Syracuse Football: Texas has analyst buzz for 5-star edge who plans to visit 'Cuse

Syracuse football is expected to get a visit in the coming months from 2025 five-star edge Javion Hilson, although another one of his suitors is garnering buzz from recruiting analysts.

Earlier this month, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Hilson, a consensus top-75 national prospect in the high school senior class, said via his X page that he was de-committing from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Florida State and reopening his recruitment.

In the wake of that announcement, On3 national recruiting expert Hayes Fawcett said in a post on X that Hilson planned to visit the Orange, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Michigan and possibly other college teams.

In recent days, On3 vice president of national college football recruiting and the transfer portal Steve Wiltfong logged a prediction in the direction of Southeastern Conference powerhouse Texas for Hilson, while assigning a confidence rating of 50 percent.

I'm not seeing any other official analyst projections for Hilson at this juncture, although several Rivals.com national experts recently discussed his recruitment as well.

Syracuse football is eyeing a visit at some point from 2025 five-star edge Javion Hilson.

A standout at Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Fla., Hilson is rated as high as No. 15 overall and No. 1 at the edge within the 2025 class by Rivals.com. He holds nearly 40 offers, per 247Sports, and the Orange staff offered a scholarship to Hilson this past January.

Rivals.com national analyst John Garcia Jr., in a recent story, wrote in part about Hilson: "The Longhorns are probably the team to view as the favorite going forward, but the senior is adamant about exploring several options as well as a December timeline" to make a college decision.

Garcia noted that Florida was expected to get Hilson on campus this past weekend, "and both Texas and Texas A&M have already locked in dates for a Hilson return as well."

Hilson had previously given a verbal pledge to Alabama before flipping to Florida State, and now his recruitment is back open. He unofficially visited the 'Cuse in April for the Orange's annual spring game.

In another recent piece, Garcia and fellow Rivals.com national analyst Sam Spiegelman both stated that they believe Texas is the current front-runner for Hilson.

Garcia wrote in part: "Many programs are pushing daily, but Texas has been in that boat for quite some time. The Longhorns' success on the field, recruiting in Florida and trajectory in the SEC have the program's recruiting trending in the right direction."

Spiegelman added in part: "Texas never took its foot off the gas with one of the best edge-rushers in Florida, which has been a rock-solid recruiting ground for (head coach) Steve Sarkisian's program over the past few cycles. Hilson is expected to take a closer look at several schools before making up his mind again, including these Longhorns. ... I like where Texas was sitting over the summer and even more so after his decommitment from the Seminoles."

It would be understandable if Hilson ultimately heads to Texas. The Longhorns are an elite national program, now compete in the loaded SEC, and have crushed things on the recruiting trail of late. That being said, Hilson does appear interested in Syracuse football, and I'll never count out head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff in a recruiting battle involving a premier high school prospect.