Happy National Signing Day! Or... for some schools and players... Happy National lack-of-Signing Day!
On Wednesday, Dec. 3, as high school players across the country signed their futures over to one college football program or another, a handful of highly sought-after prospects announced that they wouldn't actually be signing that day.
That included four-star wide receiver Calvin Russell, who had committed to the Syracuse Orange five months earlier but wouldn't be signing with the team, not yet at least.
Michigan has to give Calvin Russell one last push
One of the teams on the hunt to land Russell, despite him already committing to another program, was the Michigan Wolverines and head coach Sherron Moore. When Russell announced he wasn't putting pen to paper on Wednesday, it gave the Wolverines the go-ahead to keep pushing.
BREAKING: Syracuse WR commit Calvin Russell announces he will not sign today. https://t.co/lWQWZWT7s9 pic.twitter.com/OZAPkZhjxf
— Marcus Benjamin (@BenjaminRivals) December 3, 2025
The best part? The Wolverines had a huge leg up on other programs, and that's simply because the school was willing to let Russell play basketball as well.
Michigan men's basketball coach Dusty May extended an offer in Russell's direction when he was still the head coach at Florida Atlantic. Unsurprisingly, May wasn't ready to let go of him when he brought his coaching talents to the Wolverines' program.
So, as Michigan, Syracuse, and a few other teams looked to officially sign Russell to their program, Moore undeniably needed to lean on the fact that the Wolverines could make all of the young athlete's dreams come true (both on the field and on the court).
Also read: Michigan football Early Signing Day 2026 tracker, live updates
Currently, On3 and Rivals, one of the premier college recruiting sites, gave the Wolverines a huge advantage over other teams when it came to landing Russell's commitment.
With a 71.9 percent chance, Michigan was undeniably the favorite to do so, followed by the Miami Hurricanes with an 8.9 percent chance, and the Florida Gators with a 4.3 percent chance. According to the site, the Orange had less than a one percent chance to cement Russell's commitment.