In his college football debut, Rutgers wide receiver Ian Strong flashes his enormous potential

Ian Strong makes a positive debut as a true freshman.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Ian Strong made a very solid first impression in Sunday’s Rutgers football season opener, hauling in his team’s first touchdown of the season.

In doing so, Strong showed why he was such a coveted recruit for Rutgers, despite the lack of buzz for him coming out of high school. Rutgers beat Northwestern 24-7 on Sunday afternoon.

Now a wide receiver, Strong still has his social media profile listed as “DB @RFootball.” X is the platform formerly known as Twitter. An early enrollee this spring, Strong came to Rutgers as a defensive back but switched to wide receiver during spring workouts.

Although the sample size is limited, Strong certainly has opened some eyes at wide receiver. The true freshman showed a playmaker’s skillset on Sunday.

“Coach Schiano said that my best way to get on the field was to move the offense,” Strong said after the game.

“So I took the opportunity. That’s really it.”

Strong was overlooked coming out of Long Island. It was some good recruiting work for Rutgers to get in on Strong early and secure his commitment last summer during a camp.

On3 ranked him as the eighth-best player in New York in the prior recruiting class. ESPN ranked him ninth in the state. Both sites had him as a three-star.

Rivals didn’t rank him within the state and had him as a two-star recruit. Only one recruiting service, 247Sports, saw the potential in Strong.

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Strong was a three-star according to 247Sports where also was ranked as the top player in New York.

The freshman defensive back wide receiver has some freaky athleticism. He is a long strider in the open field with impressive footwork for a player who is 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds.

He also has some very good leaping ability, which he put on display during his touchdown catch.

Somehow, Strong was able to jump high, secure a pass from quarterback Gavin Wimsatt and maintain body control in the back of the endzone to get one foot down for a touchdown. the play was originally called out of bounds on the field, but the officials overturned it for a touchdown after review.

Strong called it “a great throw by Gavin.”

“I was getting ready for the next play. I didn’t understand it – (in) college like everything gets reviewed, I’m used to high school,” Srong said.

“So I was getting ready for the next play and then we get to see it on the big board.”

He finished his first game of college football with two catches for 24 yards and a touchdown.

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Strong said he had a healthy amount of family and friends in the stands during Sunday’s game. Being close to home, he says, was a major reason why he committed to Rutgers.

“It means a lot like people who come watch me from home,” Strong said. “That’s that’s the main goal, why I came here.”

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The touchdown catch by Strong was the top play in the ‘SportsCenter Top 10’ from over the weekend: