Tag: Taj Harris

Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano won’t close or open the door on Taj Harris making a return

Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano discusses the stepping away from football of wide receiver Taj Harris.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The door remains open for Taj Harris to return to Rutgers football. So says Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano when asked about the possibility that Harris could be a part of the program again at some point.

In a surprising development this week, Harris posted on social media late on Monday afternoon that he was stepping away from football. The wide receiver provided no timetable for his return or any reason for why he has left the Rutgers football program.

Harris was seen as a huge addition to the Rutgers offense when he joined the team last winter.

Schiano didn’t give any details as to why Harris left the program. But he made it clear that the talented wide receiver, who was projected to be a big part of the offense, would be welcomed back.

“Taj and I are very close. I have a good relationship with him. He’s a great kid. He just sorting through some stuff,” Schiano said.

“And we’ll see, you know? I’m not I’m not closing the door. I’m not opening the door. Look he’s a good person. He just needs to figure out what he needs to do for him…this bus doesn’t stop, we got to keep playing.”

Harris had one catch for nine yards in Saturday’s win at Boston College. A transfer from Syracuse, he played in three games last season. He had 16 catches for 171 receiving yards with three touchdowns before he left the ACC program.

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In the annual spring game in late April, Harris had four catches for 44 yards including a first quarter touchdown catch on a pass from quarterback Noah Vedral.

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Breaking: Rutgers football wide receiver Taj Harris is stepping away from football

Rutgers football wide receiver Taj Harris is stepping away from football.

Transfer wide receiver Taj Harris is stepping away from Rutgers football, the standout playmaker said in a statement posted on Monday afternoon.

Harris saw limited snaps on Saturday, the transfer wide receiver registering a single catch in Rutgers football’s 22-21 win at Boston College.

A transfer from Syracuse (with a brief stop in Kentucky this winter), Harris is a big-play wide receiver who possesses size and speed. The hope was that he could add to a wide receiver corps at Rutgers that has depth and explosiveness.

Last season, Harris played just three games before leaving Syracuse and ending up in the transfer portal. He played one of those three games against Rutgers, registering eight catches for 122 yards in a 17-7 loss for Syracuse.

 

On Monday during his press conference, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano spoke to the media about Harris. This was before the player issued any statement on social media indicating that he was leaving the team.

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Schiano said that Harris’ role on Saturday was due to competition at the wide receiver position and not an indication of anything off the field.

“I think it’s just competition. We have a lot of guys that are playing. You saw we played a lot of guys at a lot of positions, and that was on purpose,” Schiano told reporters.

“I’m hopeful that his reps will grow as we get more and more comfortable. He is a newcomer that has worked hard to get himself in a position to compete. I’m hopeful that that grows.”

In the annual spring game, Harris led all wide receivers with four catches for 44 yards. He had a first quarter touchdown catch from Noah Vedral to open the scoring.

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Rutgers football’s 2022 top NIL player values

Since fans can expect to hear about NIL much more often with moves like this, we decided to take a look at the top 10 NIL values for Rutgers football in 2022.

In 2021, the landscape of all college athletics was drastically changed when the NCAA put measures into place to allow student-athletes to sign NIL deals. NIL stands for name, image, and likeness – these deals allow athletes to make money on their own through various means. Essentially, they can now make money in ways that previous generations had to sneak around or were even caught and penalized for doing (paging Reggie Bush).

While some of the NIL stories surfacing around the country have certainly raised some valid questions about the future of the sport and how the NCAA may had mishandled the situation from the start, the threshold into the new era of college sports has officially been breached – and there may be no going back.

Quite a few Rutgers student-athletes have begun taking advantage of NIL opportunities, including quarterback Gavin Wimsatt who left high school early to early enroll at Rutgers and reportedly signed a few deals on his way to campus. But, just how much can these players expect to earn; what’s their value?

This is where On3 and their resources come in. On3 is already a great resource for all fans of the recruiting race, but they also specialize in monitoring and valuating NIL values for players in college and being recruited. This value is determined by team prestige, performance, and social media following. It does not reflect the actual amounts any student-athlete may have agreed to.

A new NIL collective was launched by Rutgers alumni and supporters just last month. Since fans can expect to hear about NIL much more often with moves like this, we decided to take a look at the top eight NIL values for Rutgers football in 2022. Just as a reminder, these values can waiver and be impacted at any time.

