Why are so many Philly-area football recruits committing to Syracuse? Camden’s own Fran Brown

Camden native Fran Brown’s first season as a head coach was one of Syracuse’s best in recent history. The Orange reached 10 wins for the first time since 2018, upset No. 6 Miami in the regular-season finale, and racked up 52 points in a Holiday Bowl win over Washington State. A crucial part of Brown’s so far successful formula has been leaning on his Philadelphia-area roots.

Last season, Syracuse featured six players from the area, six of whom hailed from Camden. Only three of the 13 preceded Brown’s arrival in Central New York.

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Brown’s collection of local recruits was headlined by Ohio State transfer and Mount Laurel native Kyle McCord. During his lone season at Syracuse, McCord led Division I and set an ACC record with 4,779 passing yards. He was selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by his hometown Eagles and is now on their practice squad.

“I was very thankful, very excited, just honored to be able to coach him, honored that my family and his family have become closer,” Brown told The Inquirer earlier this month. “He’s just a great person. He’s a great teammate, he’s a leader, he’s a captain, and he was everything that was needed to come and set a culture straight.”

McCord wasn’t the only Brown disciple with local ties to make the leap to the NFL this season. Millville’s LeQuint Allen made Jacksonville’s 53-man roster, while Camden’s Alijah Clark and Fadil Diggs are on the practice squads of the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, respectively.

Entering Year 2, Brown has maintained a strong emphasis on recruiting the Philly area, especially in Camden.

“I think it’s extremely important [to recruit from Camden] because that’s where I was developed as a football player,” Brown said. “That’s where I was developed as a man. That’s where I was developed as a coach. A lot of people are just comfortable because of my upbringing and me knowing myself and understanding that person.”

Brown developed a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the nation. In February 2024, 247Sports named Brown its recruiter of the year after he helped Georgia compile the No. 1 class in the nation as an assistant and then landed the 34th-ranked freshman class at Syracuse, the highest in school history. Fellow Camden native and current Syracuse defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson won the award in 2022 as an assistant at Texas A&M.

In early July, Brown landed his biggest recruit yet: five-star wideout Calvin Russell, who chose Syracuse over 50-plus schools, including Florida State, Miami, and Michigan. Even though a month has passed since Russell’s commitment, other schools are still pleading with the Florida native to change his mind.

“Miami, Florida State, schools like that … Michigan is still in there,” Russell told Rivals. “They haven’t given up, but I’m still rocking with ‘Go Orange!’ Everybody knows I’m locked in.”

While Brown has proved he can outrecruit some of the country’s college football powerhouses — major recruiting outlets have Syracuse’s 2026 class ranked inside the top 25 nationally — maintaining a Philly recruiting base remains a priority. Eight local recruits in next year’s class have already committed to play for Brown and Syracuse.

That crop includes three-star safety Ibn Muhammad and three-star offensive tackle Jojo White, both of whom play for Brown’s alma mater, Camden High School. They have known each other since childhood and are planning on rooming together at Syracuse. Both said the biggest factor in committing to Syracuse was Coach Brown.

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“I chose Syracuse for the relationship and the love that Coach Fran Brown had for the city of Camden, New Jersey,” Muhammad said. “He came into the program and changed the whole dynamic. … He changed people’s mindsets.

“When [Brown] got bigger and further into life, him looking back to us, he knew that somebody, or one of us, would come out of the hood and just be ready to play football, like he knew that we’ve worked for something.”

One of Brown’s biggest demands in recruiting has been strong academic performance from his players. The results speak for themselves. During last year’s spring semester, the football team recorded an average grade-point average of 3.05, the highest in school history.

“He’s trying to make sure we do good in school because school comes first before football,” White said. “When school starts for us, we got to wear a tie and button-up [shirt] two days throughout the week, so we make sure we stay uniform and present ourselves well.”

Muhammad added: “If you sit in the front [of the classroom], you’re present. … If you’re not in the front, you’re not present to him. … He clocks that every day.”

Haverford School defensive tackle Walt Frazier is one of Brown’s highest-ranked Philly-area recruits. Last year, Frazier led the Fords with 44 tackles and earned a first-team All-Inter-Academic nod. Syracuse was the first school to recruit Frazier, and that, in addition to Brown’s presence, helped inform his decision.

“I’ve never seen a college coach like Coach Fran,” Frazier said. “He’s really in the program. Like, he’s everywhere. … He’ll be in classrooms with students. He’ll just go stay in classrooms for a day. … He’s in every space, with everyone, truly a part of the program."

Another local player bound for Syracuse is Chester High School offensive tackle Shemaj Henry. While Henry preferred to attend college outside of the Philly area, he sees Brown’s Philadelphia-area background as the perfect happy medium.

“Coach Fran understands how his kids down here are already because he’s from down here, so he already understands what I was going through,” Henry said.

Brown and his staff’s authenticity and care also were big factors in winning over Henry.

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“I kept getting messages from the Syracuse coach[es] to see how my day was going, how my family was, constantly, then I got on the phone with Fran and the offensive line coach … and they seemed chill and cool,” Henry said. “He was being straight-up, told you everything you need to know.”

Brown believes being authentic has helped him successfully pitch Syracuse to prospective recruits.

“I’m just being myself. I think our staff’s doing the same thing,” Brown said. “I think when you understand the person that you’re dealing with and you start to care, in all relationships, if you listen long enough, you’ll start to care.”

College football season is fast approaching, and it likely won’t be for the Orange. USA Today recently listed Syracuse as having one of the 10 most difficult schedules in the nation. That starts this Saturday in Atlanta, when the Orange take on No. 24 Tennessee.

While McCord and Allen are gone, the Orange’s roster still is littered with talented locals like cornerback Duce Chestnut (Camden), offensive lineman and Alabama and Texas A&M transfer Naquil Betrand (Northeast), and wide receiver Jaylan Hornsby (Winslow Township). Add the 2026 recruiting class, and the Philadelphia area-to-Syracuse pipeline shows no signs of slowing down with Brown at the helm.

“I think it’s just my authenticity that attracts people because they’re not used to seeing that,” Brown said. “But for me and for our area … you just see a guy that reminds you of someone that your family may have [grown] up with. I’m like a cousin; I’m like an uncle.”