Rivals.com recently released its most recent national rankings for the 2025 recruiting cycle, prompting an examination of several four-star recruits for Syracuse football who experienced a decline in their rankings.
To be fair, these three prospects for Syracuse remain highly regarded within their class of rising high school seniors.
However, just as I cover articles on Syracuse commitments and recruits when their national rankings improve, it’s worth noting that players with connections to Syracuse football sometimes see their ratings decrease.
In this piece, I’ll focus on three prospects: four-star quarterback Malik Washington from Maryland, four-star cornerback/athlete Dawayne Galloway Jr. from Ohio, and four-star defensive lineman Ethan Utley from Tennessee.
Here are the latest 2025 national rankings for these three Syracuse football four-star targets:
- **Malik Washington:**
Washington, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing 200 pounds, has been making waves as a standout quarterback at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Md. He received a scholarship offer from Syracuse’s new coaching staff in mid-December of 2023. Washington visited the campus unofficially for one of the Orange’s junior days last January and intends to make an official visit to Syracuse football during the weekend starting on June 7. Despite multiple predictions favoring Virginia Tech for Washington on Rivals.com, a recent 247Sports article suggests that he might announce his college decision around June 28.
New Rivals.com 2025 national ranking: No. 207 overall, a drop of 30 spots
**Dawayne Galloway Jr.:**
Galloway, standing at 6 feet tall and weighing 175 pounds, attends Marion-Franklin High School in Columbus, Ohio, where he also competes in track and field. He received an offer from Syracuse on December 20 of the previous year and visited unofficially for a junior day last January. In late February of this year, Galloway revealed his top 12 choices, including Syracuse football. As of the time of writing, Purdue is gaining attention as a potential destination for Galloway according to analysts on 247Sports and On3 websites.
New Rivals.com 2025 national ranking: No. 112 overall, down 5 spots
**Ethan Utley:**
Utley, standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 270 pounds, hails from The Ensworth School in Nashville, Tenn. He verbally committed to the University of Tennessee, an SEC member, in late March, despite previously having Syracuse in his top five choices. However, Syracuse football’s staff is still actively pursuing Utley, who received an offer from Syracuse on December 4 of the prior year. Analyst Marshall Levenson from Rivals.com recently mentioned that Syracuse remains interested in Utley. As mentioned in a previous column, Syracuse’s chances of swaying Utley from Tennessee to the Orange rely on getting him to visit Central New York at some point.
