When Syracuse University officially inked wide receiver Calvin Russell to a scholarship commitment on Thursday night, they officially solidified the best recruiting class in program history.

Per a university press release:

Head Coach Fran Brown and the Syracuse football staff have officially signed the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history.

The class is headlined by five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell III, who signed Thursday evening, giving Brown the program's highest-rated recruit in 25 years. Russell is the No. 23 overall player in the class and No. 2 ranked wide receiver. 

The 2026 recruiting class currently ranks No. 30 in the 247Sports' composite class rankings – which takes into account players recruiting rankings across every major recruiting service into its formula.

Brown has now signed Syracuse's three-highest ranked recruiting classes ever (rankings are only available since the advent of national recruiting services in 2001).

Now the work starts

With a great class in the fold, it's time for Brown and his re-worked staff to get to work on improving from this season's 3-9 record.

The Orange began the season at 3-1, but lost eight consecutive games to end the year. The major issue? A season-ending injury in game four to starting quarterback Steve Angeli.

He'll be back in 2026 and with that, and this class, the Orange appear to be prepared to contend again in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

They went 10-3 in 2024, winning the Holiday Bowl against Washington State.

Recruiting is a daily job now

In addition to recruiting new players, Brown and his staff have to work every day to re-recruit their current players. Just because this class is in the fold for 2026? That doesn't mean anything for 2027 and beyond.

Brown has to continue to give these players reason to believe that the program is moving in a positive direction. If he doesn't, and if the team doesn't show tangible improvement, it's never been easier to transfer out of a school.

Also on campus

The Orange women's basketball team moved to 7-1 on Wednesday by beating Auburn in the ACC-SEC Challenge. Dominique Darius led the way with 20 points while Uche Izoje had 16 and Laila Phelia had 14. They will open up ACC play on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET) at SMU.

The Orange men's basketball team is now 5-3 after beating No. 13 Tennessee on Tuesday night, and they'll be off until Dec. 11 when they play against St. Joseph's at the JMA Wireless Dome. We'll have on-site coverage of that game.

Related Syracuse Stories

SYRACUSE SECURES FIVE-STAR RECRUIT: After a day of pondering, the Orange have finally landed receiver Calvin Russell out of Florida. CLICK HERE:

WHAT NEEDS TO IMPROVE?: Outside of the free-throwing shooting, here's what needs to improve for the Orange men's hoop team, at least until Donnie Freeman comes back. CLICK HERE: 

SU TOPPLES NO. 13 TENNESSEE: The Orange are now 5-3 after winning their game in the ACC-SEC Challenge. CLICK HERE: 

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