Rutgers hosting New Jersey native Austin Williams on visit

Rutgers is hard at work attempting to add a guard in the transfer portal and is currently hosting a grad transfer who knows New Jersey well.

FIU transfer and native of the Garden State Austin Williams is currently visiting the Scarlet Knights. The news of Williams’ arrival on Wednesday was first reported by The Knight Report.

Williams hails from Roseland and attended Seton Hall Prep before committing to Marist. This was his first stop on what has been a well-traveled career. He spent two years at Marist before transferring to Hartford. He sat out the 2019-20 season before playing two years with the team.

Williams received an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic and ended up transferring to Florida International. During his grad year, Williams did not play due to a knee injury. Now, he is attempting to comeback for a seventh season and will likely need a waiver to receive a medical redshirt.

Williams has received much interest from mid-majors such as Charleston, George Washington, Manhattan, Chattanooga, New Mexico State, and Towson among others.

Williams last played in 2021-22, where he was named First Team All-America East. He was fourth in the conference in scoring with 16.1 points per game. He shot 50% from the field and added 5.2 rebounds.

Rutgers has been attempting to fill a hole in the backcourt with the losses of Cam Spencer and Paul Mulcahy. Derek Simpson and UMass transfer Noah Fernandes currently man the backcourt but Rutgers could still use another option. The Scarlet Knights are also planning to hose Iowa State transfer Jeremiah Williams but if Williams commits, this could change future plans.

The Scarlet Knights currently have three open scholarships for the 2023-24 season and are interested in adding a guard with one of the spots. It looks as though Rutgers could have answers in the coming weeks, maybe days.