Andre Clarke Jr. from Virginia, one of the top defensive backs/athletes in the 2026 class, recently named a top eight that includes Syracuse football, and he's also got an official visit to the Hill on the books.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Clarke, an elite cornerback/safety in the high school junior class, not too long ago disclosed a top eight of the Orange, Kentucky, Miami, SMU, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Florida State.
BREAKING: Class of 2026 4 ⭐️ Safety Andre Clarke Jr. ( @AndreClarkeJr3 ) Has cut his list down to 8️⃣ schools‼️
— Steezo (@SteezoDsgn) March 8, 2025
-
Andre Clarke is a 6’1 (170 LBS) Safety/CB out of Henrico, VA. Clarke ranks as the 7th recruit in Virginia and has a total of 31 offers. He currently has visits planned… pic.twitter.com/BNvDyrOgxB
Naturally, that list poses steep competition for 'Cuse head coach Fran Brown and his stellar staff. That being said, time and time again of late, Syracuse football is getting included in these sorts of list cuts by highly ranked prospects, which speaks to the Orange's recruiting prowess these days.
When I wrote this article, I didn't see any analyst predictions in Clarke's recruitment between the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com or the On3 Web site.
Syracuse football is in the mix for 2026 four-star defensive back Andre Clarke Jr.
Clarke, a standout at Hermitage High School in Henrico, Va., near Richmond, reportedly visited the Orange last April and picked up a scholarship offer from the 'Cuse that month, too. Earlier this year, during a contact recruiting period, the Syracuse football staff conducted an in-home visit with Clarke.
Not too long ago, he said via his X page that he's locked in an official visit to Central New York that will run from May 30 to June 1.
OV locked! @CuseFootball @FranBrownCuse @CoachDRedd pic.twitter.com/DwYEEWeHJM
— 4 ⭐️ Andre Clarke Jr 2026 ATH/DB (@AndreClarkeJr3) February 25, 2025
Within the 2026 class, Clarke is highly ranked by all the main recruiting services. Currently, ESPN is the most bullish on him, placing Clarke at No. 97 overall and No. 15 at cornerback.
At the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking both had Clarke in the top 200 nationwide, the top 15 at safety and within the top eight in Virginia.
To date, the Orange has secured at least 14 verbal pledges among high school juniors, a number that is near the top nationally in prep recruiting within this cycle.
The 'Cuse 2026 class is in the top 10 overall, at least for the time being, according to the 247Sports Composite and Rivals.com. Multiple verbal pledges to Syracuse football in the 2026 cycle have transpired over the past week or so.