Four-star safety Tedarius Hughes signs with Syracuse

MIAMI, Fla. — South Florida recruits committing to Syracuse was not an expected occurrence pre-Fran Brown.

The Orange head coach has been excelling at recruiting some of the best talent the area has to offer, and the 29th-ranked safety in the 2026 class, Tedarius Hughes, signed with Syracuse on Wednesday.

The four-tar six-foot-three defensive back made his pledge to Florida State on the 4th of July in 2024 and has maintained a strong relationship with Syracuse since his sophomore season.

“My connection with Fran Brown,” Hughes said, “I just feel comfortable with him. They’ve been recruiting me since I was in 10th grade.

“The relationship has always been there since I was committed to Florida State, so the relationship never left. So, when Fran actually told me he really wanted me. It wasn’t really hard to make that decision.”

There is, perhaps, a pipeline being built from Northwestern, winner of eight state championships, to Syracuse.

“It was tough, I’m not going to lie. I just had to do what was best for me at the end of the day. That just ultimately led me to pick Syracuse. I also have friends in the program, which makes the transition easier—playing with players who came from this program. It’s a pipeline kind of with Miami Northwestern and Syracuse.”

Darius Johnson, DeAngelo Thompson, and Eric Thomas, all on the Syracuse roster, hail from Miami Northwestern. Hughes teammate and Syracuse WR commit Calvin Russell postponed his signing on Wednesday, but still could end up signing with the Orange. Hughes is looking forward to bringing the South Florida mentality to upstate New York.

“I’m going to bring that Miami swag, that dog mentality. That swag to New York. I’m just going to do what I do to help the team win.”