We are 12 hours out from elite WR Calvin Russell announcing his commitment. According to a new report, Michigan is battling one final school to land this coveted recruit:
In about 12 hours from the time of this story being published, we will know where elite 2026 wide receiver Calvin Russell will be playing his college football. The Michigan Wolverines have been one of the teams pushing the hardest over the last few weeks, and it appears their efforts may pay off.
However, they are still duking it out with one program, according to the latest report from On3’s Steve Wiltfong ($). That team — the Syracuse Orange.
“Michigan/Syracuse, my gut says Michigan,” a source told Wiltfong. “Relationship with Fran (Brown, Syracuse’s head coach) since day one is holding strong against Michigan’s resources. Calvin is a loyal guy, but also wants to play on the biggest stage.”
While Wiltfong admits Syracuse is hanging strong in this recruitment, but the Wolverines “have the most buzz” heading into his announcement at 9 p.m. tonight.
Russell’s affinity for the Orange comes from, as mentioned above, his relationship with head coach Fran Brown. However, it appears Syracuse may also be offering him a chance to play both football and basketball. While Russell is a standout football prospect, he also has aspirations to — at least try to — play basketball in college as well.
Thankfully for the Wolverines, they are also providing him with that opportunity. Russell met with head basketball coach Dusty May during his official visit a couple weeks ago. He also threw on some basketball gear during his photo shoot.
The Wolverines currently have three wide receivers committed to the 2026 class — four-stars Zion Robinson and Travis Johnson, and three-star Jaylen Pile. Ron Bellamy would probably be happy with this three-man group, but adding Russell would be the icing on top of the cake.
A Top-50 overall prospect, Russell is a super athletic, tall (6-foot-5) wideout that would be a major red zone target for Bryce Underwood. With Robinson and Johnson both being 6-foot-3, Russell would add even more length to an already tall group of wide receivers.
This would be one of the best hauls at the position for Michigan in a long time, so will Michigan land a coveted wide receiver recruit for the second day in a row? Only time will tell, but we won’t have to wait very much longer to find out.