Syracuse’s comeback win over North Carolina had plenty of moving parts, but Calvin Russell III was the rookie who finished the job.
The wide receiver was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday after stacking up eight catches for 86 yards and delivering the touchdown and two-point conversion that sent the Orange home with a 31-30 overtime victory Saturday.
Russell’s biggest moments came when Syracuse needed them most. With the Orange down 23-17 late in regulation, the freshman caught three passes for 46 yards on the penultimate drive, helping push Syracuse 75 yards and into a tie with two minutes left.
Then in overtime, after North Carolina moved ahead 30-23, Russell answered again. Steve Angeli found him for 16 yards on a crucial third-and-11 to keep the drive alive, then hit him in the end zone on fourth-and-goal to pull Syracuse back into the game.
The Orange weren’t done using him. On the two-point conversion, Syracuse dialed up another play for Russell, and he secured the pass at the goal line and barely got to the front pylon to deliver Syracuse its first ACC win since September 2025.
“It was just a matter of demanding the ball, just making sure he knew that I wanted the ball and I wanted to win the game,” Russell said postgame. “Other than that, that’s about it. I put trust in the quarterback, ran the route and got over.”
The performance came in just his fourth college game. Russell, a former five-star recruit, tore his Achilles in March and missed Syracuse’s first three games of the 2026 season. He made his debut Oct. 3 against UConn and had only two catches for 14 yards across his first two appearances.
He began to settle in against Louisville on Oct. 17, when he caught six passes for 53 yards and a touchdown to emerge as Syracuse’s WR2. Saturday was a different level entirely - the best outing of his young college career, and the one that put his name on the conference’s weekly award list.
“He’s just a complete football player that’s consistently getting better,” SU head coach Fran Brown said of Russell. “Now we’re what, six and a half months out of surgery?
He’s a freak show. Imagine what it’s gonna look like as he can continue to get more confidence in that Achilles.”
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