Syracuse Football: Number of 4-star, top-200 players visiting ‘Cuse mighty impressive

I’ll readily admit that when it comes to Syracuse football recruiting efforts, or that of its peers in the Atlantic Coast Conference and around the country, what matters the most is picking up commitments.

In the end, that’s what counts.

However, at the same time, one can’t help but feel excited about what the Orange staff, led by head coach Fran Brown, is doing on the recruiting trail.

Brown & Co. officially took over the program in early December in 2023 and went right to work assembling a strong 2024 class consisting of some highly ranked high school seniors and college transfers.

The ‘Cuse recruiting focus, more recently, has turned to the 2025, 2026 and 2027 classes. Lately, the Orange, if we’re talking about the high school junior cycle, has made numerous list cuts of top-flight targets.

By extension, in both the 2025 and 2026 classes, Syracuse football coaches are scoring a lot of unofficial and official visits from four-star prospects, many of whom are ranked in the top 300 nationally, or even higher than that.

To reiterate, we’ll have to see if Orange coaches will end up landing commitments from some of these visitors, but either way, it’s still exciting to see these developments occurring for the ‘Cuse as the 2024 season inches closer.

Syracuse football has a lot of four-star players visiting soon.

What follows below is a look at some various 2025 and 2026 four-star recruits who either have visited lately or will make trips to the Hill in the coming weeks or months.

I have to preface that this list isn’t meant to be exhaustive. Additionally, there are talented three-star and even unranked high school prospects who, too, expect to visit Central New York soon.

•Newly minted four-star, top-25 quarterback Luke Carney, a prolific 2025 signal-caller out of the Dallas Christian School in Mesquite, Texas, will visit on March 22.

•2025 four-star, top-25 running back Antwan Raymond, who hails from Montreal and most recently played at the Clearwater Academy International in Clearwater, Fla., will visit on March 23.

•Winston Watkins Jr., a five-star wide receiver and a top-15 national prospect in the 2025 cycle who stars for the First Baptist Academy in Naples, Fla., will visit on March 27.

•On April 2, the Orange will get a visit from 2026 four-star offensive tackle and top-100 national prospect Darius Gray, a sophomore All-American out of the St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, Va.

•2026 four-star running back Javian Mallory of West Boca Raton Community High School in Boca Raton, Fla., plans to visit the weekend of April 12-14.

•2025 four-star athlete and top-200 overall player Messiah Delhomme of Warwick High School in Newport News, Va., will visit on April 13.

•2025 four-star wide receiver Carl Jenkins Jr. of St. Augustine High School in St. Augustine, Fla., will visit April 13.

•2025 four-star offensive tackle and top-100 national prospect Jaelyne Matthews of Toms River High School North in Toms River, N.J., who has the Orange in his top six, will officially visit the weekend of May 31. By the way, a few days ago, Rivals.com national analyst Adam Friedman discussed Matthews’ upcoming trip to Syracuse football.

•2025 four-star running back and top-150 national prospect John Forster of the Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., will officially visit on June 7.

•2025 four-star athlete/wide receiver and top-200 national prospect Jeff Exinor Jr. of the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md., will officially visit the weekend of June 14.

•Multiple other ‘Cuse 2025 targets will officially visit the weekend of June 14. They include four-star, top-25 running back Kentrell Rinehart of Westland High School in Galloway, Ohio, who has Syracuse football among his small group of finalists, and four-star cornerback/athlete Dawayne Galloway Jr., a top-100 overall player out of Marion-Franklin High School in Columbus, Ohio, who has the Orange in his top 12.

•I’d also point out that, earlier this month, 2025 four-star wide receiver and return man Vernell Brown III, a top-60 national prospect out of Jones High School in Orlando, Fla., visited the ‘Cuse. He has Syracuse football in his top 11.

•To date, the Orange has one pledge in its 2025 class. In late January of this year, four-star edge and top-300 national prospect Sharlandiin Strange of Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pa., verbally committed to Syracuse football over other finalists Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Southern California.