Syracuse’s 21-18 loss to California didn’t just play out in front of the Orange’s home crowd. It also served as a major recruiting weekend, with more than a dozen prospects from the 2027, 2028 and 2029 classes watching the ACC opener unfold at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The game itself had plenty for visitors to digest. Syracuse piled up 437 total yards to Cal’s 249 and found the end zone twice, but three interceptions from Steve Angeli and 15 penalties buried the Orange in the loss. Even so, several recruits walked away talking less about the final score and more about what they saw from Fran Brown’s program.
“For my first-ever game visit, it’s one that I’m definitely going to remember forever,” 2028 athlete Samuel Furr IV said.
A big part of that impression came from how Syracuse handled the rough patches. Recruits noticed the sideline after the Orange were hit with an illegal substitution penalty and then gave up a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, a sequence that put Cal ahead 14-12 for its first lead of the day.
“Nobody pointed fingers or blamed anybody on the sideline,” Furr said. “Everyone was just like, ‘Okay, let’s go score. Let’s go get this back on defense.”
Class of 2028 athlete TJ Maddox said he liked seeing the coaching staff keep players calm and connected during the swing moments. He also said the postgame message mattered just as much, even after the defeat.
“Some coaches don’t feel like talking to anybody because they lost, but those coaches sat down with us, ate with us, talked to us about how we felt about the game,” Maddox said. “I was able to ask every question that I needed to, and they sat there and listened to everything I had to say.”
For a few of the visitors, the Dome itself was the headline. 2028 long snapper Shane Sullivan called it the loudest stadium he has ever been in, saying it topped places like Gillette Stadium and Highmark Stadium that he had visited as a kid. He said the visit showed him “how big of a deal football was to Syracuse.”
2028 athlete Marques Harris said the atmosphere was one of the biggest highlights of his trip as well. Maddox, meanwhile, already knew what Syracuse game day could sound like. He had been in the building for the Orange’s 27-20 overtime comeback against UConn in 2025, and Saturday gave him another chance to feel that same energy in another tight game.
The recruits also came away with strong impressions of specific Syracuse players and units. Maddox, who plays wide receiver and defensive back in high school, paid close attention to Nazir Ward and Daunte Bacheyie, and he singled out Bacheyie’s touchdown catch as a standout moment.
Harris, who also plays on both sides of the ball, focused on Syracuse’s linebackers, Antoine Deslauriers and Chris D’Appolonia. What stood out to him was how aggressively both attacked the snap.
Furr, listed by 247Sports as an interior offensive lineman, watched the Orange’s front closely as it tried to keep Angeli upright. He said the size of the line jumped out, especially 6-foot-7, 385-pound Byron Washington.
Special teams got its own share of attention too after Syracuse pulled off a fake punt early in the game with a jump pass from punter Jimmy Gregg.
“(Special teams coordinator) Alex Bayer was a really good coach to talk to,” Sullivan said. “He’s definitely someone who I would love to play for. I can see why they have such a successful special teams room and why their special teams have been so successful.”
The weekend also gave recruits a chance to reconnect with people they already knew around the program and meet others for the first time. Furr spent time with offensive line coach Juan Castillo, a coach he had already built a bond with at Syracuse’s June camp.
Castillo told him how much muscle he had added since they last saw each other, and Furr said that meant a lot coming from someone with Castillo’s background. Furr also spoke with Terrell Wilfong, who went to the same high school, West Orange (New Jersey), before joining Syracuse.
Sullivan had his own familiar faces to catch up with. He first got a look at Syracuse’s practice facilities during summer camp, when he met Bayer as well as long snappers Fran Brown Jr. and Tim Schwerha.
During this visit, Sullivan said Brown Jr. gave him advice about handling his transfer from St. John’s High School (Massachusetts) to Cheshire Academy (Connecticut).
Syracuse had already been on Sullivan’s radar for personal reasons. He grew up visiting his grandmother upstate, his father is from Buffalo, and he watched a lot of Syracuse basketball while growing up. That background made the visit feel even more meaningful.
“Syracuse is definitely at the top of my list for sure, especially after this visit because I didn’t get to see the academic side of the campus last time,” Sullivan said.
With the season moving along, Brown and his staff will keep bringing recruits through for games as they wrap up their 2027 class and chase commitments from prospects in the 2028 and 2029 groups.
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