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With Bo Melton leaving for the NFL Draft, Rutgers might have just found their new No. 1 wide receiver.
On Friday morning, former Syracuse receive Taj Harris announced that he has committed to the Scarlet Knights. Harris took to Twitter to make the announcement and tagged both Greg Schiano and Fran Brown.
Jersey I’m home @RFootball we locked in ❤️ thank you for the opportunity @GregSchiano @RUCoachFran pic.twitter.com/Yn8b6OZfZw
— Taj Harris (@_harris3) January 28, 2022
Welcome home, Taj ‼️@_harris3 | #CHOP | pic.twitter.com/84Abm4vq2P
— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) January 28, 2022
Harris is a Beverly, NJ native who played his high school ball at Palmyra. He will now have the chance to play college football in his home state after what was a very successful career with the Orange.
After appearing in three games during the 2021 season, Harris decided to enter the transfer portal. He was the team’s leading receiver for two of the three games before stepping away. Harris finished his career at Syracuse as one of the most productive receivers in program history.
Harris was a three-year starter for Syracuse. He finished fifth in program history with 151 catches and eighth in receiving yards with 1,857. As a freshman in 2018, Harris set rookie records for Syracuse in both catches (40) and receiving yards (565).
In 37 career games, Harris made 32 starts and scored 10 touchdowns. He logged five games with 100 or more receiving yards and 21 games going over 50 yards.
Harris’ career came to a peak in 2020 when he was named Third Team All-ACC. He was fifth in the ACC with 5.8 catches per game and sixth in receiving yards per contest with 73.7. He totaled 58 catches for 733 yards and five touchdowns — which were all team-highs.
In December, Harris announced that he was decommitting from Kentucky to explore other options. He chose the Scarlet Knights over the likes of Texas A&M, Louisville, Ole Miss, and Auburn — among others.
Harris is the second wide receiver commit to join Rutgers this offseason. Former West Virginia receiver Sean Ryan announced his decision at the beginning of 2022. Ryan brings great size and explosiveness to the wide receiver room and Harris adds plenty more, along with great experience. Ryan has one year of eligibility remaining while Harris has two years left.
With Melton leaving for the draft and Aron Cruickshank recovering from a knee injury, the Scarlet Knights needed some more firepower on the outside. The addition of Harris gives them that and then some.