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Impact players: Rutgers football places two in the top 75 of the transfer portal rankings

Two Rutgers football players ranked in the top 75 by the 247Sports Transfer Portal Rankings.

This offseason, Rutgers football didn’t just hit the transfer portal hard, they appear to have done so quite effectively.

Two of the newest Scarlet Knights are ranked in the top 75 of the 247 Sports Transfer Portal Rankings. It is welcome news for the rebuilding Rutgers team, who went 5-8 last season following a loss in the Gator Bowl.

Rutgers had a very strong recruiting class this past cycle, but they needed some veteran talent to help continue their progress from last season.

Wide receiver Taj Harris, a transfer from Syracuse via Kentucky, leads Rutgers football in the rankings at No. 58. Harris is a dynamic wide receiver with big-play potential.

Also placing highly is J.D. DiRenzo, who was No. 71. The offensive lineman, who can play at guard or offensive tackle, was an FCS All-American at Sacred Heart last year.

Both players are ranked as four-star transfers by 247Sports.

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For some perspective, 247Sports ranked 101 players in the portal as four-star athletes.

Harris had a tremendous spring game for Rutgers football, with four catches for 44 yards including a first quarter touchdown catch off a pass from quarterback Noah Vedral.

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The highest-ranked player to leave Rutgers? Offensive tackle Raiqwon O’Neal, who was ranked as a three-star at No. 146. Probably the best-performing offensive lineman for the Scarlet Knights the past two seasons, O’Neal transferred this offseason to UCLA.

Some familiar names that were linked to Rutgers football during the offseason:

  • Offensive lineman Miles Frazier – LSU (via FIU; No. 57, four-star)
  • Running back Jalen Berger – Michigan State (via Wisconsin; No. 101, three-star)
  • Offensive lineman Ryan Swoboda – UCF (via Virginia; No. 107; three-star)

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Rutgers football: Taj Harris ranked in the top 30 transfer portal players

Rutgers football landed an elite playmaker in Taj Harris according to a recent transfer portal ranking.

Rutgers football landed a difference maker in the transfer portal with the addition of wide receiver Taj Harris. In fact, he was one of the top talents in the transfer portal this offseason.

To that end, the transfer wide receiver was ranked the No. 29 transfer portal player according to On3Sports.

In the annual spring game last month, Harris led all wide receivers with five catches and 49 receiving yards. He also had the game’s first touchdown, making a nice adjustment to catch a pass from incumbent starting quarterback Noah Vedral.

Harris has two years of eligibility left but could well be a candidate for the NFL draft next spring.

A transfer from Syracuse (who had a cup of coffee this offseason with Kentucky), Harris enrolled in Rutgers in January.

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Harris entered the transfer portal after three games played at Syracuse last year. He had 16 catches for 171 yards.

 

In 2020, he led Syracuse with 58 catches for 733 receiving yards with five touchdowns.

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Harris, along with fellow transfer portal addition Sean Ryan (Syracuse), come to Rutgers looking to add to an offense that struggled at times to move the ball last season. Wide receiver Bo Melton, the team’s leading wide receiver a season ago, was taken in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

Rutgers football: Greg Schiano is pleased with how his transfer wide receivers played

Rutgers football got some solid performances from their wide receivers in Friday’s spring game.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Taj Harris and Sean Ryan fit in seamlessly to the Rutgers football offense on Friday night during the annual spring game. The two transfer wide receivers added a new dimension to an offense that at times last year was lacking explosiveness.

The integration of Harris and Ryan into the offense is going to be as important for the Scarlet Knights as the production from the quarterback position and the development of the offensive line. All three units were a question mark throughout last season.

And now after the spring game, it appears that the offensive line is improved from last season and that the wide receivers are certainly a more balanced group with the chance to be explosive. [autotag]Bo Melton[/autotag], likely to be taken on Day 3 of the NFL draft, was very good last year and Shameen Jones showed some flashes, but adding the two transfers will be a big help for Rutgers.

“I think they are really going to help us. You know, they come in, they join Shameen, and then a host of other guys,” head coach Greg Schiano said after the game.

“We lose a really fine player in Bo as he leaves for the NFL. And I think it’s really important that what we did through the portal, supplementing what we already have here. We have some young receivers that are going to be really good but they make take a little while to get there. To have some experienced guys on the squad now that, helps a lot.”

Ryan (a transfer from West Virginia) led the Scarlet team with four catches for 48 yards. The White team was led by Harris (a transfer from Syracuse) who had five catches for 49 yards, including a first quarter touchdown catch.

