3-Star Safety Zukudo Igwenagu Commits To Rutgers Football

Rutgers football received its second commitment of the day on Wednesday for the class of 2019, as the top player in Massachusettes, Zukudo Igwenagu pledged to the program in the afternoon.

Igwenagu, who plays at Worcester Academy, projects as a safety and is a big prospect at 6’4”, 220 pounds. He held FBS offers from UMASS, Army, Buffalo, Rice, Temple, and Kent State, per 247 Sports. The recruiting site also cited Michigan, Duke, Boston College, UConn, Northwestern, UCLA and Pitt, among others, as having interest in him.

Todderick Hunt of NJ Advance Media stated in this article that Igwenagu’s performance at The Opening N.J. Regional in April “may have been the most impressive of all.” Hunt cited the following on Igwenagu, who he referred to as an “undiscovered stud”:

“Not only was he a standout during drills and one-on-ones, but he ran a 4.49-second shuttle, threw the power ball an impressive 40 feet and vertical leaped 33.8 inches, all while measuring a legit 6-4 and 216 pounds.”

Zukudo indicated to Hunt that he plans to enroll early and is in line to graduate high school ahead of next spring. Defensive backs coach Noah Joseph was the primary recruiter and could utilize the physical player at either safety position. Based on his size and athleticism, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Igwenagu have a chance to play right away as a freshman in 2019. It’s also possible that he eventually moves up to linebacker over time. Wherever Igwenagu ends up playing, he will add much needed speed and athleticism to the Rutgers defense.

Earlier on Wednesday, Rutgers landed 3-star offensive lineman C.J. Hanson from St. John Vianney. Chris Ash and the staff now have eight players verbally committed in the 2019 class.

Update: Later on Wednesday, 3-star tight end Dylan Deveney committed as well.

Here are highlights for Igwenagu.