The verbal commitments keep on coming for Syracuse football in its growing 2026 class.
On Tuesday, the Orange landed a verbal pledge from one of New Jersey's best players in the 2026 cycle, three-star athlete Zaiden McDonald.
A huge congrats and welcome from 'Cuse Nation to Zaiden, who revealed his commitment to Syracuse football on his X page!
AGTG!! Extremely excited to announce my commitment to SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY!🍊Blessed and thankful for this opportunity and looking forward to the next chapter of my Athletic and Academic Journey! @BigBody_Nas8 @FranBrownCuse @CuseFootball @SWiltfong_ @TheJuiceOnline… pic.twitter.com/2ypNIAtkcE
— Zaiden McDonald (@ZaidenMcdonald) March 31, 2025
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound McDonald, per media reports, is being recruited by the Orange staff as a linebacker/safety.
McDonald attends Malcolm X Shabazz High School in Newark, N.J. As we know well, head coach Fran Brown and several of his assistants hail from the Garden State, and New Jersey is a heavy recruiting focus for the 'Cuse program.
Brown and his staff re-offered McDonald on January 17, 2024. According to recruiting services, his scholarship offer list also included teams such as Boston College, Duke, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, among others.
After a talk with @FranBrownCuse, I am blessed to be Re-Offered by Syracuse University🍊 #Franchise @coachnazoliver @BigBody_Nas8 pic.twitter.com/p3wsU6buEB
— Zaiden McDonald (@ZaidenMcdonald) January 17, 2024
Syracuse football's 2026 class is highly rated.
Lately, Brown and his assistants are on a roll with their 2026 cycle, securing at least five verbal pledges over the last 10 days or so. In total, the Orange had 14 verbal commitments in this class when I wrote this piece, arriving in the top 10 nationally according to both Rivals.com and the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
Here are some of the latest 2026 ratings for new verbal pledge McDonald. The 247Sports Composite has him at No. 673 nationwide, No. 57 at safety and No. 12 in New Jersey.
Full Jr Season Highlights @BigBody_Nas8 @coachnazoliver https://t.co/0R7eJIs4CB pic.twitter.com/K0P9g22a4f
— Zaiden McDonald (@ZaidenMcdonald) December 8, 2024
The industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking, meanwhile, puts McDonald at No. 588 overall, No. 53 at safety and No. 10 in New Jersey.
Rivals.com has him as the No. 52 safety and the No. 11 player hailing from the Garden State within the 2026 cycle. Over at the 247Sports recruiting service, McDonald is No. 46 at safety and No. 12 in New Jersey.
See below for the geographic makeup at this juncture as it relates to Syracuse football's 2026 class:
Florida: 5 verbal commits
Delaware: 3 verbal commits
New Jersey: 2 verbal commits
California: 1 verbal commit
Maryland: 1 verbal commit
Pennsylvania: 1 verbal commit
North Carolina: 1 verbal commit
The fact that, already, the 'Cuse staff has five verbal pledges among high school juniors who come from Florida speaks to just how hard Syracuse football coaches are recruiting the Sunshine State these days.