Early Signing Period: Malachi Burby Signs With Rutgers Football

For a long time, despite defensive line being one of the Scarlet Knights’ biggest weaknesses, no one had committed in the 2019 class. Burby changed that when he gave a verbal to Rutgers in October during the bye week. He signed officially Wednesday.

Burby does a great job defeating the initial block to get one arm free and “sitting down” in the gap to prevent a running lane. He does not possess elite explosiveness or overwhelming strength, but as a such a big, young guy could improve in both areas as he continues to grow. Overall Malachi has no glaring weaknesses which means he is unlikely to be “a bust.” Potential of Sebastian Joseph-Day may be a bit of stretch, but a steady three year starter in Jon Bateky is more appropriate as what fans can expect as a best case.

Position: DL (6’2”, 270 lbs.)

High School: Cheshire Academy

Hometown: Berlin, CT

Most notable other offers: Wake Forest, Syracuse (Texas Tech and Indiana strongly interested)

Burby arrives at Rutgers to a defensive line group that loses Kevin Wilkins and Jon Bateky, their two best and most experienced players. The defensive line always seems to sustain losses as players usually take a year or two to be ready for the college level and the rotation goes as many as ten deep on a good year. Rutgers needs to add as many three-star talents as possible and hope a few transform themselves into true disruptors.

Floor: Kenneth Kirksey

Most likely: Wil Previlon

Potential: Jon Bateky

Check out his highlights below:

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