After nearly 36 hours of uncertainty, coveted Syracuse wide receiver pledge Calvin Russell officially joined the Orange's 2026 class.
Syracuse announced ESPN's No. 4 wide receiver as the program's 25th and final signee of the early signing period Thursday night, one day after Russell delayed his signing, fueling speculation over his plans amid flip interest from Miami and Michigan.
Russell has been the gem of coach Fran Brown's 2026 recruiting class since he picked the Orange over Hurricanes and Wolverines on July 5. The 6-foot-6 pass catcher from Miami entered this week's early signing period expected to join Syracuse as the program's highest-ranked signee in the ESPN recruiting rankings era, which dates to 2006.
However, Wednesday morning, Russell announced that he was postponing his signing during a ceremony at Miami Northwestern High School, delaying his official arrival to the Orange. His manager, Justin Giangrande, later wrote on social media that Russell "needed [sic] more time to pray the final decision" and wanted to "make sure he is 100% certain with this decision before signing".
A source close to Russell told ESPN that summer finalists Miami and Michigan each remained heavily involved in his recruitment this fall and into the early signing period. Those respective flip efforts, ultimately, fell short.
Russell officially lands with Syracuse as the top-ranked member of the nation's No. 28 recruiting class, per ESPN's latest class rankings. He's one of two ESPN 300 prospects signed with the Orange in 2026, joined by four-star defensive end Kamron Wilson (No. 283 overall), also from South Florida.
Russell's decision to stick with Syracuse comes amid a flurry of movement atop the 2026 wide receiver class since the early signing period opened Wednesday.
As of Thursday afternoon, five-star Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr., ESPN's No. 1 wide receiver, remained unsigned. Per ESPN sources, Henry's camp has remained in contact with multiple programs, including Oregon and Texas, over the past 24 hours. Henry (No. 7 overall) is still expected to sign before the signing period closes Friday.
Elsewhere, four of ESPN's top-20 pass catchers -- Salesi Moa (Tennessee to Utah), Brady Marchese (Georgia to Michigan) and Zion Robinson (Michigan to Stanford) -- have all flipped since Wednesday evening. ESPN 300 wide receivers Jase Mathews (Auburn) and Kenny Darby (LSU decommit) are scheduled to hold signing ceremonies Friday.