Rutgers football brings in 'exciting' 2024 recruiting class on national signing day
With the college football early signing period beginning on Wednesday and going through Friday, the Rutgers football team has locked in all 28 of its committed players for the class of 2024. This includes long-time commits, transfers and even some players who flipped their commitment today.
"It's an exciting time, and this recruiting class certainly makes it even more exciting," said head coach Greg Schiano.
With NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson back for another year of announcing the signees, here is everyone who signed with the Scarlet Knights today.
7:33 a.m. - The day started off with one of the highest-ranked commits of the class, four-star athlete Kaj Sanders, signing his national letter of intent to join Rutgers. Sanders is expected to play defensive back on the Banks. For Bergen Catholic, though, Sanders dominated on both sides of the ball.
“Kaj is long, fast, tough and athletic,” Bergen Catholic head coach Vito Campanile told TheKnightReport. “Great football acumen, very intelligent. He takes hard coaching, always wants to improve. Explosive hitter with tremendous speed.”
8:00 a.m. - The Knights continue to bolster their secondary with fellow four-star safety Antonio White out of Lilburn, Georgia. White has the length and size at the safety position that Schiano and his defensive staff covet.
8:49 a.m. - Rutgers bolsters its offensive line by landing Kenny Jones, a three-star interior offensive lineman from Delran, New Jersey.
9:11 a.m. - Schiano and his staff ventured to North Carolina to bring in three-star cornerback Benjamin Black. What does Black bring to the table? Speed, speed and more speed. He can also play wide receiver.
9:28 a.m. - Three-star defensive lineman Aaris Bethea continues the tradition of Schiano and the Knights bringing in talent from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn.
9:46 a.m. - Fresh off his contract extension, defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak receives a boost with the signing of three-star linebacker Sam Pilof from Middleton, Wisconsin.
10:05 a.m. - A late riser in the recruiting rankings, Rutgers brings in another athletic three-star cornerback in Kevin Levy. The Knights came seemingly out of nowhere to beat out Louisville when Levy verbally committed in July. Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm tried to make another late push with an in-home visit last week, but Schiano was able to hold off Brohm and sign Levy.
10:34 a.m. - The first big surprise for Rutgers came in the form of three-star Canadian defensive lineman Farell Gnago. The staff managed to flip Gnago from Kent State as he took an official visit over the weekend. Michigan State and its new head coach Jonathan Smith also fought hard to land Gnago, but ultimately, he chose the Knights.
Rutgers has had previous success with Canadian players, including a few defensive linemen such as junior Wesley Bailey, junior Rene Konga and freshman Djibril Abdou Rahman. Sophomore linebacker Dariel Djabome also hails from Canada.
10:52 a.m. - One of the crown jewels of the class, four-star tight end Korey Duff Jr., makes his commitment official. Duff has the size and skills to play at either wide receiver or tight end.
He already has a connection to the program as he was high school teammates with freshman wide receiver Ian Strong at St. Anthony’s in Melville, New York. This marks the third consecutive year the Knights have landed the top player in the Empire State, joining Strong in 2023 and sophomore linebacker Moses Walker in 2022.
"I know KJ Duff understands what it is to be a Rutgers player. His teammate Ian Strong, the year before, came here, and he had an inside view of who we are through his teammate and he came," Schiano said. "So number one that tells me Ian Strong is doing well and number two it tells me KJ Duff knows exactly what he is getting into and those two will be fun to watch in the years ahead together."
11:14 a.m. - Rutgers brings in another Florida product with three-star offensive tackle Raynor Andrews. Originally from Nassau, Bahamas, Andrews is still relatively new to football but moves extremely well for his size at nearly 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds.
11:20 a.m. - Three-star athlete Noah Shaw comes from Asheville, North Carolina, and will likely play on the defensive side of the ball on the Banks. One of Shaw’s best attributes is his versatility, as Asheville head coach Cort Radford compared his potential to current New York Giant Isaiah Simmons, who played linebacker, safety and even defensive end during his time at Clemson.
11:27 a.m. - In-state linebacker Liam Gilmore committed the day before signing and will join the program as a Preferred Walk-On (PWO) from Shawnee High School in Medford, New Jersey.
11:31 a.m. - The Knights welcome their quarterback of the future in three-star AJ Surace out of Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He is the top signal-caller in the state and is the son of current Princeton head coach Bob Surace.
"AJ (Surace) is a tremendous football player," said Schiano. "It's in his blood."
