No. 1 College Football WR Recruit Emerges as Top Player in 2028 Class

A recruiting service has named this five-star wide receiver as the No. 1 prospect in the 2028 college football recruiting cycle.

Central Catholic cornerback Xxavier Thomas (2) lines up across from St. Joseph's Prep wide receiver Jett Harrison in the first half of the PIAA Class 6A football championship game at Cumberland Valley High School, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Silver Spring Township, Pa. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Each college football offseason presents programs with an important period to develop their future rosters.

Thousands of college football players from every corner of the sport jumped into the NCAA transfer portal in early January and announced their commitments later in the month.

Most incoming freshmen in 2026 signed their National Letters of Intent in early December, and the vestiges of the class signed their letters in early February.

Recruiting the class of 2027 is paramount for college football programs in May of 2026, but it is not too early to look ahead to the class of 2028. The vast majority of 2028 prospects are more than a year removed from their college commitments, but a handful of prospects have already announced their decisions.

One of the marquee prospects emerging in the 2028 cycle is five-star wide receiver Jett Harrison. The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, scored 10 touchdowns in his freshman season with St. Joseph's Prep School in 2024 amid its state championship run.

As a sophomore, Harrison hauled in 15 touchdown passes, including a four-touchdown outing against St. Frances Academy.

247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins referred to Harrison as a "budding wide receiver that can flip the field and get in the end zone" and pointed out he "attacks cushion and breaks off defenders with sharp cuts" in a scouting report from August of 2025.

Rivals' Industry Ranking previously slotted Harrison as the No. 2 wide receiver, No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania and No. 3 overall prospect in the class of 2028. Rivals updated its Rivals300 rankings on Monday and bumped Harrison to the No. 1 overall prospect on the list.

Early interests

Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. celebrates a first down against Michigan in 2022. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Legacy ties will factor into the battle for Harrison over the next year of his recruitment. Harrison is the son of former Syracuse wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, who played for the Orange from 1992-95 before embarking on a 13-year NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts.

When functional, Syracuse's offense in the early stages of Fran Brown's tenure has been pass-happy. Kyle McCord transferred from Ohio State and threw for 4,779 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2024. Syracuse has not been in the upper echelon on the recruiting trail since it joined the ACC, although the Orange did land five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell III in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Speaking of Ohio State, the Buckeyes are the other program trying to use legacy ties to their advantage. Harrison's older brother, Marvin Harrison Jr., played for Ohio State from 2021-23 before the Arizona Cardinals selected him at No. 4 overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Buckeyes have landed a five-star wide receiver talent in every signing class from 2019 to 2027.

In general, the Big Ten is showing plenty of interest in Harrison. Oregon, Nebraska, Penn State and USC are among the other powers in the conference that have extended offers to Harrison within the last year.