Early Signing Period: Malachi Melton Signs With Rutgers Football

Greg Schiano wanted to add as much speed as possible when he was named the Rutgers Football coach earlier this month. One of his initial priorities was trying to flip Malachi “Max” Melton from Purdue. The initial flip happened on December 13, and it felt pretty safe since his brother Bo is the team’s leading receiver and both their parents were Rutgers athletes. “Max” made it official Wednesday when he signed his letter of intent.

Max Melton is considered an athlete by some recruiting services and a cornerback by others. He high points the ball well and snags it in his hands on both sides of the ball, which he has to as a shorter player than some of the players he matches up with. He does know how to properly wrap and tackle, whether it is near the line of scrimmage or on a receiver in space. He has a chance to be a return man very early in his career as he is a very smooth runner.

High School Position: WR, CB (5’11”, 165 lbs.)

Projected college position: Cornerback

High School: Cedar Creek

Hometown: May’s Landing, NJ

Most notable other offers: Purdue, Boston College

Rutgers returns three of the four members of the two-deep at cornerback (losing multi-year starter Damon Hayes), plus some true freshmen who needed some time to get their feet wet. That said cornerback is always a position that freshmen can leapfrog into playing time, just ask Hayes and Bless Austin in recent memory.

Floor: Kobe Marfo

Most likely: Isaiah Wharton

Potential: Damon Hayes

Check out his highlights below:

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