Calvin Russell III, a 5-star wide receiver from Miami, had four schools on his finalists list as a Class of 2026 recruit: Michigan, Florida State, Oregon and SU. Russell chose the Orange. He’s the highest-ranked recruit landed by Syracuse in the last two decades.

Russell committed to Syracuse over Michigan, Florida State and Oregon and he’s the highest-ranked recruit since Johnnie Morant. The 6’5” Russell is ranked 4th best WR in the 2026 class by On3 and is a consensus top-50 player in the class.