I hate to be the negative Nancy and the person who can’t just enjoy the good things. But, at times the reality check is necessary, and in the case of Syracuse Football’s 2025 recruiting rankings, it’s time for everyone to come back to earth. Fran Brown has done a great job and that can’t be missed. But, right now the Orange have the 10th-best 2025 class in the nation. That just seems way too high, and when you look deeper into the players committed to SU the truth starts to reveal itself.
247Sports makes it clear that it’s system tries its best to avoid “heavily rewarding teams that have several more commitments than others.” The system isn’t perfect, however. The large number of commits, 12 to be exact, is the second most of any team in the country, behind just Notre Dame. As much as the system tries to not favor teams who have more commits, it does. Of the Orange’s 12 commits, one is a four-star, 10 are three-star, and one isn’t ranked. When you look back at the 2024 rankings, 11 of the top 15 teams have at least one five-star and all of them have at least 10 four-star commits.
It’s great that Brown has brought in the large number of recruits he has but there also has to be an emphasis on the quality of recruits. This year is without a doubt ten steps up from the past but as time goes on, expect the recruiting rankings to drop.
To compare SU’s top ten ranking at 247Sports to other services, On3 has the Orange ranked 26th, with no four-stars and just seven three-stars. Rivals is the highest on the ‘Cuse overall, ranking it 10th with two four-stars. ESPN ranks SU 13th in the country, but ranks none of the commits as top-300 players.
Once again, what Fran Brown has done is great. But, the 2025 class right now is full of three-stars. For the Orange to get to the next level and become true national competitors in recruiting they’ll have to bring in four and five stars. The current class should drop down the rankings significantly as more top players commit.
