Category: Rutgers recruiting

Jayden Knowles offered by Rutgers fooball

Rutgers football offers Louisiana wide receiver Jayden Knowles.

Rutgers football made a midweek offer to Jayden Knowles, a wide receiver prospect from Louisiana.

Knowles is a class of 2024 recruit who plays for Alfred Bonnabel (Kenner, Louisiana). Last year in 11 games, he had 160 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven catches.

He checks in at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds.

Rutgers is the second Power Five offer for Knowles, who was offered by Wake Forest in June. His other offers include Bowling Green, FIU and Tulane among others.

He tweeted about the Rutgers offer on Tuesday.

 

 

Rutgers currently has a very solid recruiting class that is ranked No. 34 nationally according to 247Sports. Six players in the class are listed as wide receivers, although several of them have position versatility.

Off to a 2-0 start to the season, Rutgers faces a strong Virginia Tech team on Saturday afternoon at SHI Stadium.

Rutgers football recruit Jaelyne Matthews de-commits from Penn State

Jaelyne Matthews de-commits from Penn State.

Jaelyene Matthews de-committed from Penn State on Tuesday afternoon. The four-star offensive lineman from New Jersey received his first offer from Rutgers football as a freshman.

Matthews is a member of the 2026 recruiting class and is the starting offensive tackle for Toms River North (Toms River, N.J.) Last year he was invited to participate in the 2025 Under Armour All-America Game, a prestigious national high school all-star game that airs on ESPN.

He is 6-foot-6 and 300-pounds and also plays as a defensive tackle. He moves very well and gets into the second level with relative ease.

His combination of strength, bend and footwork is impressive.

He holds offers from Georgia, Ohio State and Penn State in addition to Rutgers.

Matthews posted the news on Tuesday afternoon via his social media:

 

Matthews committed to Penn State in January following an unofficial visit.

He has been a visitor to Rutgers on multiple occasions.

Rutgers football commit Ben Black is up for the Big 22 Player of the Year (and fans can vote)

Rutgers football commit Ben Black is up for an award in North Carolina.

Ben Black, a Rutgers football commit, is up for a player of the year honor in North Carolina. And Rutgers fans could help get him there.

Black, a member of the 2024 recruiting class out of Mallard Creek (Charlotte, NC), is a 6-foot-1 and 185-pound wide receiver. Per 247Sports, Black is a three-star and the No. 71 wide receiver prospect in the nation.

So far this season, Black has 15 catches for 263 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the first three games of the season. He committed to Rutgers in June following an official visit.

At the time he committed to Rutgers, he had offers from Duke, Georgia Tech and UConn among others. Last season, he had 25 catches for 402 receiving yards with two touchdowns.

WSOC-TV in North Carolina has Black among the finalists for the Big 22 Player of the Year Finalists. Fans can vote through October 5:

Vote for your favorite Big 22 player.

Three-star running back commit Edd Guerrier is sold on Rutgers football after his official visit

Edd Guerrier believes in the direction of Rutgers football following his weekend official visit.

Edd Guerrier committed to Rutgers football in July without having ever stepped foot on campus. This past weekend, the Florida running back was finally on campus when he took an official visit. 

A visit, that Guerrier says, left him incredibly impressed. 

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound running back had 18 carries for a team-high 122 yards, averaging 6.8 yards a carry in the season opener for Port Charlotte (Fort Myers, Florida) two weeks ago. According to 247Sports, he is a three-star recruit and the No. 95 running back in the nation. 

The weekend visit allowed Guerrier to see campus but also experience Sunday’s season opener, a 24-7 win by Rutgers over Big Ten opponent Northwestern. 

“So, my visit was nice. I loved the campus,” Guerrier told Rutgers Wire on Tuesday. 

“I loved the energy. I loved the gameday environment. I loved how motivated the players were to play and I love how everybody was locked in, coaches included. 

“The visit was nice and definitely somewhere I want to be.” 

He held an offer from Louisville in addition to Bowling Green, South Dakota State and Tennessee Tech among others at the time of his commitment. 

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The visit this weekend left Guerrier “100” percent committed to Rutgers. 

“Because they were showing me mad love and good energy and intentions,” Guerrier said. 

“The way they’re all a family and have tight bonds.” 

