Category: Rutgers recruiting

Jyon Simon set to commit on Thursday, is Rutgers football in the mix?

Jyon Simon is set to announce his college football commitment.

Decision day is Thursday for Jyon Simon, a Florida defensive lineman who is being recruited by Rutgers football. His recruitment includes some of the biggest names in college football.

A 6-foot-1, 260-pound defensive lineman from Raines High School (Jacksonville, Florida), Simon had 77 total tackles, nine sacks and 15 tackles for a loss last year. Simon took a visit to Rutgers football this past weekend.

This spring, he has taken visits to Auburn, North Carolina State, East Carolina and Florida Atlantic. He has made two visits to North Carolina State this spring.

On Thursday, Simon’s commitment ceremony won’t be featuring hats, a common practice for announcement ceremonies. Instead, Simon will have cards on the table. And Simon said the following programs will all have cards on the table on Thursday evening:

The likes of Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Louisville and Maryland have all also offered Simon.

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Simon will be making his announcement from his high school at 6:30 p.m. ET.

According to 247Sports Composite, he is a three-star recruit and the No. 78 defensive lineman in the nation.

Four-star Antwan Raymond commits to Rutgers football and re-classifies to the class of 2024

Rutgers football lands a four-star running back in Antwan Raymond.

Antwan Raymond, a four-star running back from Florida, committed to the Scarlet Knights on Wednesday.

And, in a piece of significant news, Raymond has decided to re-classify into the class of 2024. Raymond picked Rutgers from a final six that included Miami, Mississippi State, South Carolina, South Florida and West Virginia.

He is a four-star recruit according to Rivals.

Last year in 10 games for Clearwater International Academy (Clearwater, Florida), Raymond had 1,884 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. He averaged 8.1 yards per carry.

Listed at 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds, Raymond already boasts an impressive physical frame.

He is a strong, compact runner who is difficult to take down at the high school level. Raymond does a nice job of bouncing off contact and staying engaged.

He has good footwork which allows him to cut and change direction smoothly.

His announcement was made via the Rivals Instagram platform.

 

Nationally, he is ranked the No. 22 running back in the nation by Rivals.

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In addition to his final six, Raymond also had offers from Arizona, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina State Syracuse and Texas A&M.

Why is Rutgers football getting an official visit from Ian Williams?

Ian Williams talks about why Rutgers football is getting an official visit.

Ian Williams is set for an official visit to Rutgers football in mid-June with the Georgia athlete citing a strong connection

The defensive back, a class of 2025 recruit from Cass High School (Marietta, Georgia), counted Rutgers as his first Power Five offer in late March. He was offered by Pitt two weeks after

Williams will be on the Rutgers campus this week (April 20). He is currently an unranked prospect but that is likely to change in the coming weeks.

A dual-sport athlete, Williams also runs track. During the outdoor season, he has posted a time of 11.06 in the 100 meters.

The reason for the official visit, Williams said, is based in part on the relationship he has formed with safeties coach Drew Lascari.

“One of the reasons they’re getting an OV (official visit) is because of this relationship with me and coach Drew,” Williams told Rutgers Wire.

“(We) Had a FaceTime with me and my mom and I can hear what he told me about family is true and no b.s.”

“He talked to us about how important it is to him to meet my mom because he wants my mom to know who’s calling her son, recruiting her son.”

Williams has locked in his next official visit for Pittsburgh the weekend of June 20.

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As for the programs recruiting him the hardest, Williams said three are currently standing out in that regard.

“I’ll say Pittsburgh, Rutgers and USF,” Williams said.

Elijah Crawford announces an official visit to Rutgers football

Elijah Crawford dives into his official visit set up for Rutgers football.

Elijah Crawford will take an official visit to Rutgers in June, one of three official visits the Maryland defensive lineman is likely to take this summer.

Crawford was offered by Rutgers on March 1 and announced on Monday an official visit to Rutgers the weekend of June 14.

He was on campus recently for an unofficial visit where he saw a spring practice. The interior defensive lineman has Rutgers scheduled and will be at West Virginia the weekend of June 7.

Syracuse is also in the mix for Crawford but that official visit has not yet been scheduled. Other programs to offer Crawford include Temple and Virginia Tech.

At 6-foot-4 and 265-pounds, Crawford is coming off a strong season for McDonogh (Owings Mills, Maryland). In nine games played season, Crawford had 39 total tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks.

“They just impressed me with everything,” Crawford told Rutgers Wire.

“Practice was fast paced with everyone flying around. The campus was really impressive in just how it is so modern and the strength and conditioning was probably the biggest thing.

