Syracuse football crushing the recruiting trail, top NY prospect Caden Brown commits

It was two weeks ago that Fran Brown was formally introduced by SU Athletics as the new head coach of Syracuse football, replacing Dino Babers.

All Brown and his excellent coaching staff have done since then is pick up numerous commitments from college transfers as well as 2024 high school players, with the early signing period for prospects in the senior class set to arrive this Wednesday, Dec. 20.

One of the latest ‘Cuse pledges came, on Sunday night, from 2024 three-star edge Caden Brown, who announced his verbal commitment to Syracuse football via social media.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end, a high three-star prospect in his class, is deemed by recruiting services as a top-five player in New York state.

Brown’s dad, Alban Brown, suited up at linebacker for the Orange from 1987 to 1989.

Caden Brown, meanwhile, is a standout senior at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., which earlier this month claimed the New York City Public Schools Athletic League (“PSAL”) Class 4A championship.

Syracuse football has landed a verbal commitment from 2024 three-star edge Caden Brown.

This past weekend, Brown was one of roughly 20 prospects on the SU campus taking visits to the Orange, including college transfer targets, 2024 verbal commits, and high school recruits such as Brown.

In recent days, the ‘Cuse had been receiving some buzz on Rivals.com for Brown, so I wasn’t entirely surprised when he revealed his pledge to Syracuse football.

Several recruiting Web sites rate him as a top-50 edge in the 2024 class. Also, the industry-generated 247Sports and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking both have him as a top-800 overall player in the senior cycle, although candidly, I think that Brown is underrated on a national scale.

Beyond the Orange, his offer sheet included college teams such as Boston College, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Liberty, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Temple, Washington and West Virginia.

In an interview with SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, Brown said that he was “happy” to continue his dad’s legacy on the Hill.

Brown added, “I picked Syracuse because of my relationship with the coaches. Coach Fran, coach Elijah, coach Nick and coach Rob. They all are great and I feel a connection with them. I also chose Syracuse because my dad played here and I want to continue the legacy. Another reason is because I want to represent New York and New York City. I want to show players can make it out of New York and be successful. Especially out of New York City.”

It's been a whirlwind two weeks for Fran Brown and his staff on the recruiting trail. Besides Caden Brown, the ‘Cuse has picked up 2024 verbal commitments from three-star defensive end/tight end Jahide Lesaine Jr., four-star running back Yasin Willis, three-star wide receiver Jaylan Hornsby and four-star wide receiver Emanuel Ross.

Via the transfer portal, Syracuse football has secured pledges from three-star West Virginia freshman linebacker James Heard Jr., four-star Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord, four-star Georgia freshman wide receiver Yazeed Haynes and three-star Georgia junior wide receiver Jackson Meeks.