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New Jersey has always served as fertile ground for college football teams around the country. While Rutgers has made great strides in keeping talent at home, outsiders continue to enter the Garden State and gain commitments from New Jersey prospects. Let's take a look at where New Jersey's best recruits are going not just in the Big Ten, but nationally:
(all rankings from 24/7 Sports composite)
- Big Ten -
Ohio State
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Noah Brown | ATH | 6'2" | 212 | Pope John XXIII (Sparta, NJ) | **** |
| Darius Slade | DE | 6'5" | 238 | Montclair (Montclair, NJ) | *** |
Michigan
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Jabrill Peppers | CB | 6'1" | 205 | Paramus Catholic (Paramus, NJ) | ***** |
| Juwann Bushell-Beatty | OT | 6'7" | 310 | Paramus Catholic (Paramus, NJ) | *** |
Penn State
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Saeed Blacknall | WR | 6'3" | 210 | Manalapan (Manalapan, NJ) | **** |
| Mike Gesicki | TE | 6'5" | 236 | Southern Regional (Manahawkin, NJ) | **** |
| Antoine White | DT | 6'3" | 265 | Millville (Millville, NJ) | *** |
| Jason Cabinda | ATH | 6'1" | 220 | Hunterdon Central (Flemington, NJ) | *** |
Michigan State
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Gerald Owens | FB | 6'1" | 245 | West Deptford (Westville, NJ) | *** |
Maryland
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Juwann Winfree | ATH | 6'2" | 180 | Dwight Morrow (Englewood, NJ) | **** |
Northwestern
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Garrett Dickerson | DE | 6'4" | 240 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, NJ) | **** |
| Cameron Quiero | OLB | 6'1" | 207 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, NJ) | *** |
Iowa
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Jameer Outsey | DE | 6'3" | 225 | Franklin Township (Somerset, NJ) | *** |
| Terrence Harris | DE | 6'3" | 250 | Paramus Catholic (Paramus, NJ) | ** |
Rutgers
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Justin Nelson | OLB | 6'1" | 245 | De Paul Catholic (Wayne, NJ) | *** |
| Sidney Gopre | OLB | 6'0" | 200 | Weequahic (Newark, NJ) | *** |
| Saquan Hampton | CB | 6'2" | 185 | Hamilton (Trenton, NJ) | *** |
| Kevin Wilkins | OG | 6'4" | 278 | St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, NJ) | *** |
| Zack Heeman | OT | 6'8" | 270 | Mount Olive (Flanders, NJ) | *** |
| Jimmy Hogan | DE | 6'5" | 225 | Ramapo (Franklin Lakes, NJ) | *** |
| Donald Bedell | DE | 6'4" | 230 | Rumson Fair Haven Reg. (Rumson, NJ) | *** |
- Atlantic Coast Conference -
Florida State
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Ryan Izzo | TE | 6'6" | 220 | Pope John XXIII (Sparta, NJ) | *** |
Miami
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Kiy Hester | S | 6'0" | 200 | De Paul Catholic (Wayne, NJ) | **** |
| David Njoku | WR | 6'4" | 220 | Cedar Grove (Cedar Grove, NJ) | *** |
| Courtel Jenkins | DT | 6'2" | 294 | De Paul Catholic (Wayne, NJ) | *** |
Virginia Tech
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Billy Ray Mitchell | OG | 6'5" | 285 | Paramus Catholic (Paramus, NJ) | *** |
| Tyrell Smith | OT | 6'5" | 265 | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) | *** |
Pittsburgh
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Adonis Jennings | WR | 6'3" | 185 | Timber Creek (Sicklerville, NJ) | **** |
Syracuse
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Rodney Williams | CB | 5'10" | 185 | Cherry Hill - West (Cherry Hill, NJ) | ** |
Boston College
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Jonathan Hilliman | RB | 6'1" | 210 | St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, NJ) | **** |
| Joe Vitiello | DE | 6'4" | 255 | Immaculata (Somerville, NJ) | *** |
| Sherman Alston | RB | 5'7" | 165 | St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, NJ) | ** |
