Syracuse just beat Ohio State. And Indiana. And Bill Belichick.
For a running back.
Elijah Kimble, the four-star bruiser out of Canisius High in Buffalo, put pen to paper — or hand to heart, at least — Friday night and committed to Fran Brown’s Orange, choosing Syracuse over a finalist list that reads like a murderer’s row of college football royalty. Ohio State, a perennial championship heavyweight. Indiana, fresh off a national championship under Curt Cignetti. And North Carolina, where Bill Belichick himself was reportedly pushing hard to get Kimble on a plane to Chapel Hill.
Syracuse won anyway.
That in itself a huge deal. Syracuse doesn’t do this. It’s been years since the Orange lined up against multiple power programs and won the recruiting race. Not with backs like this. Not with the state’s crown jewel. For years, this program has watched its own backyard get raided by programs with more championships and more shine. The best player in New York goes to Penn State. Or Michigan. Or wherever the private jet lands next. Syracuse gets the leftovers.
Kimble wasn’t leftovers. Everybody wanted him. Over 5,300 rushing yards. 75 total touchdowns. Canisius’ all-time leading rusher. Reportedly a great kid too. A player good enough that Ohio State — the sport’s gold standard — put an offer on the table.
He picked Syracuse anyway.
And here’s the part that turns a great week into an all-timer: Kimble isn’t walking into an empty backfield.
Days earlier, three-star running back Tylek Lewis committed to the Orange too, picking Syracuse over Arizona, Kansas State, Arkansas and West Virginia. Physical. Competitive. Exactly the kind of downhill runner Brown covets. On his own, Lewis is a nice pickup. Paired with Kimble? Suddenly Syracuse isn’t just landing backs, it’s stockpiling a backfield.
Two committed backs. Surging optimism. A staff that was looking at Xavier Bala and Sa’Nir Brooks, now has a tandem even better.
Looking back at Calvin Russell, a 5-star recruit who chose Syracuse, felt like finding a T-Rex bone under the Hall of Languages. Now, Syracuse has a sample size of winning massive recruiting battles against heavyweights.
This is what Fran Brown was hired to do. Not just win games, but win rooms. Win living rooms in Buffalo and Brooklyn and everywhere in between, and convince the state’s best players that Syracuse is a destination again, not a fallback.
A few commitments don’t rebuild a program by themselves. But they send a signal loud and clear: the Orange can go toe to toe with anybody for the backs they want, and win. Ryan Day. Curt Cignetti. Belichick. All of them left this week empty-handed.
Welcome home, Elijah. Welcome aboard, Tylek. Let’s get to work.
