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Led by second-year head coach Fran Brown, Syracuse football made big strides in recruiting this summer.

Since May, the Orange have landed verbal commitments from 16 prospects in the class of 2026. Wide receiver Calvin Russell chose Syracuse in July, becoming its third five-star commit in program history. Equipped with 28 commitments, the class is now ranked 23rd in the nation. It’s SU’s best recruiting class since 1999, per 247Sports, and commits are confident in how it’s shaping up.

“We have a national championship caliber team in this class,” SU 2026 punter commit Jimmy Gregg said. “Whether that may be our sophomore, junior or senior year, even our freshman year, we’re going to have a team that is capable of going super deep.”

Brown’s coaching staff also made progress in the 2027 class. The Orange landed three-star defensive lineman Stanley Montgomery, adding to their growing haul while also gaining momentum in several other 2027 prospects’ recruitments.

Here’s a breakdown of how Syracuse has shaped its 2026 and 2027 classes over the last four months:

Big splashes at 2026 WR position

Before Russell committed, Syracuse landed a pledge from four-star wide receiver Amare Gough on May 10. The Virginia native joined wide receiver commits Phoenix Henriquez, Darnell Stokes and BJ Garrett in SU’s 2026 class, who all hail from Delaware.

Syracuse 2026 4 star WR in his HS senior season. https://t.co/bWoJ1nqckk

— Tim Wilcox (@TimmyWilcox32) August 22, 2025

Gough’s decision made him Syracuse’s highest-rated commit of its 2026 class at the time. His commitment came a few months after SU hired former NFL player Myles White as its passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Gough connected with White, who’s one of the younger coaches on Brown’s staff.

“Being that he’s young, it feels like I’ve built a closer relationship with him because I can relate to him,” Gough said about the 35-year-old coach.

White visited Gough at Thomas Jefferson High School (Virginia) and spoke with him weekly. Gough said he felt like he was truly wanted.

“The relationship was not just with the receiver coach,” Gough said. “Coach Fran had multiple coaches calling me, the quarterback coach, the linebacker coach, the special teams coordinator, the (defensive back) coach. That’s what really stood out to me.”

On July 5, Russell committed to the Orange, bolstering SU’s highly-rated receiver haul. The Florida native is ranked a 0.9825 grade by 247Sports Composite, making him the third-highest-rated commit in program history.

Bolstering the 2026 offensive line

Early in the 2026 recruiting cycle, Syracuse landed four-star lineman Javeion Cooper and three-stars Jojo White and Steven Pickard Jr. The Orange continued adding to the group of linemen this summer.

Shemaj Henry was the first prospect to pledge to Syracuse this summer, announcing his commitment on May 3. The Pennsylvania native stands at 6-foot-8 and with a three-star rating, per 247Sports. Similarly to Gough, he also kept in constant contact with SU’s coaching staff.

“When I got the offer, all the coaching staff started reaching out to me and checking on me every single day until my commitment,” Henry said.

About a month later, 2026 offensive lineman Brayden Charney committed to the Orange. His recruitment was one of the fastest in the class, as he pledged to SU just one day after receiving his offer. He became SU’s sixth Sunshine State commit, joining Cooper and Pickard Jr.

Syracuse 2026 OL commit Steven Pickard Jr. (No. 56) delivered a key block on this IMG TD. https://t.co/tunPlCj9tu

— Tim Wilcox (@TimmyWilcox32) August 23, 2025

In July, Syracuse also flipped Roseby Lubintus from Penn State. The three-star had been pledged to the Nittany Lions since April and was one of many recruits who attended Syracuse’s upset win over Miami in November 2024.

Now, SU has six offensive line commits in its 2026 class, led by Cooper and Lubintus, who are each rated at least an 88.0 grade by 247Sports Composite.

“It’s gonna be a tough group,” Henry said. “We’re gonna have to compete for our spots.”

Syracuse added the nation’s No. 1 ranked 2026 punter this summer in Jimmy Gregg. Courtesy of Jimmy Gregg

Key 2026 special teams adds

Syracuse added two special teams weapons this summer in Gregg and kicker Shay Barker. Gregg, the No. 1 punter in the nation, was first to commit on June 16.

The Morgantown, West Virginia, native held offers from West Virginia, NC State and Purdue, but Brown recruited him differently, Gregg said.

“Nobody else at that point in my recruitment had been like, ‘I just got done watching your film,’” Gregg said. “He doesn’t have to watch that, he’s in the middle of spring ball. He went out of his way to just do that.”

During Gregg’s unofficial visit to campus on March 28, he went to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que with current SU punter Jack Stonehouse. As they got to know each other, Gregg discovered he wanted to model his mentality after Stonehouse’s, he said.

“He helped with my decision a lot, seeing how he felt as a player, not just as somebody that they’re trying to get me to listen to,” Gregg said. “He gave me his honest opinion, so I really appreciated that.”

Barker, rated as a five-star by Kohl’s Kicking, announced his commitment to SU on June 22. He became the fifth Pennsylvania native to commit to the Orange’s class.

Gregg said he speaks with Barker “all the time,” and that he’ll be able to relate to him as an incoming freshman in 2026. The two are the first special teams players to commit to Syracuse since it hired Ricky Brumfield as its special teams coordinator on Feb. 7.

“It’s really uncommon to see schools replace both in one recruiting cycle, and I’m really glad that they have enough faith in me and Shay to be the future of the program in such a critical role,” Gregg said.

2027 class starts to form

Montgomery’s pledge on June 22 made him Syracuse’s fourth commit in the 2027 class. He became the Orange’s first defensive line addition and is tied with Travis Miles as the highest-ranked commit in the class, according to 247Sports Composite.

Athlete Tank White was the first verbal commit in SU’s 2027 class, announcing his decision on June 7, 2024. Quarterback Justin Dixon became the class’s second commit on Nov. 30, 2024, the same day the Orange upset Miami.

Other 2027 prospects are in close communication with SU’s coaching staff. Four-star offensive tackle Terrance Smith — a top-150 player in the class — included Syracuse in his top 12 finalists. Meanwhile, KJ Caldwell, one of the top safety prospects in the 2027 cycle, included the Orange in his top 10.

More prospects will be releasing their top school lists throughout the year. Until then, Syracuse will invite prospects to its games to gain momentum in its recruitments. Four-star wide receiver Nick Lennear is among the players set to visit campus this season.

Plus, players like Henry are pushing their high school teammates to follow them to Syracuse. After cornerback Sire Hall received his first Power Four offer from the Orange this summer, Henry said he acquired some SU merchandise.

Published on August 24, 2025 at 7:42 pm
Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32