Rochester, N.Y., product Messiah Hampton, the long-time Syracuse football 2026 priority target, comes off the board on Friday.
Well, at least he will announce his verbal commitment to one of his seven finalists, including the Orange program. Even if the 6-foot-1, 187-pound Hampton doesn't choose the 'Cuse on Friday, I'm highly confident that head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff will continue to recruit him hard until pen is put to paper during the early signing period later this year or amid the traditional signing period in early 2026.
Hampton, a fast-rising four-star wide receiver and top-50 national prospect in the 2026 cycle, has a top seven of Syracuse football, Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Miami.
I've read a lot of comments from national recruiting analysts regarding Hampton's recruitment in recent months. What I've discovered is that various teams, throughout his recruiting process, have held buzz for New York's No. 1 rising senior.
Coming into his Friday decision, the two suitors that I'm hearing have the most buzz for Hampton are Big Ten Conference powerhouse Oregon and the Orange. Take it for what it's worth.
Syracuse football will soon know if it has won the recruiting sweepstakes for 4-star WR Messiah Hampton.
Hampton will announce his commitment on Friday around 12 pm with the On3 media outlet. Here's a link to the YouTube page for his college decision.
In reviewing the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com and the On3 Web site on Thursday night, the analyst buzz was definitely in the direction of the Ducks, so that leads me to believe that Hampton is likely headed out west.
At the same time, these recruiting predictions aren't always 100 percent accurate, so let's see how this all shakes out. Plus, even if Oregon prevails now, Brown and his assistants will probably do their best to try and flip Hampton between now and the early/traditional signing period.
Hampton did recently take an official visit to the Hill. Rivals.com national analyst John Garcia Jr. recently said that he believes the 'Cuse has a good shot at winning out for Hampton, who in the 2024 season was an All-State first-team performer at James Monroe High School in Rochester.
Lately, recruiting experts have opined that Hampton's strong relationship with Oregon wide receivers coach Ross Douglas will prove tough for any other suitor to overcome, including the 'Cuse, where Douglas held the same position in 2024 before heading to the Ducks.
Should the analyst buzz prove true, and Hampton chooses Oregon, I'll be bummed, but not entirely surprised. And the signing periods are a long ways away from now.