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Harris and Ryan along with Jones gives Rutgers some good talent at wide receiver. If [autotag]Aron Cruickshank[/autotag] can fully recover from his season-ending injury suffered last fall, then Rutgers will be able to go with multiple looks for whoever may be the starting quarterback.

It is a lot of speed on the field as well, something Rutgers has been lacking in recent years.

Lost in the buzz about Harris and Ryan from Friday’s scrimmage was the fact that wide receiver [autotag]Josh Youngblood[/autotag] flashed with two catches for 29 yards.

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An outstanding returner, Youngblood, a transfer from Kansas State, might be the fastest player on the roster.

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Transfer Taj Harris was impressed playing against the Scarlet Knights last year: ‘Rutgers was filled with dogs’

Taj Harris was impressed with Rutgers football when he played them last season.

Taj Harris had first-hand experience with Rutgers football before transferring into the program this offseason.

Harris had 16 catches for 161 yards, playing in just three games before he left Syracuse and entered the transfer portal. But in his second-to-last game with the Orange, Harris put together a standout performance in what was a 17-7 loss to Rutgers.

With eight catches for 122 receiving yards, it is certainly safe to say that Rutgers must have taken notice of the performance. Asked by the Boardwalk Sports Talk podcast if he was impressed with Rutgers, Harris didn’t even let the host finish the question.

“Dogs. Dogs. Rutgers was filled with dogs. From the first kickoff to the last buzzer. They [were] just attacking, attacking, attacking,” Harris said on the podcast.

“That’s one thing I really did notice about playing [them] – everyone swarming to the ball. I literally never fumbled in college football. My first fumble in collegiate was against Rutgers when they got that strip. That just showed me how tough and how much they swarm the ball and get to the ball and play with 110 percent intensity from snap-to-snap to the end of the game.”

The full podcast drops on April 11.

Harris is part of a rebuilt offense that features four transfers on the offensive line plus fellow transfer portal wide receiver Sean Ryan from West Virginia.

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In 2020, his last full season of college football, Harris had 58 catches for 733 receiving yards with five touchdowns.

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Highest rated wide receivers in the transfer portal right now

It’s no secret that Texas needs a running mate for Xavier Worthy.

It’s no secret that Texas is looking for a running mate for Xavier Worthy. Continue reading “Highest rated wide receivers in the transfer portal right now”

3 wide receivers the Oklahoma Sooners could add via the Transfer Portal

If the Oklahoma Sooners see wide receivers depart via the transfer portal, here are 3 names they could turn to for 2022.

The last few months at Oklahoma have been bonkers. National signing day is still a month away and they’re enduring the typical roster turnover that comes every offseason. It looks like their coaching staff is coming together with the hiring of Todd Bates and a report that they’re targeting Jay Valai to coach the cornerbacks.

Weighing heavy is the decision from their talented freshmen signal-caller, Caleb Williams. Will he stay in Norman or will he opt for somewhere like UGA, UNC, Notre Dame, or somewhere out west? We have no clue and those were just guesses but what we do know is this: his decision will create a ripple effect across college football.

Directly, in the Sooners’ locker room it could ultimately lead to multiple Oklahoma receivers putting their names into the transfer portal like Mario Williams, Jalil Farooq, and maybe even Marvin Mims.

Mario Williams became close with Caleb Williams during the recruiting cycle and had visions of playing together for several seasons at the University of Oklahoma.

Farooq is from the DMV like Williams, and the two are legitimately close friends and have been for a while now. Mims grew frustrated with his usage last season and may not trust what Dillon Gabriel or Jeffy Lebby’s offense brings to the table.

These are all hypothetical, but plausible when considering how touch-and-go things are as players seek to make sure they are in the best situations to help them succeed.

Let’s play a game though. One where we assume one or two of these names does enter the transfer portal and goes elsewhere? The Sooners would be looking at Theo Wease, Trevon West, Cody Jackson, and Drake Stoops as the wide receiver options after losing Mike Woods (NFL draft) and Jadon Haselwood (Transfer to Arkansas). The 2022 recruiting class is light at wide receiver with Jayden Gibson and Nicholas Anderson the only commitments at this point.

The Oklahoma Sooners could need bodies in a big way.

Assuming they take out their portal membership club card and go shopping, who could they target? Here are a few names from guys who have currently entered the portal.

