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When Fran Brown first saw Calvin Russell III play basketball, the Syracuse football head coach knew Russell needed to explore the sport at the next level. As Chanivia Broussard, Russell’s mother, remembers it, Russell just dropped 39 points and 12 rebounds for Miami Northwestern (Florida) in his junior campaign.

Brown spoke with the family postgame and passionately told Russell to pursue basketball and football in college. Russell was already planning on it. Brown then told him he could participate in both with the Orange, adding he’d call men’s basketball head coach Adrian Autry to set things up. Autry had already traveled to Florida and watched Russell the year prior.

The wheels were then in motion for Russell to become a two-sport athlete at Syracuse.

“Everything aligned perfectly for us,” Broussard said.

As a five-star and the No. 2 wide receiver in the country, Russell is Syracuse’s best football recruit in the modern era. He’s primed to be a key contributor out of the gate on the gridiron, but his introduction to the college sports world will be as an SU basketball player.

The Daily Orange reported on Jan. 6 that Russell would be joining the Orange’s basketball team this spring while enrolling early with the football team. Syracuse Athletics confirmed the report Sunday, and Russell was available Tuesday against Florida State to kickstart his two-sport college career.

“I think his ceiling for a football player is higher than his ceiling for a basketball player. Right now, he’s probably a more polished basketball player,” Russell’s agent Justin J. Giangrande said.

Russell moved into SU on Jan. 8. The Orange football squad’s early enrollees first reported on Jan. 10 and began camp on Jan. 11. He said basketball will be his priority in the present, and expects to participate in spring practice for football when the time comes. Russell sat on the bench in a sweatsuit between fellow freshmen Aaron Womack and Luke Fennell for most of the game.

Broussard’s prolific basketball career began in the early 2000s at Miami, where she was inducted into its sports Hall of Fame in 2018. She said Russell doesn’t like to be overshadowed by her success and enjoys choosing his own direction. When comparing their games, Broussard said they similarly attack the ball with aggression. She believes her son is “a little better at basketball than football.”

“With basketball, it comes quite natural to him. It’s like a family, household thing,” Broussard said.

38 Points 19 Rebounds in the Regional QuarterFinals, Yall Hate To See It But Its All In Your Face!! pic.twitter.com/OahPQOIvAb

— Calvin Russell Dual Sport Ath (@14gump_) February 13, 2025

Russell is left-handed and played every position through his youth career, per his Mater Academy coach Corey Stephens. Stephens considers Russell a “tweener” at the next level, with an ability to play the 2, 3 or 4 and shoot from the outside. Russell is listed at 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, according to SU.

For football, Russell received offers from most of the top schools in the country. Giangrande said Russell received approximately 20 offers to play college basketball, and other schools also offered him to immediately jump onto their roster this spring.

Russell didn’t go to the popular recruiting hotbed basketball tournaments once he entered high school because they often interfered with his participation in hurdles and high jump for the Bulls’ track team, Broussard said. His basketball recruiting kickstarted with Dusty May, then the head coach at Florida Atlantic. Before May took over Michigan’s program, Russell caught his eye while recruiting a teammate. When May moved to the Wolverines, he stayed in contact with Russell and offered him again.

Rivals South Florida Recruiting Analyst Marcus Benjamin said a reason why Miami didn’t make his top four — Syracuse, Michigan, Oregon and Florida State — was due to its basketball program not recruiting him heavily. Per Benjamin, Russell considered the Hurricanes near signing day as he watched one of his best friends, Malachi Toney, become a superstar in his freshman year. But Russell signed with the Orange, sticking to the plan.

“When they were looking at schools, football, I would say, is the primary,” Giangrande said. “But then the thought process is that basketball is a close second.”

Excelling at both sports at a Division I level will be a balancing act. However, Russell has already balanced the two for most of his life. With 7-on-7 leagues for football, Russell usually trained for basketball on weekdays and played football on the weekends, Stephens said.

