Commit alert! Rutgers Football gets verbal pledge from Mohamed Toure

Rutgers football coaching staff is preparing for the season opener Saturday against Texas State, but continues to put work on the recruiting trail. The Scarlet Knights secured a commitment from Linebacker Mohamed Toure out of Pleasantville, New Jersey. He tweeted earlier today:

He also added this video featuring teammate Elijah Glover:

The Pleasantville native holds offers from sixteen schools per 247sports. Fellow Big Ten school Maryland is joined on the list of those who have offered by other Power Five programs including Georgia Tech, Virginia, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. In addition to Rutgers, Temple was was finalist, as the Owls did everything they could to land Toure. At 6’3” and 213 pounds, Mohamed is a solid three-star prospect, the 27th best in New Jersey for the 2019 class according to the 247 composite.

The first thing that jumps out from the highlights is his size. Plenty of players have been listed at 213 pounds in high school that didn’t have his frame. At times, he looks like a man among boys delivering punishment to those who try to block him and engulfing ball carriers. He shows some pretty good ball skills, too, having played running back in high school as well and could surprise with an occasional nifty interception from the linebacker spot.

Toure isn’t as tall or first step explosive as his cousin, former Scarlet Knight Kemoko Turay, now with the Indianapolis Colts. Once he gets moving even a step though, he moves downhill pretty well. Worth watching will be how quickly he can react at the college level and accelerate with burst. Even on plays where he does not seem to have any momentum against a quickly oncoming ball carrier, Mohamed shows strong body control to hold his ground and halt the opponent in his tracks. His top end speed is pretty good for his build, too.

Toure is at worst a solid three-star prospect who will compete hard in practice and provide depth like Brandon Russell did in his career. He most likely will be able to contribute in the two-deep by his second season like an Antonio Lowery, but more Big Ten sized. Best case scenario is he turns into the next Steve Longa or a Jack edge rusher like William Beckford.

I like the pickup because as mentioned with the Nihym Anderson news Wednesday, Rutgers is thin at the linebacker spot beginning in 2019. To truly compete in the Big Ten, a team’s linebacker depth chart needs several guys who could become complete beasts. If Toure can add a little weight without losing any quickness, he could blossom into a star.

Toure joins fellow linebackers Zukudo Igwenagu and Chris Conti committed in the Rutgers 2019 class so far. The thirteen total verbal commits thus far each have a 3-star rating in the latest 247 composite rankings. Prior to Toure’s commitment, the current class was ranked 57th nationally and 13th in the Big Ten per 247 Sports. Hopefully they get more good news and win Saturday with Toure in attendance.

Here are some of his highlights:

Welcome to the banks Mohamed!