Rutgers football added a second commitment to the program last week in athlete Talibi Kaba. For Sean Ashenfelder, the first commitment in the 2025 class, the addition of Talibi to Rutgers is “big news.”
The commitment of Kaba gives the program its first New Jersey commitment of this cycle. He is also quite the player; he is being projected by Rutgers to play either as a linebacker or as a safety.
Kaba is ranked the No. 12 prospect in New Jersey by 247Sports and nationally, he is the No. 39 linebacker in the 2025 recruiting class. He has been offered by Boston College, Duke, Kent State and Iowa State.
For Ashenfelder, a quarterback from Florida, adding Kaba to the class is a big piece of momentum.
“It’s big news. He’s a great player. We’re building something special at Rutgers,” Ashenfelder told Rutgers Wire last week.
“He’s great on both sides of the ball. Quick and strong.”
As for Ashenfelder, he is coming off a strong junior year at Creekside (St. Augustine, Florida). A three-star quarterback, his offer list includes Power Five programs Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and West Virginia among others.
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He has kept an eye on Rutgers and likes what he saw from the offense’s growth and development.
This past fall was the first season under offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. What was an offense that had been bottom of the Big Ten in the previous five years was much improved under Ciarrocca.
They were eighth in total-offense last year and featured [autotag]Kyle Monangai[/autotag], the Big Ten’s leading rusher.
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“I thought the offense had a great year for his first year as offensive coordinator,” Ashenfelder said. “I liked his scheme and personnel usage.”