With Ross-Simmons’ status looming, Syracuse seeks new options in WR room
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
The Justus Ross-Simmons saga will majorly impact whether Syracuse football stays afloat this season.
For a while, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the receiver exhausted his eligibility after a productive, yet injury-riddled 2025 campaign with the Orange. Then, reports surfaced that Ross-Simmons was working on a return upon the court injunction in Colorado granting class of 2022 athletes a fifth year of eligibility. Ross-Simmons even began practicing with SU on Aug. 18.
Naturally, everything is up in the air again after that injunction was halted by the court Friday. The decision deems Ross-Simmons ineligible again, pending appeals of Friday’s ruling or his joining of an independent lawsuit. He’s remained a consistent locker room voice but hasn’t practiced since.
Ross-Simmons wins jump balls with ease, but that isn’t the only reason he’s vital to Syracuse’s hopes of a revival season. He’d instantly become SU’s most experienced pass catcher. Unless Ross-Simmons returns, the Orange will lose their top seven leading receivers from last year via the transfer portal and NFL Draft.
But even he wouldn’t completely solve SU’s wideout issue. Syracuse simply lacks experience. The 10 returners who caught a pass last year combined for 349 yards. If the Orange want to rebound from their 3-9 campaign, they need serviceable options from returners and portal additions so Steve Angeli has open targets, especially if Ross-Simmons can’t play.
For now, Fran Brown remains optimistic.
“(Wide receivers coach Josh) Gattis, (offensive quality control coach Deon) Maddox, they’ve been huge help for us in that room in lifting the mindset of the room and shifting the culture to what our whole team’s culture is,” SU’s head coach said Monday. “They got them all on the right page and right path to be successful.”
Zoey Grimes | Design Editor
Of Syracuse’s departures, none hurt more than Johntay Cook II and Darrell Gill Jr. After finishing 2025 as SU’s top two receivers, with 549 and 506 yards, respectively, they both transferred to Ole Miss. Starting tight end Dan Villari graduated and signed with the Los Angeles Rams, leaving another position to fill. Meanwhile, Emanuel Ross left for UConn and Jaylan Hornsby went to Purdue. Both may have seen bigger workloads if they stayed with SU.
Despite the group’s overhaul, Brown continues pouring confidence into it. He understands the departures — especially after a three-win year — but likes what he has.
“I think that the team that we have now is a better fit for us,” Brown said at the start of camp. “I’m not upset about any of them leaving. I’m actually happy that they’re comfortable and happy being in another place.”
But without Ross-Simmons, the room looks like a smattering of unproven transfers and inexperienced returners. That’s not to say Brown and Gattis can’t find success with them, though.
Darien Williams, Tyshawn Russell and Darius Johnson could take that step up this year. Sixth-year Umari Hatcher provides a veteran presence and previously showed flashes for SU, though he’s returning from a season-ending injury.
The former three are back for their second year with the Orange after being buried in the rotation behind Gill, Cook and Ross-Simmons in 2025. Johnson and Williams were three-star high school prospects, while Russell received the same grade as a South Carolina transfer.
Gattis likes what he’s seen from Russell during camp, saying he dealt with “confidence issues” last season. Russell appeared in three games before missing the rest of the year with an injury. But Gattis didn’t shy away from calling him “one of the most talented players we have.”
“He has played college football but not a significant portion, so this offseason was just about believing in him,” Gattis said on Aug. 12. “We wanted him to know that he needed to believe in himself just as much as we believed in him, and once he did that, his talent really showed up.”
The most intriguing confirmed return — if you want to call it that — is Demetres Samuel Jr. Samuel played both sides of the ball last year but spent significantly more time at corner, as is expected from one of the team’s best defenders. He hauled in just one 10-yard catch.
Elijah Moore participates in drills during Syracuse’s preseason practice on Aug. 24. Moore totaled five catches for 69 yards across the last two years at Florida State. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
Samuel said at Atlantic Coast Conference Media Day in July that he expects to “make some plays on offense and defense” this year, and Gattis echoed that sentiment.
“He’s a full-time corner, but he has such a skill set with his speed and his athleticism with the ball in his hands, so we want to use as many playmakers as we can on offense,” Gattis said.
The returners will pair with three portal additions — Matt Outten (Penn State), Cole Weaver (Miami Ohio) and Elijah Moore (Florida State).
Weaver is the most experienced of the three, compiling 45 catches and 642 yards last year for the RedHawks, while Moore has only caught five collegiate passes.
Outten didn’t play last season for PSU, but Syracuse recruited him two years ago while he was in high school, and he quickly committed out of the portal. Offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon said the Orange plan to use him all over the field, comparing his usage to CeeDee Lamb taking handoffs at Oklahoma from 2017-19. Weaver called Outten a “do-it-all player,” lining up in the backfield often during camp.
“I think the best thing that we have about this receiver room is guys are versatile,” Angeli said Tuesday. “They do a bunch of different things really well. (Hatcher’s) speed is unreal. It’s a big (asset) for us. I think Cole (Weaver) does a great job in 50/50s.”
The group’s chemistry has been consistent throughout camp, with many describing the unit as one of the program’s closest. Brown appointed Hatcher as the group’s “leader” Monday, saying he holds youngsters accountable.
The bonds make the room competitive, Gattis said, which could weed out consistent starters as the year persists.
Though at the end of the day, Syracuse is taking a gamble with its wide receivers, especially as Ross Simmons’ status remains undetermined. Chemistry will only do so much when it’s staring down Clemson or Notre Dame in the JMA Wireless Dome.
It just needs a few of them to be a hit.
