Syracuse football 3-star DB de-commits; SU 'in the thick of it' for former FSU pledge

Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff got busy on the recruiting trail this past weekend, landing three 2026 verbal commits and one 2027 verbal pledge.

Now, on Monday, Orange 2026 verbal commit Jaxson Gates, a three-star defensive back out of Damien High School in La Verne, Calif., said via his X page that he was de-committing from the 'Cuse. As always, I'm wishing nothing but great success to Jaxson moving forward!

Gates, who had verbally pledged to Syracuse football in late November of last year, was on an official visit to Big 12 Conference member BYU this past weekend, and the Cougars have buzz for him on the 247Sports Web site.

While Gates is moving on, two of the Orange's recent verbal commits in the 2026 class are from defensive backs, three-star Chase Geter of Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va., and Tyrell Grant Jr. of Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Va.

In June, to date, Syracuse football has scored at least nine 2026 verbal pledges. This class is up to at least 23 commitments and ranks No. 29 overall, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Also over the weekend, 2027 three-star defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery of Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia, who had been competing at an Orange camp, verbally committed to Syracuse football, which now has a quartet of three-star pledges in a 2027 cycle at No. 7 nationwide, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Syracuse football remains in pursuit of potential flip targets.

The 'Cuse 2026 class isn't necessarily done. Various recruits in this cycle are expected to make their college decisions soon, such as three-star tight end Julius Miles, four-star defensive back CJ Hester and five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell III, who all hail from the Sunshine State.

Three other 2026 targets to monitor include three-star offensive tackle Xavier Payne, who is originally from New York, four-star defensive back Tedarius Hughes and three-star defensive lineman Daryl Campbell. All three recently took official visits to the Orange.

Payne recently de-committed from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Florida State. Two potential destinations for him are the 'Cuse and Big 12 Conference member Colorado, where he also officially visited last week. Rivals.com national analyst John Garcia Jr. wrote on X that Syracuse football is "in the thick of it" for Payne.

Hughes, who is verbally pledged to Florida State, was impressed by the Orange on his official visit, although I don't get the sense that he's currently on "flip watch."

Campbell, a Vanderbilt verbal commit, posted a photo of his Syracuse football official visit via his Instagram page. I hadn't seen any media reports on him visiting Central New York ahead of this trip, so I'll be curious to see if the 'Cuse emerges as a significant contender for Campbell.