Another one of Russell’s youth coaches, Kolby Brown, added Russell frequently came straight from a summer football practice to basketball camps for Shahbaz Elite AAU, run by Kolby and Russell’s father (Calvin Russell Jr.), known as Yak. Russell wouldn’t have time to warm up but still performed well on the court, Kolby added. Broussard said the biggest struggle between the two sports is getting in “basketball shape” conditioning-wise and refinding his shot.

Russell found his way to Syracuse through his connection with the football program, but he’s made sacrifices for basketball before. 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins said Russell was set to attend the 2025 Navy All-American Bowl as an underclassman but backed out at the last minute due to a conflict with Miami Northwestern’s basketball schedule. The Bulls went on to win the Greater Miami Athletic Conference Championship as Russell averaged over 15 points per game.

While Brown’s relationship with the star recruit was a driving force in his eventual signing, Autry also played a large role. When Russell went on his official visit to Syracuse on Halloween, Broussard said they attended an SU men’s basketball practice.

Autry described Russell as a physical guy who would bring energy to practice and “figure things out” as time went on. Broussard said Autry has called “plenty of times” over the last few weeks in anticipation of Russell joining the roster.

“We met with the Syracuse basketball staff every time we went to Syracuse. Every time we were there, (Autry) made himself present,” Broussard said. “He made sure that we knew Calvin was wanted.”

As a youth player, Russell improved on the court with the Up-Ward Bound Titans and Shahbaz Elite. Once he reached eighth grade, Russell played for Mater Academy’s varsity squad and averaged 12.8 points per game and 8.8 rebounds. By then, he was already tall and skinny with broad shoulders, but played at the level of a 10th grader, Stephens said.

He noted that even back then, Russell presented his desire to play football and basketball in college. Stephens remembers his game evolving from a primary ball handler and scorer to a disruptive rebounder and defender. Years later, when Stephens attended Russell’s games at Miami Northwestern as a spectator, he saw a much-improved Russell. He averaged 21.0 points per game as a sophomore and was a perimeter threat after extensive work with his father, Stephens said.

At this point, Russell’s body caught up to his talent. Stephens saw the aggression of a football player translate to the court.

“You see how he attacks the ball when he gets rebounds in traffic,” Stephens said. “It’s the same as a jump ball in the red zone.”

Calvin Russell III walks on the JMA Wireless Dome sideline with head coach Fran Brown before Syracuse’s football game against North Carolina on Halloween. Russell is a five-star SU football recruit but will also join the Orange’s men’s basketball roster. Courtesy of NETWORK

When it came to the logistics of balancing two D-I sports at once, Giangrande said Syracuse presented the most detailed plan. Giangrande didn’t provide particulars but credited Brown for adding comfort and structure.

Russell, of course, is not the first player to attempt the feat. Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward at Florida State led the Seminoles to a national title in football and then played 11 NBA seasons. Future NFL stars Tony Gonzalez, Julius Peppers and Jimmy Graham all balanced both sports in college. As Syracuse fans remember, Donovan McNabb appeared in 18 basketball games across his freshman and sophomore years while quarterbacking the Orange.

However, this is a new era of college sports. With revenue sharing and Name, Image and Likeness in the picture, Russell will have added responsibility and pressure. Giangrande declined to discuss much about SU’s plans for Russell’s compensation, but based on the revenue-sharing model, Russell’s higher recruiting ranking in football, mixed with playing time, will likely result in him making more from his football performance. Before revenue sharing and roster limits, multi-sport athletes had their scholarship count toward the higher-revenue sport.

He’s not the only modern player attempting to conquer both sports. Florida State 2026 signee Jasen Lopez is a four-star wide receiver and point guard, joining FSU’s roster as a mid-season addition on Jan. 8. LSU’s Trey’Dez Green played tight end for the football squad in 2024 and shifted to basketball season in January 2025.

As a rare in-season addition, Russell will compete for playing time amid SU’s ACC schedule. In Broussard’s eyes, if Russell sticks with both sports, he could have a chance at both the NBA and the NFL one day.

The hype for Russell is evident. Now, starting with basketball, he has his first chance at living up to it.

“I told him, ‘You better go put on. You better go do what you’re supposed to do,’” Broussard said.

Published on January 12, 2026 at 10:47 pm
Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky