Syracuse football made waves in Fran Brown’s first season as coach, notching a 10-win season and lighting up scoreboards with a prolific passing offense.
That momentum has continued heading into Brown’s second season.
The Orange landed a commitment on July 5 from wide receiver Calvin Russell, a four-star prospect from the class of 2026 who, if he signs, will be the third-highest-rated recruit that Syracuse has ever landed in 247Sports’ history.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Russell chose the Orange over his other finalists, Michigan, Oregon and Florida State.
A star at powerhouse Miami Northwestern High School, where he plays for former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, Russell is rated as a four-star prospect by 247’s composite rankings, which have him as the No. 47 overall prospect nationally in the 2026 class and the No. 5 wide receiver.
As a junior last season, Russell caught 39 passes for 704 yards and 13 touchdowns while helping lead Northwestern to a Florida 3A state title. He also averaged 21 points and seven rebounds per game as a sophomore for the school’s basketball team. According to ESPN, he is expected to ‘pursue the opportunity’ to play for the Orange’s men’s basketball team.
Russell becomes the 26th commitment in Syracuse’s 2026 recruiting class, which is ranked 20th nationally by 247 and fifth in the ACC.
In its first season under Brown, who arrived after two seasons as Georgia’s defensive backs coach, the Orange went 10-3, just its second 10-win season since 2002. Syracuse had finished with a losing record in eight of the previous 10 seasons.
The Orange finished 21st among 134 FBS programs in scoring offense, averaging 34.1 points per game, while quarterback Kyle McCord was the nation’s leading passer in his first and ultimately only season with the program, throwing for 4,779 yards.