A top national analyst says that he expects Syracuse football to score a top-10 wide receiver in the 2026 class soon.
John Garcia Jr., a national recruiting analyst with Rivals.com, published an article on June 5 where he discussed two Orange priority targets, four-star Messiah Hampton from New York and five-star Calvin Russell lll from Florida.
Both elite wide receivers have the 'Cuse among their small groups of finalists, and each top-flight prospect is expected to make his commitment announcement in the near future. Garcia, to that end, writes, "we're calling the shot for the Orange to snag one of these class headliners in the coming weeks."
Heck yeah.
Head coach Fran Brown and his staff have already secured at least 15 verbal pledges in their 2026 cycle, which is currently in the top 20, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. And those verbal commits include a four-star wide receiver and several three-star wide receivers.
At the same time, the 6-foot-1, 187-pound Hampton is a top-50 national prospect in the 2026 class, while the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Russell is in the top 25 overall of this cycle.
Syracuse football is in a great spot with two excellent 2026 wide receivers.
Hampton, an All-State first-team performer at James Monroe High School in Rochester, N.Y., has a top seven of the Orange, Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia and Miami. He plans to announce his college decision on June 13, and Hampton has been on an official visit to the 'Cuse.
Garcia says, "Messiah Hampton is a Rochester native, some 90 minutes from campus, and he has felt the press from Brown and company since they took over in Central New York. Oregon and Miami are the top contenders working on an upset ahead of a June 13 decision date."
Russell, a state champion in the 2024 season with Miami Northwestern Senior High School, has a top eight of Syracuse football, Miami, Oregon, Michigan, Florida State, Florida, LSU and North Carolina. While he isn't expected to officially visit the Orange before making his college decision known on July 5, Russell has unofficially visited the 'Cuse on several occasions.
Also an excellent hoops player, Russell has said on his Instagram page that he holds a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball, too. Garcia says prevailing over the Hurricanes, where Russell "has serious family ties," is a huge challenge, but Syracuse football is a legit threat to Miami in Russell's recruitment.
A couple of days ago, Garcia said of Russell's recruiting process to Syracuse.com's Brent Axe on the Syracuse Sports podcast, "It’s SU and it’s Miami to a degree."