Syracuse Football: New 2026 3-star OL commit Steven Pickard Jr. is coming back home

Central New York native Steven Pickard Jr. is coming back home to play for Syracuse football in the future.

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Pickard, a 2026 three-star offensive lineman, was on the Hill this past weekend and announced his verbal commitment to the Orange on Saturday night via his X page.

First and foremost, a huge congrats and welcome from 'Cuse Nation to Steven, who had also visited the Orange before last weekend!

Pickard attends the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., which in the 2024 season sported a 7-2 overall record and was ranked No. 17 around the country, according to the MaxPreps Web site.

According to his bio on the primary recruiting Web sites, college squads that were showing an interest in Pickard at one time or another have included Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, South Carolina, UCF, Virginia, N.C. State, Clemson, Florida, Pittsburgh and USF.

Syracuse football continues to grow its 2026 cycle.

In several interviews with recruiting analysts, Pickard cited the leadership of Orange head coach Fran Brown among the key reasons why he verbally pledged to the 'Cuse.

Pickard said in part to top 247Sports analyst Mike McAllister, "Cuse has always been my home in my heart and I love coach Brown's leadership. I believe in what he is doing and I want to help Syracuse win a National Championship."

While Pickard has been playing prep football in the Sunshine State, he has numerous ties to Syracuse and Central New York. For example, top analyst Charles Kang of The Juice Online on the Rivals.com network wrote of Pickard, "Aside from being born in Syracuse and still having extended family that lives there, his mother is a graduate of the law school, his father and grandparents own business there, and his very first football game was at the Carrier Dome."

McAllister notes that Pickard can suit up at tackle, guard or center on the offensive line. With his pledge, Syracuse football now has at least eight verbal commitments in its 2026 class, which ranked No. 15 nationwide by the industry-generated 247Sports Composite when I wrote this article on Sunday afternoon.

The other seven verbal pledges in the Orange's 2026 cycle are three-star wide receiver BJ Garrett of Middletown High School in Middletown, Del., four-star offensive tackle Javeion Cooper of Melbourne Central Catholic in Melbourne, Fla., three-star athlete/linebacker Maurice Medley of the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, three-star athlete/defensive back Jaxson Gates of Damien High School in La Verne, Calif., three-star running back D'Antae Sheffey of Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Pa., three-star wide receiver Phoenix Henriquez of Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Del., and offensive lineman Jojo White of Camden High School in Camden, N.J.