Syracuse football fans are expected to soon find out whether their program has prevailed in the recruiting sweepstakes for 2026 four-star defensive back and top-125 national prospect CJ Hester, who won a state title as a junior last year.
Initially, the word was that the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Hester would announce his college decision on July 1, but now the chatter is that he's shifted to a commitment announcement date of July 3.
Either way, I do not expect the Orange to hear its name called whenever this top-flight defensive back reveals his future collegiate home. That being said, the early signing period for 2026 prospects is a few months away, so look for 'Cuse head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff to potentially continue to pursue Hester even if he verbally pledges elsewhere this week.
While I don't envision Hester picking Syracuse football, he has said a lot of positive things about Brown and his program in various interviews, and his recent official visit to the Hill went quite well.
Syracuse football is not projected to land 2026 4-star DB CJ Hester.
Hester is a standout rising senior at Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Fla., which won a state championship in the 2024 season. The Orange staff has recruited the Sunshine State extremely hard across its 2025, 2026 and 2027 cycles, with great success so far, I might add.
Hester has a final six of the 'Cuse, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Miami. The Gators have been the presumed "leader" for a while now, per some national analysts. However, Hester also raved about his official visit to Iowa, and in recent weeks, following his official visit to Georgia, the Bulldogs appeared to have closed the gap with Florida.
If I had to venture a guess, I'd still go with the Gators winning out for Hester, but it also wouldn't surprise me if he does choose Georgia, where Brown was the defensive backs coach immediately prior to joining the Orange as its head coach in the 2024 campaign.
Hester did recently say that he didn't necessarily have a No. 1 suitor in his recruitment, and that some of his finalists were "on even playing field." Even with that comment, I don't envision Syracuse football as his pick. I hope that I'm wrong.
On Monday, the Orange's 2026 cycle grew to at least 25 pledges after three-star defensive lineman Walt Frazier of The Haverford School near Philadelphia announced his verbal commitment to the 'Cuse. This Syracuse football cycle, inside the top 30 overall, includes a handful of Florida-based prospects.