Syracuse football pursuing Alabama commit, a 4-star edge and top-40 national prospect

With the news a few days ago that the legendary Nick Saban is retiring as the head coach of Southeastern Conference powerhouse Alabama, teams across the country, including Syracuse football, are likely to make a run at current Crimson Tide players as well as high school prospects who are committed to Alabama.

Case in point, on Thursday, 2025 four-star edge and consensus top-100 national prospect Javion Hilson said via his X page that he had received a scholarship offer from the ‘Cuse coaching staff.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Hilson is a standout junior at Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Fla. You can check out some of his statistics via the MaxPreps Web site.

On December 8 of last year, he announced on his X page that he was verbally committed to Alabama. On January 10, the Crimson Tide athletics department announced that Saban was retiring after winning seven national titles throughout his collegiate coaching career, including six championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Syracuse football has extended an offer to 4-star edge Javion Hilson.

Per 247Sports, Hilson has landed more than 30 scholarship offers throughout his recruiting process from a range of high-major programs.

His offer sheet includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCF, USF and Western Kentucky, among others.

Orange head coach Fran Brown, most recently, was the defensive backs coach at Georgia. New ‘Cuse assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson previously served as the interim head coach and co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M.

Hilson is an elite prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. When I wrote this article on Friday morning, he was No. 32 nationally, No. 3 at the edge and No. 4 in Florida, per the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking.

On3 placed him at No. 36 overall, No. 2 at the edge and No. 3 in Florida.

Over at 247Sports, Hilson was rated No. 45 nationwide, No. 4 at the edge and No. 7 in Florida. The industry-generated 247Sports Composite placed him at No. 46 around the country, No. 7 at the edge and No. 6 in Florida.

ESPN, on a national scale, has Hilson at No. 93 overall, while he checks in at No. 94 nationwide, according to Rivals.com. Hilson also has arrived as the No. 5 weakside defensive end in his class, per Rivals.com.