Rutgers poised for historic 2022 recruiting class

Since Greg Schiano’s first tenure on the Banks, there have been both average and good recruiting classes. There have been near misses and some spectacular misses such as Saquon Barkley as well as Dwayne Haskins and Rashan Gary to mention just a few. But the 2022 class is taking Rutgers recruiting to a whole new level. The best recruiting class in Rutgers history from a rankings perspective was the 2012 class, which finished 23rd nationally. As it currently stands, Rutgers’ 2022 recruiting class is ranked 14th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten per the 247Sports composite rankings.

What follows is a recap of the 2022 commitments to date.

It began a day after the 2021 national signing day with the commitment from offensive lineman 3-star prospect Nelson Monegro from Union City. That was proceeded by the commitment of 3-star offensive lineman Taj White from Hudson Catholic. Rutgers bolted out of the gate with five prospects verbally committed in the class of 2022. The other three aside from White and Monegro are 3-star wide receivers Rashad Rochelle from Springfield, Illinois, Addison Copeland from Buffalo, New York, and Jojo Bermudez from Egg Harbor City, New Jersey.

The next day, Rutgers secured a commitment from 3-star offensive lineman Joe De Croce of Northern Valley Regional. The 6’6”, 290- pounder from Demarest, New Jersey held over half a dozen power five offers from that includes Maryland, Syracuse, Boston College, Louisville, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, as well as UConn and Buffalo. The offensive tackle is ranked 20th in New Jersey and 91st nationally in the 2022 class per 247 Sports. That same day Rutgers added its second offensive line commit of the day and fourth of the week on Saturday night, as 3-star prospect Kwabena Asamoah pledged to the program. The 6’4”, 295-pound guard from Pickerington Central High School is ranked the 28th best prospect in Ohio and 43rd best guard nationally per 247 Sports.

On March 5^th, Rutgers football secured a major commitment as the 8th highest rated prospect in New Jersey in the class of 2022, Kenny Fletcher, verbally committed to the program. Fletcher is a 6’4”, 215 pounder from Delran ranked as a high 3-star prospect in 247 Sports composite rankings and is listed as the 27th best weak side defensive lineman in the 2022 class. He is a 4-star recruit per Rivals. Fletcher made a decision among a final five of Penn State, Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville, and Rutgers. He also accumulated other power five offers that included Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt, Ole Miss, and Duke.

On March 10^th the class of 2022 continued to gain momentum as 4-star wide receiver Amarion Brown committed to Rutgers. Brown, a 6-3, 170-pound receiver, is ranked as the 50th overall player in Florida and the 47th wide receiver in the Class of 2022, according to 247 Sports composite rankings. Brown is the second highest ranked recruit in the 2022 class for Rutgers as of now and will be attempting to enroll early next January. He will join JoJo Bermudez and Rashad Rochelle as receiver commits in the class.

The number of 4-star recruits continued to pile up at the end of March with the commitment of running back Samuel Brown. Brown from Wyndmoor La Salle High School in Wyndmoor, PA. He ultimately chose Rutgers over Nebraska, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Duke, Michigan State, Pitt, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Virginia, and West Virginia.

On April 9^th and after days of rumors and speculation, the Scarlet Knights found their quarterback of the future in Gavin Wimsatt, the 2022 four-star quarterback from Owensboro, Kentucky who announced his commitment to Rutgers on Friday afternoon. Wimsatt is the highest-ranked quarterback recruit in the history of the Rutgers’ program. In recent weeks, it seemed to be down to Rutgers or Kentucky for Wimsatt. Ultimately, the Scarlet Knights won the sweepstakes.

At the end of May, the recruiting renaissance under head coach Greg Schiano continued as 4-star offensive lineman Jacob Allen announced his commitment to the program an hour before kickoff of the Scarlet-White Game. The 6-foot-6, 270 pound tackle plays at The Hun School in Princeton. Per 247 Sports composite rankings for the 2020 recruiting class, Allen is the top prospect in New Jersey, the 13th best offensive tackle nationally and 118th overall. He holds over two dozen power five offers with Penn State and Michigan State as the two programs that Allen included in his final list and was the most involved with aside from the Scarlet Knights. He took a visit to Happy Valley this past spring and was scheduled to visit East Lansing in June. However, RU was able to secure his commitment after making him a top priority over the past year.

On June 7^th Rutgers football received the thirteenth verbal commitment for its 2022 recruiting class when D.J. Allen announced he was joining the program following an official visit this past weekend. The 3-star defensive end from Leo, Indiana is ranked the 13th best recruit in the Hoosier state per the 247 Sports composite rankings. The 6’7”, 225-pound prospect has a 4.0 GPA and has gained more than 30 pounds since last fall per Todderick Hunt of NJ Advance Media. He also plays basketball and competes in multiple track and field events in high school in addition to football. Allen holds almost two dozen offers, as well as from multiple Big Ten schools including Michigan and Michigan State. He had official visits scheduled for Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Iowa but ultimately chose the first power five program to offer him in Rutgers.

Later in June, Schiano addressed specialty teams with the commitment of its top specialist target of the 2022 recruiting class as kicker Jai Patel committed to the program. He announced the decision publicly on Twitter on Sunday afternoon, just over a week since taking an unofficial visit. The South Brunswick native is joining the program as a preferred walk-on with the opportunity to earn a scholarship if he ultimately wins the starting job. Patel performed well on Saturday during a specialist’s camp at Rutgers and has been pursued by the current coaching staff since their arrival. Although he recently made visits to N.C. State and Charlotte, Patel decided to stay home and become a Scarlet Knight. Last season for South Brunswick, Patel made 7 of 8 field goal attempts, including a long of 40 yards, and was a perfect 22 of 22 with PAT’s. He is known for a strong work ethic and strong technique. Patel should compete for the starting job at placekicker as soon as he arrives on campus next year. He is rated a 5-star kicker and 3-star punter per Kohl’s Kicking and rated the 27th best kicker overall in 2022 class.

On July 15^th, the Scarlet Knights kept chopping on the recruiting trail with the commitment of four-star linebacker Moses Walker who announced his commitment to Rutgers. The Erasmus Hall product took to Twitter to make the announcement. Walker chose Rutgers over Penn State, whom he visited in June, as part of his two finalists but was also offered by Texas A&M, Miami, LSU, and USC. Walker highlighted what the Scarlet Knights can do for him on and off the field. Walker is currently ranked as the No. 1 player in New York, according to 247Sports. He is also listed as the no. 17linebacker and 153rd best prospect overall in the 2022 class.

As training camp grows closer, the class of 2022 recruiting class had one last opportunity to meet on campus before they go off to complete their senior years of high school. The latest college football recruiting period went into effect on Sunday, July 25, and ended on Sunday, Aug. 1. Despite the short nature of the period, Rutgers took advantage of the time by hosting dozens of football recruits before the dead period resumed.

National signing day is December 15, 2021. Fans can expect additional commitments between now and then. Filling out the class as well keeping commits from looking elsewhere will in part depend on the product the Scarlet Knights put on the field this fall. The feeling here is that comes national signing day, it is going to be a very happy holiday season for Scarlet Knight fans.

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