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His official visit also left an impression from what he saw on the field. Rutgers played balanced offensively and was efficient, scoring three times in their opening three possessions to stake a 17-0 lead. 

“I like the way the offense was run and they gave the running backs a good amount of touches,” Guerrier said.

When asked if he will be taking any more visits, Guerrier said that “I’m locked down, 100 percent.”

Greg Schiano checks out Erasmus Hall at Don Bosco Prep

Greg Schiano made the trip north to see Don Bosco Prep host Erasmus Hall.

Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano was at Friday night’s game between Erasmus Hall at Don Bosco Prep. It was the biggest game of the weekend in the tri-state area.

Erasmus Hall features defensive lineman [autotag]Aaris Bethea[/autotag], a Rutgers football commit. Also on that defensive line is [autotag]Caden Brown[/autotag], who holds a Rutgers football offer and was on campus in late July for an unofficial visit.

Playing at home, Don Bosco won the game 31-6. The Ironmen were up 24-0 at halftime.

Schiano was afforded the chance to see the Friday night game due to his weekend work schedule being different than usual. With the Rutgers season opener on Sunday, Schiano had a day that he could spend recruiting:

 

Erasmus Hall has become a pipeline program to Rutgers in recent years, with a number of top prospects heading to Piscataway. Don Bosco Prep is one of the top high school programs in the national and traditionally churns out multiple FBS players each season.

Rutgers opens the season on Sunday with a game against Northwestern at SHI Stadium. Tom McCarthy and Jason McCourty, a former standout Rutgers defensive back, will have the call on CBS.

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Tiffany Blackmon will be reporting from the sidelines.

Rutgers football: A big recruiting weekend and a possible sell-out for the season opener

Rutgers football is hosting some bigtime recruits on Sunday.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers football will be hosting a number of top-tier recruits and commits this weekend for their season opener. It is an impressive haul for the Big Ten program.

The tturnout is especially impressive given that Rutgers is playing on Labor Day weekend and on a Sunday afternoon, not exacttly the usual time slot for college football. But Sunday’s impressive number of commits and recruits will give Rutgers a chance to showcase their development and growth under head coach Greg Schiano.

Sunday’s game against Norhtwestern (12:00 PM ET, CBS) is trending towards a sell-out. 

Here is an updated list of the recruits who are expected to attend Sunday’s season opener for Rutgers football. Each player is linked to either their recruiting profile or more pertainent information.

Bold denotes a Rutgers football committ:

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Rutgers football commit: Matthew Ogunniyi is putting up video game numbers as a senior

Rutgers football commit Mathtew Ogunniyi has been dominant to start his senior season.

Maryland wide receiver Matthew Ogunniyi already has more receiving yards through the first two games of his senior season than he did all of last year. The Rutgers football commit has been downright dominant this season.

Through the season’s first two games, Ogunniyi has 16 receptions for 509 yards and seven touchdowns. He is showing why Rutgers made him a priority recruit and a focal point for the 2024 class.

This spring, Ogunniyi was offered by Texas A&M. His other Power Five offers were West Virginia and Rutgers. He committed to Rutgers in May.

This season’s production shows a massive leap in Ogunniyi’s development. In 2022 as a junior for Charles Herbert Flowers (Upper Marlboro, MD, he had eight receptions for 286 yards and five touchdowns in seven games played.

 

At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Ogunniyi has elite size to be a Big Ten wide receiver. He also has impressive speed, making him a dynamic combination and a strong get for Rutgers.

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He can play either wide receiver or tight end at the next level.

Rutgers has added some nice size at wide receiver including K.J. Duff, a Long Island athlete and a four-star recruit. Like Ogunniyi, there is some position versatility for Duff who also could end up as a tight end.

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Rutgers football recruiting: DK Gilley is focused not on a fourth star but a state championship

DK Gilley previews Rutgers football visit, talks senior season.

DK Gilley is off to a strong start to his senior season, the three-star safety from Florida saying that he is more worried about winning than chasing personal glory. This, as the Rutgers football commit and member of the 2024 class has been impressive this season.

Despite Gilley’s University Christian team losing 27-12 to Raines last weekend, Gilley played well and was strong in coverage. He is focused on his team getting a win this weekend at North Florida Christian (Tallahassee, FL).

Gilley is a 6-foot-2 and 190-pound safety who also was offered by Pittsburgh.

