Where does Syracuse stand heading into 4-star Elijah Kimble’s commitment announcement?

The blue-chip running back will announce his commitment at 6:30 p.m. today, and Syracuse has positioned itself well.

Elijah Kimble | Courtesy: Elijah Kimble

Syracuse priority target Elijah Kimble is set to make his commitment announcement on Friday, July 3 at 6:30 p.m. at CHS Kennedy Field House.

Kimble is one of the elite recruits in his class, holding a composite four-star rating from 247Sports. He is the No. 340 overall prospect in his class, and the No. 1 overall recruit from New York.

He holds over three dozen offers, and was originally offered by the Orange under the Dino Babers era, predating Fran Brown’s arrival at Syracuse two seasons ago. One of Brown’s first offers was extended to Kimble in February 2024.

Kimble is coming off an outstanding season, where he finished with 1,726 yards and 23 touchdowns. 

Kimble's recruitment to date

The Buffalo (NY) Canisius High product has taken official visits to Indiana (April 17), North Carolina (June 5) and Syracuse (May 29).

We’ve spoken to several sources familiar with Kimble’s recruitment, and have learned several other things about his recruitment. First, Kimble was supposed to take an official visit to Connecticut on June 12, and ended up canceling that visit.

Second, Kimble unofficially visited Syracuse on the week of June 15. And third, North Carolina is unlikely to be Kimble’s landing spot based on his recruitment with the Tar Heels. Additionally, Indiana already has a commitment in their 2027 running back group, three-star Da'Jon Talley-Rhodes. 

A look at Syracuse's 2027 class

Syracuse is taking two running backs in its 2027 class. Heading into OV season, Syracuse had Xavier Bala and Sa’Nir Brooks as their two committed backs. But in June, both decommitted, with Bala switching over to Boston College.

The Orange instead pursued Kimble and Louisiana three-star RB Tylek Lewis. The Orange secured a commitment from Lewis on Tuesday evening.

That leaves one spot left for Kimble, with the Orange currently not heavily linked to any other running backs in the 2027 class at the moment.

Prediction

By all indications, Kimble’s official visit in May and his follow-up visit in June went incredibly well, with the staff pitching Kimble as a featured back. "I loved it, man," Kimble said to The Juice Online folowing his OV.

The pull of staying near home is also a factor here, with Buffalo less than a three-hour trip from Central New York.

Given all of these factors, I expect Kimble to pledge to the Orange later today. I predict he will become the 24th commitment in Syracuse’s 2027 class, which entered the day ranked 33rd overall in the country. Notably, Syracuse didn’t have any blue-chip four-star commitments in its class.

I believe it will after today.

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