4-star tackle Ziyare Addison, who has an offer from 'Cuse, names the top 9

Ziyare Addison, a 2025 four-star offensive tackle from Florida who received an offer from Syracuse football earlier this year, has announced his nine finalists. The Orange didn't make the cut.

According to a post on X by On3 national recruiting expert Hayes Fawcett, Addison's top nine consists of Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford and UCLA.

Although I am disappointed that 'Cuse is no longer a candidate for the 6'5″ and 275lb Addison, I wish Ziyare the best of luck in his future recruitment efforts.

In late January of this year, Addison said on his X-page that he had received a scholarship offer from the Syracuse University football team, led by head coach and top recruiter Fran Brown.

Given that Addison's offer list includes more than 40 high-profile programs, it was probably a steep road for the Orange to prevail in his recruitment.

Addison is a standout athlete who attends Sumner High School in Riverview, Florida. According to his X-Account, he also participates in wrestling and track in addition to football.

All major recruiting services rank Addison in the top 300 nationally and in the top 35 at position in the 2025 cycle.

His top rankings in the rising high school graduating class currently come from 247Sports, where Addison is ranked 140th overall, 14th as an offensive tackle and 19th in Florida.

While the 'Cuse is out of the running for Addison, so to speak, Brown and his assistants have so far put together a strong 2025 recruiting class.

As of this writing, the Orange had at least 19 verbal commitments for their 2025 cycle. At the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite ranked the Syracuse football class of 2025 No. 11 nationally, while the 'Cuse was ranked No. 6 nationally, as reported by Rivals.com.

I also find it fascinating that the Syracuse football team is heavily targeting many different states with its recruiting efforts. Yes, the Northeast Corridor – including New Jersey, New York, the Washington, DC market and the Philadelphia area – remains a big focus.

At the same time, Orange trainers are successful in numerous other states, including Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio and Georgia.

Speaking of the Sunshine State, the team has received verbal commitments from three four-star prospects so far for the 2026 cycle. Two of 'Cuse's verbal commitments in this class are from Florida.