Early Signing Period surprise as Baylor QB Transfer Peyton Powell signs with Rutgers

Hours after Rutgers formally announced its 2020 recruiting class, a major surprise took place, as a second quarterback signed. Baylor transfer Peyton Powell was formally announced as signing with the program late Wednesday afternoon.

A former 4-star recruit, Powell was the 263rd best player in the 2019 class according to the 247Sports. He was the 14th best athlete in the country and the 33rd best recruit in the state of Texas. He was recruited to Baylor by former assistant Fran Brown, who became secondary coach at Rutgers under head Greg Schiano just over a week ago. Brown was integral in the signings of South Jersey commits Tyreem Powell, Chris Long and Max Melton, three of the four highest rated high schoolers to sign at Rutgers. Now Brown’s connections in Texas have paid off as well.

Powell was originally recruited by Texas, where he was once committed, as well as TCU, Ohio State, and Virginia, among others. However, most power five programs wanted Powell to play a different position than quarterback, in particular wide receiver or defensive back. After enrolling at Baylor early last January, Powell entered the transfer portal last August and was committed to Utah before flipping to Rutgers.

Powell played at Odessa Permian his senior year of high school after transferring from Midland Christian. The Permian Panthers were made famous being profiled in Buzz Bissinger’s acclaimed book Friday Night Lights, that led to a movie and TV show. Powell threw for 1,514 yards and 15 touchdowns, as well as ran for 460 yards and 7 touchdowns for Permian, leading them to an 8-4 record.

The Transfer is a dual threat QB with plenty of upside who has four years of eligibility remaining but will need to sit out next season due to transfer rules. Per a report from NJ Advance Media’s Todderick Hunt, Powell was added with the intent to play wide receiver or defensive back. With an offensive coordinator yet to be hired, how Powell fits into the offense remains to be seen, if he ends up on that side of the ball. However, his athleticism should be an asset whatever system or position he ultimately plays for Rutgers.

In his second tenure in Piscataway , Schiano has said he wanted to utilize connections he established while at Ohio State to expand the footprint of the “State of Rutgers”. Texas was specifically mentioned as a state to target and with Brown on the coaching staff, it seems that will be the case.

You can watch Powell’s senior highlights at Permian here.