| Tom Sweeney | TE | 6'5" | 220 | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) | ** |
| Austin Stevens | TE | 6'4" | 220 | Montclair (Montclair, NJ) | ** |
| Noa Merritt | DT | 6'1" | 265 | Pope John XXIII (Sparta, NJ) | ** |
Wake Forest
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Ryan Anderson | OT | 6'6" | 275 | The Hun School (Princeton, NJ) | ** |
- American Athletic Conference -
Temple
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Shamir Bearfield | S | 6'0" | 170 | St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, NJ) | *** |
| Michael Dogbe | OLB | 6'4" | 230 | Parsippany Hills (Morris Plains, NJ) | *** |
| Frank Nutile | QB | 6'4" | 200 | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) | *** |
| Sean Chandler | CB | 5'10" | 175 | Camden (Camden, NJ) | *** |
| David Hood | RB | 5'10" | 185 | Absegami (Absecon, NJ) | ** |
- Mid-American Conference -
Western Michigan
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Jamauri Bogan | RB | 5'7" | 165 | Union (Union, NJ) | *** |
Massachusetts
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Randall West | QB | 6'4" | 215 | The Lawrenceville School (Trenton, NJ) | ** |
| Chris Carter | DE | 6'4" | 240 | Bridgewater-Raritan (Bridgewater, NJ) | ** |
- Conference USA -
Old Dominion
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Marques Little | CB | 5'9" | 170 | Williamstown (Williamstown, NJ) | *** |
| Isaiah Worthy | OLB | 6'2" | 230 | West Deptford (Westville, NJ) | *** |
| Justice Davila | S | 5'11" | 185 | Timber Creek (Sicklerville, NJ) | ** |
- FBS Independents -
Notre Dame
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | High School | Rating |
| Quenton Nelson | OT | 6'5" | 295 | Red Bank Catholic (Red Bank, NJ) | **** |
Big Ten: 21 recruits
ACC: 15
AAC: 7
MAC: 3
C-USA: 3
Notre Dame: 1
Rutgers predictably led the way with the most New Jersey recruits, garnering seven total. However, Boston College and Temple weren't far behind with six and five from the Garden State, respectively. The Eagle's ability to sign six Jersey players might be alarming if it weren't for the majority of them being two-star sleeper recruits. Temple, on the other hand, stole some really good players in Michael Dogbe and Shamir Bearfield, with Bearfield choosing the Owls over an offer from the Scarlet Knights. Temple even signed lightly recruited quarterback prospect Frank Nutile out of Don Bosco Prep, possibly establishing a pipeline to the perennial power.
Rutgers also failed to sign a single player from top in-state programs Pope John XXIII (Sparta, NJ) and Paramus Catholic (Paramus, NJ), with Noah Brown and Jabrill Peppers being the most notable players to spurn the hometown college program. Also, James Franklin's first recruiting class has a high-quality Jersey flavor to it, including Saeed Blacknall. One silver lining is that Rutgers did not really lose top targets to lesser or equal programs. Maryland did not sign a top NJ prospect, and Rutgers didn't seem to show a ton of interest in Northwestern commit Garrett Dickerson. You never want to lose your key prospects to the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, or Penn State, but it's understandable when it happens, especially considering the results on the field for the Scarlet Knights this past season.
Kyle Flood's status as head coach is not currently helping matters since some might see him as a lame duck coach, but hiring Ralph Friedgen as offensive coordinator should help boost recruiting by showing top recruits that RU means business on offense. Rutgers has always been solid defensively, 2013 notwithstanding. If Flood had more wins to end the season, the Scarlet Knights might just have prevented some decommitments. The B1G will be much more difficult, no doubt. But RU won't stay near the bottom forever, and once that happens more and better recruits will decide to stay in Piscataway.
