The Orange are probably a bit more red after a five-star recruit decided not to sign with Syracuse on Wednesday.
Calvin Russell III, a wide receiver out of Miami Northwestern (Florida), announced during his school’s signing day ceremony that he would not be signing, though he didn’t provide a specific reason as to why.
“It’s been a hard three or four days,” Russell said after thanking a number of people for their support. “I’ve been thinking and I won’t be signing today.”
Following Russell’s announcement, his agent, Justin Giangrande, posted on X that the wide receiver opted to push back his signing because he needed “more time to pray [on] the final decision.”
Giangrande insisted in the post that Russell “absolutely loves” Syracuse head coach Fran Brown and that he is committed to the Orange football program, “but he just wants to make sure he is 100% certain with this decision before signing by EOD Friday.”
Nevertheless, it would seem there could be more at play for Russell when it comes to his decision, if various reports are to be believed.
Video recorded from Russell’s Instagram Live at the ceremony showed him flashing what appeared to be a U, which is commonly associated with the University of Miami.
Miami and Michigan were two teams that were viewed as Syracuse’s biggest threat to land Russell before he verbally committed to ‘Cuse in July.
game against Raw Miami on March 29, 2025, in Dallas. AP
The early signing period began on Wednesday and runs through Friday.
Brown did not seem bothered by the news on Wednesday and was confident about the program’s ability to land Russell.
“It could be a mixture of everything,” Brown said, according to Syracuse.com. “I just know that we have a real good relationship. That’s genuine love from me. That’s genuine love from him. I’m confident. I’m confident in who I am. I’m confident in the Block S. I’m confident in what we’re building here. Just got to have confidence, right?”
Russell was expected to be Syracuse’s highest-ranked commit in over two decades.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
