Syracuse football 'fighting very hard' for 5-star Javion Hilson, nation's No. 1 edge

In early December, 2025 five-star edge Javion Hilson from the Sunshine State is expected to make his college decision known, and the Syracuse football coaching staff is putting on the full-court press to prevail for the elite top-20 national prospect in the senior class.

Earlier this month, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound standout at Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Fla., took an official visit to the Hill, and he was in attendance as Syracuse football stormed back to beat Virginia Tech by seven points in overtime inside the JMA Wireless Dome.

Following that trip to Central New York, Hilson told Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney that he had a "great experience" on his official visit to the Orange program. Hilson also unofficially visited the 'Cuse this past April for the team's annual spring game.

Per Gorney, Hilson has a top four of Syracuse football, Texas, Texas A&M and Pittsburgh. According to recruiting services, Hilson has his commitment announcement scheduled for December 4.

Syracuse football is a significant contender for 2025 five-star edge Javion Hilson.

According to a separate article from Gorney, Hilson made a visit to Pittsburgh over the weekend. He has already visited Texas, and Hilson is eyeing a visit to Texas A&M toward the end of the month when the Aggies host the Longhorns.

For the time being, there are two projections in Texas' direction for Hilson on the On3 Web site, while I'm not seeing any analyst predictions for the moment on the 247Sports Web site or Rivals.com.

This week, Gorney wrote this in part: "The word is that Syracuse is fighting very hard for the five-star defensive end from Cocoa, Fla., and that he loved his recent visit to campus. ... Selling Hilson on being the guy and having an opportunity from Day 1 with a young, energetic coaching staff could be getting through but there might be some more work to do."

Within the 2025 class, both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking have Hilson in the top 50 overall. Rivals.com, currently, rates him at No. 16 nationally, No. 2 in Florida and No. 1 at edge.

Orange first-year head coach Fran Brown and his staff offered a scholarship to Hilson in January of this year. That same month, Hilson flipped his verbal commitment from Alabama to Florida State. However, in early September, Hilson said via his X page that he was de-committing from FSU and reopening his recruitment.

So far, the 'Cuse has secured at least 30 verbal pledges in its 2025 class, a cycle that is No. 35 around the country, per the 247Sports Composite. Naturally, Syracuse football coaches face steep competition for Hilson, but I credit the Orange staff for doing everything possible to land this top-flight prospect.