On Monday night, Rutgers football got a commitment from Jake Eldridge. The highly-regarded long snapper comes to the program from the IMG Academy.
Ranked a five-star and the No. 2 long snapper in the nation by Rubio Long Snapping, Eldridge fills a position of need for head coach Greg Schiano’s rebuilding roster. The news of Eldrige’s commitment comes two days after the Scarlet Knights started the season with a comeback 22-21 win at Boston College.
As for the latest commitment to the class of 2023, Eldridge chose Rutgers over several Power Five offers. He told RutgersWire on Monday following his commitment why he thinks the program is the right fit for him and the process he went through to come to this decision.
“The decision to commit was based on many different aspects, both on the academic and athletic side. Academically, I am wanting to go into business (or) finance and with Rutgers proximity to New York City and Wall Street, I figured there is no better place to do it,” Eldridge said.
“Football-wise, Rutgers has shown me the most love from Day 1, and they value special teams more than anywhere else I have visited which is great to see being a specialist. I think coach Schiano is building something great there, and I want to be a part of it.”
The staff, Eldridge said, was excited when he made the decision and notified them:
“I FaceTime’d coach (Keith) Bruno (Special teams assistant) on Monday afternoon, and he handed the phone to coach Schiano,” Eldridge said.
“After talking for a brief period of time, I told him I would be committing to Rutgers, and the room erupted with pure excited. That moment reassured me that I just made the right decision and that I was truly wanted there.”
Throughout his recruitment, Eldridge had several visits to programs including visiting Notre Dame, Indiana, Virginia, UCLA, University of Miami, Rutgers, and Northwestern among others. He held offers from Air Force, Miami and UCLA as well as Rutgers.
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Over the summer, he was committed to UCLA.
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