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Demetres Samuel committed to play college football at Syracuse as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025. He is (probably) going to start for the Orange as a 17-year-old!
The coaching staff wants him to be on the field as often as possible.
Samuel, a native of Florida who played at Heritage High School, received 26 scholarship offers during the college football recruiting process. Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Michigan State, Nebraska, Kentucky and Auburn were among the schools that presented him with an opportunity. He initially committed to play for the Gators but ultimately decided to flip and signed with Syracuse over the flagship university in his home state.
As a four-star recruit, Samuel was ranked as a top-20 player at his position, a top-40 player in the state and a top-250 player overall. His highlight tape is legit.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound safety left high school early (more than a year ahead of schedule) to enroll at the university in time to participate in spring practice as a 16-year-old. Yes, 16.
Demetres Samuel Jr. will finally turn 17 years old later this week. His much older teammates aren’t quite sure how to celebrate!
He asked me, “You coming out for my birthday? Where we going?”
I was like, “Dude, you’re 17. Where we going? What you mean?”
— 24-year-old quarterback Michael Johnson
Even though Samuel is still 12 months away from being able to vote, the coaching staff in upstate New York could not be more excited about what they have seen from the 16-year-old thus far. Head coach Fran Brown expects him to start at cornerback for the Orange in the fall.
Demetres Samuel is a two-way star!
And not only that, Demetres Samuel is also going to play significant snaps on offense at wide receiver. His neutral-colored pinny allows him to get reps on both sides of the ball during spring practice.
Freshman Demetres Samuel Jr. wearing the unique white jersey with blue pinny combo. He’ll be practicing both ways throughout spring.
— Aiden Stepansky (@AidenStepansky) March 22, 2025
Could SU have college football’s next Travis Hunter?@DOsports pic.twitter.com/Nossk4S0xE
He has been catching passes!
Here’s a quick glimpse of Demetres Samuel Jr. getting an offensive rep. I also spotted him getting some one-on-one training honing in on his footwork at the end of the portion of practice open to the media. https://t.co/uG7gWxoLma pic.twitter.com/FSi4pUwX0v
— Justin Girshon (@JustinGirshon) March 25, 2025
The soon-to-be 17-year-old will play both ways in a role similar to Travis Hunter Jr., though maybe not quite as expansive. There is already a plan in place to get him in the mix on offense and defense as often as possible.
He’s gonna play both ways. It seems like he’ll have an opportunity as starting corner. He should be our starting corner and rotate in and out as receiver. He’s a freak, right? Freak athlete.
— Fran Brown
Brown noted that Samuel is technically supposed to be a senior in high school next season. He thinks the four-star freshman would’ve played his way into a top-10 or top-5 ranking in the Class of 2026.
He could be in high school probably becoming the No. 1 player in the country next year or Top 10. He’s doing a hell of a job at 16 years old, competing with guys at another level.
— Fran Brown
The staff at Syracuse does not expect him to be on the team for all four years. They expect Samuel to turn pro after his junior season because he will be good enough to do so.
Needless to say, there are high expectations