“I talked to coach JB (Jay Butler) and he showed me some of the guys’ transformations from their time there and it was just unreal how much they’ve grown.”

Overall, Crawford cites a strong relationship with the Rutgers staff since being offered six weeks ago.

“It’s great, I talk to coach Ferrell (Colin Ferrell) and he’s really genuine and he has a great defensive mind,” Crawford said.

“And (he) really understands d-line play and how I can better my game. On top of that, I talked to coach H (Joe Harasymiah), the defensive coordinator. And we just talked about how I’d fit into their team and just their philosophy and he was just really impressed with my game.”

Crawford said a fourth official visit could take place this summer “depending on how this period goes.”

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He hopes to announce his commitment the first week in July.

New Jersey tight end Charlie Wingfield adds an offer from Rutgers football this week

Rutgers football offers New Jersey tight end Charlie Wingfield.

Charlie Wingifield was offered by Rutgers football on Wednesday night. The New Jersey tight end prospect is seeing his recruitment continue to trend up.

Rutgers joins a recruitment for Wingfield where the likes of Boston College, Duke, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Syracuse, Wake Forest and West Virginia have all offered. His most recent offer came from Princeton.

He is a class of 2025 recruit from Rampao (Franklin Lakes).

At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Wingfield has good size projections for the Power Five level. Last year as a junior, he had 315 receiving yards and 26 catches for six touchdowns in 11 games played.

He is a multi-sport athlete who plays basketball and baseball for Ramapo:

 

The class of 2025 is off to a solid start for Rutgers football and currently features four commits. Last fall, Florida quarterback [autotag]Sean Ashenfelder[/autotag] was the first commit in the class.

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This year, three prospects from New Jersey have committed to Rutgers, headlined by [autotag]Talibi Kaba[/autotag], a four-star linebacker and a top-five player in the state.

Also joining Kaba in this class are three-star offensive lineman[autotag] Jayden Elijah[/autotag] and three-star defensive back [autotag]Renick Dorilas[/autotag].

Rutgers football offers four-star tight end JC Anderson from Illinois

JC Anderson, a tight end from Mt. Zion in Illinois, was offered by Rutgers football on Tuesday.

JC Anderson was offered on Wednesday by Rutgers football, becoming the latest Power Five offer for the Illinois prospect.

A class of 2026 recruit, Anderson is a 6-foot-7, 230-pound tight end from Mt. Zion (Mt. Zion, Illinois). He holds a strong national offer list that includes Baylor, Cincinnati, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Tennessee among others.

Last year, Anderson had 30 catches for 307 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Rivals ranks him as a four-star tight end and the top player in Illinois in his class.

He is a multi-sport athlete, also playing as a forward or a center on Mt. Zion’s basketball team.

On Wednesday evening, Anderson tweeted about the offer from Rutgers:

 

Rutgers currently has four commits in their 2025 class, headlined by four-star linebacker Talibi Kaba, a top five player in New Jersey in this class.

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Another high-profile commit for Rutgers is three-star offensive lineman Jayden Elijah, who held has offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech when he committed in February.

Jayden Loftin talks about his recent Rutgers football offer, upcoming Tennesse visit

Jayden Loftin discusses his recruitment, recent Rutgers football offer.

Jayden Loftin was offered by Rutgers football over the weekend, putting the Big Ten program very much in the mix one of New Jersey’s top players.

Rutgers is now in the mix for Loftin he says. And it is a busy time in his schedule, with a visit to the Tennessee Volunteers on tap for this weekend.

He is a 6-foot-4 and 235-pound edge rusher from Somerville (Somerville, New Jersey) and is part of the class of 2025.

He is the No. 42 edge rusher in the nation and the No. 20 overall rospect in New Jersey in this current class according to 247Sports. Over the weekend, Loftin took an unofficial visit to Rutgers.

It was on that visit that head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] offered Loftin.

“It felt real good to have an offer from the hometown team,” Loftin told Rutgers Wire.

“They are building something special there.”

Loftin took a dive into the particulars of the offer from Schiano and his reaction to the program officially getting involved in his recruitment.

“Coach Schiano really emphasized what the program stood for and what he wanted for the program in years to come,” Loftin said.

“I like the F.T.C. (mantra) because that is something my family has really drilled into me since I was little so it was very relatable.

“They are in my top 10 for sure, I enjoyed the visit.”

As for an official visit, Loftin said he is booked with his four official visits “so we didn’t discuss anything about an official visit.”