11:38 a.m. - Rutgers introduces its newest running back only minutes later in three-star athlete Gabriel Winowich, who joined Surace and the Irish for his senior season. Winowich helped Notre Dame light up the scoreboards and will look to do the same on the Banks alongside Surace.
11:45 a.m. - Three-star linebacker Samarian Robinson is another Florida product, and the Knights managed to flip his commitment from UCF back in June after a visit on campus. He’s an athletic linebacker with room to grow into his 6-foot-3, 210-pound frame with a deep group of linebackers already on campus and a strong position coach in Corey Hetherman.
11:51 a.m. - Schiano and his staff dipped into Florida yet again to land three-star safety Dahkari Gilley from Jacksonville. Gilley has the size and athleticism to play both safety and linebacker in college, racking up 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in his senior season at University Christian School.
11:57 a.m. - Jackson Gister verbally committed to the program six days before signing out of Calvert Hall High School in Towson, Maryland, and will join as another PWO at tight end and defensive line.
11:58 a.m. - Schiano and his staff dipped into Michigan once again, signing three-star linebacker Montele Johnson out of West Bloomfield. Johnson is a hard hitter who can contribute as a coverage linebacker in the middle of the defense or line up off the edge thanks to his athleticism and power.
12:02 p.m. - The afternoon hours kicked off with yet another commit hailing from Michigan, three-star tight end Monte Keener, signing on. The 6-foot-6, 215-pounder will likely have to add on some weight early in his college career, but he has good length and hands with a true willingness to be a blocker, which is what offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca wants from his tight ends.
12:10 p.m. - The program introduces another tight end, welcoming three-star Matthew Ogunniyi from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He has great versatility as a receiver and has a chance to break through in Rutgers’ crowded tight end room.
12:14 p.m. - The Knights brought in another surprise, this time at quarterback, signing Rocco Rainone from Holy Trinity High School in Glen Cove, New York. Rainone is a relatively unknown recruit from the Empire State and will likely be a PWO.
12:18 p.m. - Rutgers introduces another player from North Carolina, bringing in three-star wide receiver Isaiah Crumpler from Greenville. He comes from a football-rich family, as many relatives had great success in the sport. Isaiah Crumpler has good speed and has room to grow into a versatile wide receiver.
12:25 p.m. - The Knights bring in another running back, this time from Port Charlotte, Florida, in three-star Edd Guerrier. Though Guerrier is a smaller back at 5-foot-7 and 192 pounds, he packs a punch with his speed and power, reminiscent of junior running back Kyle Monangai, whom Guerrier grew up watching.
12:31 p.m. and 12:33 p.m. - Schiano and company bring in a set of twins in three-star defensive linemen Tyclean Luman and Tycoolhill Luman. Both are raw pass rushers and step into a deep defensive line room coached by Marquise Watson, one of the country's better position coaches and recruiters. Both twins originally hail from Canada.
12:38 p.m. - One of the more interesting signees in the class is three-star offensive lineman Carter Kadow from Middleton, Wisconsin. In addition to being high school teammates with Sam Pilof, Kadow was originally a tight end before attending Rutgers’ Big Man Academy camp in June. He will have to add weight to make an impact at tackle due to the position change, but the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder is someone to look out for in the future.
12:44 p.m. - The Knights announce another defensive lineman joining the program, plucking three-star edge rusher Elijah King from Columbus, Ohio. He is a raw pass rusher but has an extremely high ceiling. Rutgers beat out several Big Ten programs including Indiana, Purdue, Iowa and Minnesota in recruiting King. While he may not have a big impact early, he has a chance to develop into an elite edge rusher.
1:28 p.m. - The final member of the incoming signing day class is transfer wide receiver Dymere Miller from Monmouth. Miller projects to be the top target in the Knights' offense next year with game-breaking speed, along with the tremendous statistics and accolades that he produced at the FCS level.
"I think we have a receiver there that can help us, he is very fast..." Sciano said on Miller. "He fits right in there and he's a one year guy so we expect him to come in here and have an immediate contribution and impact on our team."
Schiano and his staff will continue to look into the transfer portal and in high school recruiting to upgrade the program as the early signing period passes.
"We have 28 members of this class and I think it's well-rounded, I think it brings a lot of different attributes that we are going to add to our football team, that are going to make us better in the future," Schiano said. "It's the highest academic class in my career. All the years that I've been the head coach, which I'm really proud of that too."
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