Syracuse Football: 'Cuse gets into fray for 4-star edge, top-50 national prospect

Syracuse football has gotten into the recruiting mix for one of the top overall players in the sophomore class.

According to his X page, on Monday, 2026 four-star edge and top-50 national prospect Jake Kreul from Florida said that he received a scholarship offer from the Orange staff, led by head coach and ace recruiter Fran Brown.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Kreul, who holds more than 20 offers in total per recruiting services, is a standout at Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando, Fla.

Virtually all of the main recruiting services, within his cycle, rate Kreul as a top-100 overall player and a top-10 edge around the country.

Syracuse football faces stiff competition for 2026 four-star edge Jake Kreul.

Per recruiting Web sites, beyond the 'Cuse, Kreul's offer sheet includes schools such as Duke, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Louisville, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Purdue, UCF, USF, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Oregon, Texas A&M, Penn State, Arkansas, Maryland and Miami, among others.

As a rising junior in high school, Kreul's recruiting process could have a way to go, with more big-time offers likely arriving his way. At the same time, it's encouraging and exciting that the Orange staff is making a run at this elite 2026 prospect.

When I wrote this article, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite placed Kreul at No. 50 nationally, No. 6 at edge and No. 7 in Florida. Via 247Sports, he's No. 56 overall, No. 7 at edge and No. 11 in Florida.

To date, Syracuse football has three verbal commits in its 2026 class, and two of those players hail from the Sunshine State.

These 'Cuse pledges are four-star athlete/defensive back Demetres Samuel Jr. of Heritage High School in Palm Bay, Fla., five-star linebacker/edge Izayia Williams of Tavares High School in Tavares, Fla., and four-star running back D'Antae Sheffey of Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Pa.

At the time of this writing, the Orange's three-member 2026 cycle ranked No. 3 around the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Since Brown officially took over the Syracuse football program in late December of last year, he and his top-notch staff have focused their recruiting efforts across the 2024, 2025 and 2026 classes in traditional hotbeds such as New Jersey, New York, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the Philadelphia region, and the rest of the Northeast corridor.

At the same time, Brown and his assistants have a lot of recruiting momentum these days in numerous other states, such as Florida, Ohio, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, among others.