6-foot-5, 195-pound WR Calvin Russell had whittled his list down to Michigan football, FSU, Oregon and Syracuse before he pledged to the Orange.
Michigan football's offense may look to take to the air more often under new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsay in 2025 and 2026. But it will have to do so without a hoped-for piece, as four-star wide receiver Calvin Russell passed on the Wolverines' offer.
Instead, Syracuse (and second-year coach Fran Brown) landed a commitment from Russell out of Northwestern High School in Miami on Saturday, July 5.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Russell had whittled his list down to Michigan, Florida State, Oregon and Syracuse before he pledged to the Orange.
Russell is ranked No. 4 in Florida, the No. 5 wide receiver nationally and No. 47 overall in the class of 2026 per 247 Sports' composite rankings.
"Hulking wide receiver with above-the-rim athleticism that makes him a uniquely dangerous target, especially down in the red zone," 247 Sports director of scouting Andrew Irvins wrote. "Superb body control tends to create even more of a disadvantage for defensive backs as he wins 50-50 battles with timing and positioning. Not going to outrun every tackle, but is quick to hit the gas and can make some dynamic cuts in traffic."
Even among FBS prospects, Russell is in the top tier in terms of athleticism. He helped Northwestern — coached by former Detroit Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater — take home the Florida Class 3A championship. Russell caught 39 passes for 704 yards (18.1 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns, also rushing for a pair of touchdowns. In the title game, he caught four passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
His mother, Chanivia Broussard, was a tremendous athlete in her own right, staring for Miami from 2000-04. She was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame and named an "ACC Basketball Legend" in 2011.
Russell is a star in basketball, too. he averaged 21 points, seven rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game as a sophomore at Northwestern and led the program to a 20-3 mark during the most recent regular season. Russell had received an offer from Dusty May's U-M hoops program as well and said he hopes to be a dual-sport athlete in college, similar to Keon Coleman with Michigan State most recently.
Russell took an official visit to Ann Arbor on June 20, where not only May, but top 2025 commit Bryce Underwood did his best to help seal the deal.
"I see it as more of like the best players want to play with the best players," Underwood told the Free Press in June. "I'm blessed to be part of the people they say are the 'best players' so just the hard work I've been putting in."
The Wolverines have been racking up the commitments in one of the program's biggest hot stretches. They entered Saturday night with 20 commits in a 2026 class which had leapt to No. 9 nationally (and third in the Big Ten) before Russell's choice of Syracuse.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Calvin Russell, four-star WR from Florida, snubs Michigan football
Category: General Sports
