Temple’s Christian Braswell transfers to Rutgers

A big question entering spring camp for Rutgers was finding enough answers to improve the talent and depth of the secondary. They added a surprise potential solution on Friday as Temple’s Christian Braswell announced he was transferring into the program.

The 5’10”, 180 pound cornerback made 21 tackles, three pass deflections, two forced fumbles and one interception in six games last season. The redshirt junior has 61 tackles, 16 pass deflections, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 30 career games over three season. Braswell is a grad transfer but has two years of eligibility left due to the NCAA ruling with COVID-19 making last season a free year.

Since entering the transfer portal in January, Braswell received interest from schools in four of the five power conferences including Northwestern, Boston College, Wake Forest, UCLA and Mississippi State.

Rutgers defensive backs coach Fran Brown coached Braswell at Temple in 2019 when he was the Owls co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach. RU defensive line coach Jim Panagos was in the same role at Temple in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Braswell is the third Temple player to transfer to Rutgers since the end of last season. Offensive lineman David Nwaogwugwu and defensive lineman Ifeanyi Maijeh joined the program in January.

While the 2022 recruiting class currently ranks as sixth best nationally heading into the summer, the coaching staff continues to do an excellent job of plugging holes in the roster through the transfer portal.

Adding a multi-year starter who the staff have previously coached gives Braswell a chance to make a real impact this fall. Adding another proven cornerback also gives the staff improved depth at that position, as well as increased flexibility to potentially move a player from that group over to safety to sure up that position.

Having spring practice to find answers for certain positions is critical and was something Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano touched on earlier this week. “Well, the safety question is an interesting one. We may have to make some moves. I have to see and let it play out a little bit. But spring is also a time to experiment, so you can slide some guys over and see if they have a natural inclination to play defense.”

Braswell is a great addition to the roster and another sign of how well organized and prepared Schiano and the staff are in rebuilding this program.