor and Washington are scheduled to officially visit the 'Cuse in June.

Highly rated Syracuse football recruits have analyst buzz, but not in the Orange's favor.

In the case of the 5-foot-10, 172-pound Watkins, there is at least one prediction in the direction of Southeastern Conference school Ole Miss for him on Rivals.com.

Watkins, a standout at the First Baptist Academy in Naples, Fla., visited the Orange in late March. He is a top-15 national prospect in the 2025 class, per Rivals.com, and Watkins received a scholarship offer from the 'Cuse on December 26, 2023.

Rivals.com national analyst John Garcia Jr. recently discussed Watkins' recruitment in this article, and the expert did note that Watkins was impressed on his visit to Central New York.

Fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Virginia Tech is getting some decent analyst buzz on Rivals.com for both the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Exinor and the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Washington.

When I wrote this column on Friday night, I counted at least four projections for Virginia Tech in Exinor's recruitment. The Hokies also had at least three predictions in their direction for Washington.

Exinor, a star at the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md., was re-offered a scholarship by the new Syracuse football staff on December 12 of last year. The top-300 national prospect is planning to officially visit the Orange during the weekend that begins on June 14.

Washington, a top-200 overall player and an elite signal-caller at the Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Md., was re-offered by 'Cuse coaches in mid-December of 2023. He is slated to take an official visit to the Syracuse football program during the weekend that starts June 7.

While the current analyst predictions for Exinor and Washington lie elsewhere, national experts have said in recent months that they view the Orange among a small group of significant contenders for each of these talented 2025 targets. We'll have to see how this all shakes out.

At the time of this writing, Syracuse football had secured at least 18 verbal pledges in its 2025 class, with the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and Rivals.com ranking this 'Cuse cycle in the top 10 around the country.