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His four visits are:

  • West Virginia (May 31-June 2)
  • Tennessee (June 7-9)
  • Minnesota (June 14-16)
  • Penn State (June 21-23)

This upcoming weekend, Loftin has an unofficial visit to Tennessee.

“I’ve never been but the coaching staff has been in frequent contact and I’ve enjoyed talking them,” Loftin said.

Dane Pizzaro breaks down his Rutgers football commitment

Dane Pizzaro breaks down why he committed to Rutgers football over the weekend.

Over the weekend, Rutgers football landed a commitment from kicker Dane Pizzaro. It is an important commitment for Rutgers to add a specialist who has a big upside.

Pizzaro committed to Rutgers football on Saturday after playing just one year of high school football. Prior to that, Pizzaro was an All-Catholic League soccer standout for Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). In act, Pizzaro was so good at soccer that he played for the Philadelphia Union Academy, one of the top developmental programs in not just MLS but North America.

It was a long road to get to Rutgers for Pizzaro.

Contact with Rutgers began late last year. While he was hearing from a number of other programs such as Western Michigan, Sacred Heart, Incarnate Word and Western Illinois, Pizzaro felt a strong connection with Rutgers during the recruiting process.

“I chose to commit to Rutgers this weekend because I love everything about their program,” Pizzaro told Rutgers Wire.

“I love the mentality they have as a hard-nosed football team. The environment being their felt amazing. Other reason I chose Rutgers is because coach Allen (Eddie Allen, special teams quality control) is an outstanding coach and I feel great having him for the next four years. Lastly, their facilities are like nothing I have ever seen. I couldn’t believe how great their facilities were.”

Transitioning from soccer to football wasn’t easy

“It was crazy the way it happened. One day I was going to my high school soccer practice, the football team had left a ball on the field from the day before,” Pizzaro said.

“My soccer teammates were all trying to kick field goals. My assistant coach called me over to kick some because he knew I had a pretty big leg. I hit three in a row from 50 yards out.”

The head football coach at Father Judge heard about Pizzaro’s performance and approached him about playing for the team.

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“I thought ‘Why not do it for fun?’ not knowing it would soon become my future,” Pizzarro said.

“After realizing that I could do something with this, I got training and started to become a lot better. Though the transition was not easy after playing soccer for 14 years, I do not regret it at all.”

It worked out pretty well for Father Judge and Pizzaro.

Last year, Pizzaro was 7-for-8 on his field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards. He connected on 33-o-35 point after attempts.

On kickoffs, he reached the endzone on 30-of-38 attempts.

Watch as Rutgers football recruit Kole Briehler squats 555 pounds

Kole Briehler put together an insane squat during a recent workout.

Kole Briehler is a workout warrior, the Rutgers football recruit showing why he is an in-demand recruit with a strong offer list.

One of those programs that has offered Briehler is Rutgers. The defensive lineman from The Hun School (Princeton, New Jersey) was recently on campus in early February.

The class of 2025 recruit has offers from Boston College, Duke, Florida, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Stanford among others in addition to Rutgers.

In a video posted to social media on Monday, Briehler showed his strength and offseason gains with an impressive squat.

Briehler, utilizing a wide stance, doesn’t bend or lean with his back. He stays upright and in-form for both squats. No cheating involved, just good, solid form here from the three-star recruit:

 

Truthfully, when he racked the weight he looked like he had one more in him.

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In the 247Sports Composite, Briehler is the No. 16 overall recruit in New Jersey’s class of 2025. Nationally, he checks in as the No. 50 defensive lineman.

Michael Carroll announced a top 12 that includes Rutgers football

Michael Carroll puts out a top 12 that includes Rutgers football.

Four-star offensive lineman Michael Carroll announced his top 12 on Monday afternoon, and Rutgers football made the cut.

Carroll has consistently spoken highly about Rutgers in his recruitment.

Making the top 12 is nice for Carroll, but there is stiff Power Five interest here for the offensive lineman from Central Bucks East (Doylestown, Pennslyvania). Penn State is the perceived leader here in Carroll’s recruitment.

Carroll is a four-star offensive offensive lineman according to ESPN and Rivals, where he is the No. 236 recruit in the nation. ESPN ranks him as the No. 12 recruit in Pennsylvania.

At 6-foot-6 and 298 pounds, Carroll is physically impressive and dominant against rushers at the high school level.

He posted his top 12 on X, the social media platform that was formerly known as Twitter:

 

Carroll moves well in open space, taking long strides. He is a good downfield blocker as well.

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In being able to cope with space, Carroll moves well laterally and engages physically and violently with his hands. He finishes his blocks off well.