Rutgers Football Recruiting Updates: Early February 2026

The 2027 recruiting class is starting to heat up, as Rutgers has already landed 2027 Tight End Sydney Padilla from West Orange High School. The Scarlet Knights have put their best foot forward in their attempt to land several other athletes as well, hoping to round out the class with high-end talent that fills areas of need.

Most players in the class of 2027 aren’t close to picking which school they would want to go to. While a lot of them have gone on unofficial visits to schools, Rutgers first official visit weekend for the class likely won’t be until the last weekend of May, as it has been in years past.

So far, Rutgers has extended 77 scholarship offers, according to 247sports. A few of the athletes they have offered have already committed elsewhere, but a large majority remain uncommitted.

247sports ranks athletes’ supposed interest in Rutgers and their chances of committing on a cool-to-warm scale. Since it is very early in the recruitment cycle, many athletes are still cool on Rutgers, but two are currently listed as warm. Esa Wittingburg, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound EDGE from East Orange High School, and Terrance Smith, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound four-star interior offensive lineman, are the two who are currently listed as warm according to 247sports. Wittingburg received his offer when Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano visited his school during an in-school visit.

The Knights’ coaching staff seems very interested in two four-star quarterback recruits from Illinois, Israel Abrams and Jake Nawrot. Coordinators rarely recruit in person; however, Rutgers OC Kirk Ciarrocca felt the need to fly out and visit both of these players. They have also recently extended an offer to quarterback Kevin Verpeale, a three-star Florida native who is currently committed to Pittsburgh.

In addition to the quarterbacks, Rutgers coaches have also recently visited Alabama commit Colt Lumpris. Lumpris is a 6-foot-6, 225-pound four-star athlete who plays his high school ball for The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. They have also recently visited Jamar Taylor, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound three-star wide receiver from Wilmington, Delaware.

Rutgers new offensive line coach, Jim Turner, has been an asset on the recruiting trail since he joined the team this offseason. He has conducted in-home visits with players such as 2027 Texas OL Chase Allen and Delaware four-star OT Layton Von Brandt, in addition to playing a major factor in the commitment of 2026 OL Ian Asaeli Ngaue-Stephenson.

According to 247sports, three-star running back Aiden Gibson from South Carolina has a visit locked in for May 29th. He is the only player to have an official visit scheduled as of right now.

The Knights have also extended an offer to 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete Zion Vilma from Lake Worth, Florida. He is currently unranked by 247sports and Rivals

It should be noted that Rutgers is likely being severely hindered in their efforts to recruit players on the defensive side of the ball due to the program still not having a defensive coordinator as of 2/3/26. That situation more than likely affected the team’s transfer portal haul and is likely affecting them here as well.