Syracuse football in top 2 for RB Kentrell Rinehart, who scored 46 TDs last season

Last Saturday, elite 2025 running back Kentrell Rinehart from Ohio was on the Hill taking an unofficial visit to Syracuse football as part of one of the team’s junior days.

According to several interviews he gave, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Rinehart’s visit to Central New York went quite well. Along with other 2025 targets on the SU campus, the three-star Rinehart was in attendance at the JMA Wireless Dome as Syracuse basketball defeated N.C. State and ‘Cuse legend Dave Bing was inducted into the SU Athletics Ring of Honor.

Following his visit to the Orange, Rinehart told SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister that Syracuse football is in his “top two as of now.”

It’s undeniable that this is highly encouraging for the Orange’s chances to prevail for Rinehart, although he does hold many other high-major offers, and his recruiting process could have a way to go.

On December 20 of last year, Rinehart said via his X page that he had received a scholarship offer from the ‘Cuse coaching staff.

Syracuse football recruit Kentrell Rinehart is a top-flight 2025 running back.

Rinehart put up a ridiculous junior season at Bishop Ready High School in Columbus, Ohio. According to a social media post, during the most recent 2023 stanza, he tallied 3,003 all-purpose yards and 46 all-purpose touchdowns over 12 games. That’s insane.

As a senior in the upcoming 2024 campaign, Rinehart has moved over to a nearby squad, Westland High School in Galloway, Ohio.

Per recruiting Web sites, he has amassed more than 20 scholarship offers from teams such as Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, N.C. State, Purdue and USF, among others

At this juncture, he is rated three stars by both 247Sports and Rivals.com. Within the 2025 cycle, 247Sports places Rinehart as the No. 51 running back and the No. 24 prospect in Ohio.

My sense is that as more recruiting services evaluate Rinehart, he will be ranked four stars and climb on a national scale and at the running-back position.

Regarding his recent visit to the ‘Cuse, he told analyst Charles Kang of The Juice Online, “I had a real good time. It opened my eyes for sure.”

Rinehart also said to McAllister, “Didn't know what to expect. Never really heard of Syracuse until (head) coach (Fran) Brown got hired and started making big hires and landing some real good players. Then getting to campus and seeing the energy they bring and how much they actually want me to come play there left me in awe.”

Orange coaches are pursuing a bevy of highly rated 2025 prospects, including Rinehart. The ‘Cuse got on the board in the junior cycle this past Saturday evening, securing a verbal commitment from four-star edge Sharlandiin Strange, a standout at Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pa., who picked Syracuse football over Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Southern California.