2022 Early Signing Period: DJ Allen Signs With Rutgers Football

Demetrious (DJ) Allen had pledged to Rutgers verbally on D-Day (June 6) so it was merely a formality for him to make it official Wednesday. Signing the 3-star prospect from Indiana is a lengthy addition to the 2022 recruiting class for Greg Schiano and the coaching staff.

247 Sports Composite Ranking: 3-star; 15th in IN; 102nd DL & 735th nationally

High School Position: DE/TE (6’7”, 210 lbs.)

Projected college position: Strong-side Defensive End

High School: Leo

Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN

Most notable other offers: Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern

Allen stayed true to Rutgers despite visits to Iowa, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern after he pledged to the Scarlet Knights. As evidenced by that list, he is a tremendous student in the classroom, boasting a 4.0 GPA. He has the long, athletic body that Head Coach Greg Schiano, Defensive Coordinator Robb Smith, and Defensive Line coach Jim Panagos have been so successful in developing over their coaching careers. For such a tall player, DJ gets extremely low when nearing the tackle to be made and explodes to ball carriers. He plays with a tremendous motor and gets off the ball at the snap much quicker than some of the other guys Rutgers recently added that are still learning to play faster. His basketball acumen is visible when the ball is in the air, but he doesn’t default to standing up too quickly when engaged with a blocker as players with that multi-sport experience often do at this stage of their careers. He looks like his recruiting ranking would be significantly higher had he played in more of a talent hotbed.

The Rutgers Defensive Line improved in its run defense for the most part in 2021, but regressed in its ability to get sacks from its front four. With the losses of Julius Turner and Mike Tverdov, the need to find players who can rush the passer is magnified even further. Adding Defensive Ends who can pressure the outside and Defensive Tackles that can collapse the pocket from the interior is critical for Rutgers to generate the pressure that eluded them in 2021. It’s rare for defensive linemen to play their first season, but the two-deep will include redshirt freshmen already that have a very slim leg up on the incoming class.

Floor: Myles Nash

Most likely: Mike Tverdov

Potential: Raheem Orr / Kemoko Turay

Check out his highlights below:

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