Rutgers Recruiting is Off to a Hot Start for 2025
Rutgers Football has gone through probably the best month of recruiting in the history of the program after 15 commitments already through just the first two official visitor weekends. The expectation heading into these visit weekends was for a solid amount, but was nowhere near what actually happened. But, Greg Schiano and his staff know how this process works very well, and were able to change the minds of many kids who probably didn’t take Rutgers as seriously before their visit to campus.
The 15 commitments improved the recruiting class from just 8 commitments to now 23 as it stands today, including 7 four star prospects. For the first weekend, the number included five Defensive Lineman commitments, from New York native Miron Gurman,, Florida native Raedyn Bruens, Delaware native Robbie Johnson Jr., and Georgia natives Braxton Kyle and Chase Linton. They landed two Offensive Linemen, from New Jersey native and Bergen Catholic rising senior Chris Vigna, as well as Michigan native Offensive Lineman N-Kye Wynn. There were two Wide Receiver commitments from New York native Jourdin Houston and Maryland native Vernon Allen III. The final prospect was Cornerback Michael Clayton, who hails from Georgia. There is an obvious trend here, with the obvious being that Greg Schiano and his recruiting staff have really spread out their boundaries recruiting since his return to the banks, as like I just mentioned, there were three commitments from the state of Georgia, which seems to becoming its own pipeline, as well as an add from Florida and Michigan. Of course, they were able to land three prospects from the tri-state area, two from New York and Jersey’s own Chris Vigna from the Big North.
Rutgers wasn’t satisfied just yet with those commitments, as for the second weekend, they landed even more high ranked prospects, a couple of whom hail from the great state of New Jersey. Toms River North Offensive Tackle Jaelyne Matthews had one of the best announcements in recent memory with the help of Toms River/Rutgers legend Todd Frazier, as well as fellow Toms River native and UFC fighter Frankie Edgar. There was more news from Toms River later in the day when Donovan Catholic Wide Receiver Michael Thomas III announced his intentions to commit to Rutgers. The Top 200 player in the nation according to 247Sports.com gives the Scarlet Knights a much needed speed boost with great catching ability for the future. T
he other three prospects that joined the now historic 2025 recruiting class includes Florida native OL Gerrick Gordon, D.C. native and four star Safety Tariq Hayer, as well as four star OL Joshua Blackston from Maryland. Another Jersey native that is on commitment watch in the next coming few weeks is St. Joseph’s Regional Running Back John Forster, who would provide Rutgers with another big time rushing threat following Kyle Monangai’s tenure on the banks.