RJ Sneed, Baylor

RJ Sneed is a guy the Sooners are very familiar with considering he’s been at Baylor since 2017. He was a part of Matt Rhule’s first-class at Baylor and has amassed 133 receptions, 1,564 yards, and 8 touchdowns.

Sneed has already graduated, earning his bachelor’s in health, kinesiology, and leisure studies in August 2020, and will have one more year to play as a grad transfer.

He’s familiar with the conference and Oklahoma is familiar with him if only via scouting. Would he be willing to betray his Bears and stay in the conference? Probably not, but the Sooners shouldn’t care. He’s a tough receiver and on a team that will lack guys that have played in a lot of games, he’s worth a look.

Receiving & Rushing Table
Receiving Rushing Scrimmage
Year School Conf Class Pos G Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
2017 Baylor Big 12 FR WR 5 5 53 10.6 0 0 0 0 5 53 10.6 0
*2018 Baylor Big 12 SO WR 2 1 4 4.0 0 0 0 0 1 4 4.0 0
*2019 Baylor Big 12 SO WR 14 42 437 10.4 3 1 -5 -5.0 0 43 432 10.0 3
2020 Baylor Big 12 JR WR 9 39 497 12.7 3 0 0 0 39 497 12.7 3
*2021 Baylor Big 12 SR WR 13 46 573 12.5 2 2 0 0.0 0 48 573 11.9 2
Career Baylor 133 1564 11.8 8 3 -5 -1.7 0 136 1559 11.5 8
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 1/4/2022.

Jadon Jackson, Ole Miss

Jadon Jackson knows a particular offensive coordinator for the Sooners very well after spending time with Jeff Lebby while at Ole Miss the last two seasons. While he never flashed much while for the Rebels, Jackson boasts legitimate speed and could help the Sooners offense as a versatile inside and outside wide receiver with some speed.

His knowledge of Lebby’s system gives him aleg up and he gets a fresh start while staying relatively close to his home state of Arkansas.

Receiving & Rushing Table
Receiving Rushing Scrimmage
Year School Conf Class Pos G Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
2019 Ole Miss SEC FR WR 4 5 87 17.4 1 0 0 0 5 87 17.4 1
*2020 Ole Miss SEC SO WR 2 5 42 8.4 0 0 0 0 5 42 8.4 0
*2021 Ole Miss SEC SO WR 2 5 42 8.4 0 0 0 0 5 42 8.4 0
Career Ole Miss 15 171 11.4 1 0 0 0 15 171 11.4 1
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 1/4/2022.

Taj Harris, Syracuse

Taj Harris is probably the most productive name on this list. He’s certainly had the most productive career.

Harris has started three years at Syracuse as an outside receiver. He finished his tenure at Syracuse fifth in program history with 151 catches and eighth with 1,857 yards. Harris was named an All-ACC wideout in 2020 and also set the Orange rookie records for receptions and receiving yards in 2018 with 40 catches for 565 yards (14.1 avg.) according to Syracuse Football’s team site.

At six foot two, he offers height but also adds a veteran presence to a group that will need it next year. The Sooners will have to act fast as he decommitted from the University of Kentucky in December and other teams will be circling in next.

Receiving & Rushing Table
Rece Rece Rece Rece Rush Rush Rush Rush Scri Scri Scri Scri
Year School Class Pos G Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
*2018 Syracuse FR WR 11 40 565 14.1 3 0 0 0 40 565 14.1 3
2019 Syracuse SO WR 11 37 559 15.1 2 2 25 12.5 0 39 584 15.0 2
2020 Syracuse JR WR 10 58 733 12.6 5 1 4 4.0 0 59 737 12.5 5
2021 Syracuse JR WR 3 16 171 10.7 0 1 0 0.0 0 17 171 10.1 0
Career Syracuse 151 2028 13.4 10 4 29 7.3 0 155 2057 13.3 10
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 1/4/2022.

Continue reading “3 wide receivers the Oklahoma Sooners could add via the Transfer Portal”

Know your foe: Which Orangemen could cause Notre Dame problems today

A 1-9 team won’t scare many, but Syracuse still has a few playmakers on their side that could give Notre Dame problems today.

When you look over at Syracuse and see a 1-9 record, there not much fear that is going to be struck by anyone. That doesn’t mean that Dino Babers team doesn’t have playmakers on it. They certainly do, so let’s take a look at a few Orangemen that could potentially give the Irish some issues today.