He has immense physical tools that can and should be showcased this season. And while the three-star defensive back would like to add another star to his recruiting ranking, he said that isn’t on his radar right now.

“On a personal level, it would be nice to get a fourth star,” Gilley told Rutgers Wire.

“But that’s not my main focus. My main focus is getting my boys to a state championship and making all my young guys better. And when my season is over, for them to learn from me and be better than me.”

Gilley committed to Rutgers in mid-June following an official visit to the program.

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This weekend, Gilley is hoping to be at Rutgers for the Sunday season opener against Big Ten opponent Northwestern.

“I’m hoping to see them dominate. I know they’re going to dominate. Me personally, I’m going to watch my position and see what I can work on and learn from the safeties so I can key that into my game,” Gilley said.

“I expect it to be loud and just a great environment all around. They are some really good people.”

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Isaiah Crumpler breaks down strong start to the season and his upcoming visit to Rutgers

Rutgers football commit Isaiah Crumpler has had a strong start to his senior season.

Isaiah Crumpler is off to a strong start this season, the Rutgers football commit showing why he is such a big part of the Big Ten program’s recruiting class.

A 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver, Crumpler is picking up from last season when had 55 catches for 614 yards with five touchdowns for D.H. Conley (Greenville, N.C.). This past weekend in a 27-0 win at Washington (Washington, N.C.), Crumpler had over 100 receiving yards with three touchdowns. Also playing as a defensive back, he had an interception.

At the time of his commitment, he held Power Five offers from Duke and Rutgers. He also has significant offers from the likes of Charlotte, East Carolina and James Madison.

Crumpler will be on campus this weekend for an unofficial visit and to check out the season opener on Sunday against Northwestern

I’m excited, I’ll be going to that first game. This time around, I’ll know the coaches and players more which is good,” Crumpler told Rutgers Wire.

“Hoping to see a good game and a Rutgers win, obviously.”

Crumpler, a very down-to-earth and humble recruit, is focused on the team side this fall with Conley. But personally, he is hoping to show a more rounded and complete side to his game.

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He hopes to enroll early at Rutgers in January and has already begun the application process.

As for position versatility, Crumpler certainly has a high ceiling at defensive back. But there is no questioning that he can be a playmaker at wide receiver when he arrives at Rutgers.

“I really don’t know what they have for me but I know I’ll be starting at the WR position,” Crumpler said.

“I like it a lot, I like playing wide receiver.”

Crumpler said he hopes to also make the Rutgers home game against Virginia Tech in the third week of the season.

In terms of his recruitment, Crumpler said it is closed and no programs are reaching out to him. He said he has a close relationship with coach Dave Brock (wide receivers) and Milton Cordero (quality control).

This Thursday, Crumpler’s D.H. Conley plays at Hunt High School (Wilson, N.C.). Both programs enter the game at 1-1.

“I’ll say it’s a big game for us to keep going that path and build on this past weekend,” Crumpler said. “It is an important one for us to get that win and really keep growing in the right direction.”

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Rutgers football commit DK Gilley talks start to the season

DK Gilley has started his senior season and plans to visit Rutgers football this weekend.

DK Gilley has started his senior season, with the Rutgers football commit having big goals for his final year of high school.

Gilley committed to Rutgers in mid-June. A member of the 2024 recruiting class, he is an impressive and physically imposing defensive back who projects as a safety.

He is a 6-foot-2 and 190-pound safety at University Christian (Jacksonville, FL), Gilley also holds Power Five offer from UCF, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech.

He also has been offered by USF, FAU, UMass, Liberty and Georgia Southern.

He said that “everything is good” with Rutgers and he continues his strong relationship with the program. His plan is to enroll early at Rutgers and join the team in January.

“I started on the college application that coach sent me,” Gilley told Rutgers Wire.

“And coach checks in on me.”

Gilley thinks he will be back on the Rutgers campus soon.

“I’m supposed to be going to the home opener,” Gilley said.

Rutgers opens the season on Sunday with a noon kickoff against Northwestern. The game will be on CBS.

University Christian lost 27-12 to Raines this weekend. This weekend, they play at North Florida Christian.

“We had a tough loss (in the) first game,” Gilley said.

“But we’re going to learn from it and get back focused for this week and get the win on the road in Tallahassee this week.”

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