The vast majority of recruiting services have Syracuse football five-star commit Calvin Russell lll inside the top 50 of the 2026 class. In fact, some recruiting Web sites have this top-flight wide receiver in the top 30 nationally.
But not Rivals. When it updated its 2026 rankings earlier this week, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Russell checked in at No. 157 overall, No. 19 at wide receiver and No. 18 in Florida. Naturally, he's four stars via Rivals, not five stars.
Recruiting rankings are somewhat subjective and have to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. Still, No. 157 is a huge disparity from where other recruiting Web sites have Russell, at least for the time being.
For context, these are his 2026 rankings from other primary recruiting services:
247Sports
Five stars, No. 22 overall, No. 3 at wide receiver and No. 3 in Florida
ESPN
Four stars, No. 28 overall, No. 4 at wide receiver and No. 5 in Florida
247Sports Composite (composite)
Four stars, No. 51 overall, No. 5 at wide receiver and No. 6 in Florida
Rivals Industry Ranking (composite)
Four stars, No. 36 overall, No. 4 at wide receiver and No. 5 in Florida.
Syracuse football commit Calvin Russell lll's national ranking from Rivals is an outlier.
To be fair, as other recruiting services update their 2026 ratings, Russell could see his rankings fall more in line with where Rivals has him. Maybe. Maybe not. I'm an acknowledged homer, but I can't envision there are 18 better wide receivers than Russell in the senior cycle.
Russell is a senior at Miami Northwestern Senior High School, which won a state title in Florida last year. The Bulls are 2-1 so far in the current campaign, and Russell appears to be dealing with some kind of injury.
Russell verbally committed to the 'Cuse in early July over other finalists Florida State, Michigan and Oregon. Analysts continue to maintain that he's a flip target ahead of December's early signing period for the 2026 class.
Yes, Russell has taken two game-day visits to the Miami Hurricanes in the 2025 season, but he's also from Miami, and one of his best friends plays for the Hurricanes. Russell has said he's locked in with the Orange. He and his family are extremely close with Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown.
I've been told that Russell is expected to suit up for Syracuse basketball as well, at least in his freshman campaign. He is Syracuse football's highest-rated commit in 2026, a class that has 29 verbal pledges and is No. 26 overall, per the 247Sports Composite.