By Mark Pszonak
Spring practices generally help create buzz for younger players who may not have had the opportunity to shine on the collegiate field yet. At Syracuse, that buzz is about a very young player, who has only been on campus for a couple of months but has caught everyone’s attention.
"He's going to be amazing."
16-year old WR/DB Demetres Samuel Jr. is the hot topic around SU football spring camp. Fran Brown expects him to play both ways & be a starting corner in the fall
Teammate Michael Johnson Jr. is unsure how they'll be celebrating his 17th birthday: pic.twitter.com/sYvqg6ZKGD
— Ashley Wenskoski (@AshleyWenskTV) April 1, 2025
These comments by redshirt senior quarterback Michael Johnson Jr., and shared by Ashley Wenskoski of CNY Central, further supports all of the positive noise making its way down from update New York in recent weeks regarding Demetres Samuel Jr.
Samuel Jr., who reclassified from Class of 2026 to Class of 2025, is a Florida native who played his high school football at Heritage High School in Palm Bay. At 6-foot-2 and 180-pounds, he initially committed to Syracuse, flipped to Florida, and then back to the Orange last September. It was a huge recruiting victory for head coach Fran Brown.
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While only 16 years old, Samuel Jr. arrived surrounded with positive hype and has thus exceeded expectations. Already projected to start at cornerback, he is also seeing time at wide receiver during spring practice. Travis Hunter’s two-way abilities seem to have opened the door for other players, with Samuel Jr. quickly taking advantage of the opportunity.
How much Coach Brown decides to play Samuel Jr. on offense as a true freshman will be closely monitored. But by all accounts, keeping him off the field will be extremely difficult.
