Rutgers football: 6 positions Scarlet Knights should target in transfer portal

Rutgers has a lot of shopping to do in the transfer market this offseason.
The Scarlet Knights (7-5, 4-5) are losing a ton of experience to graduation following the 2024 season, mostly on their senior-laden defense. And while there are young players making their way up the pipeline, head coach Greg Schiano and company will certainly need to replenish the reserves through the transfer portal, which opens for a 20-day window starting Monday.
Rutgers had a lot of success with their transfer additions last offseason, revamping a long-struggling offense with key additions at quarterback (Athan Kaliakmanis) and wide receiver (Dymere Miller). A year later, they’ll look to do so again at multiple positions on the other side of the ball.
Here are six positions Rutgers should target in the transfer portal, plus the level of need the Scarlet Knights have at the position on a scale of 1-10:
Cornerback (10)
Rutgers is losing both of its starters at that position. Veteran stalwarts who combined to play 973 snaps this season and 3,583 snaps in their collegiate careers, Robert Longerbeam and Eric Rogers leave big shoes to fill.
The Scarlet Knights have promising young players at the position — namely rising redshirt sophomore Bo Mascoe, who collected 46 tackles, four pass breakups and one interception in 487 snaps this season — and a solid rotation piece in converted running back Al-Shadee Salaam. But the Scarlet Knights likely need a veteran with Power Four experience in the room, a similar addition to Flip Dixon from Minnesota two years ago.
Speaking of which …
Safety (10)
Rutgers loses three prominent veteran pieces on the back end: Dixon, Shaquan Loyal and Desmond Igbinosun. The Union native did not play much after the bye week (61 snaps in the final four games) but Loyal led the defense in snaps (734) and Dixon was a steadying force whose absence was felt when he missed time.
The Scarlet Knights will lean on rising sophomore Kaj Sanders, who started the final four games of the season and played significant snaps throughout the year, and hope some of their promising players can take the next step. But they cannot depend on that, so they’ll need at least one more body to fill the many holes the position now has.
Defensive line (10)
The Scarlet Knights lose so many players at the position — Kyonte Hamilton (588), Aaron Lewis (413), Malcolm Ray (361) and Troy Rainey (203) were all key parts of the rotation — that they might need to make multiple additions through the portal. The question is: how will they divide their resources?
Outside of quarterback, defensive end is the most sought-after position on the transfer market. Will Rutgers cash in all its chips in an attempt to land a premier pass-rusher? The Scarlet Knights do have solid defensive tackles returning in Keshon Griffin and Zaire Angoy, as well as a versatile veteran end in Jordan Thompson.
It seems more likely that the Scarlet Knights spread their resources and add multiple replacement-level options who will not break the bank in order to plug the gaps. However they go about it, there is little doubt that they have plenty of work to replenish their resources in the trenches.
Linebacker (7)
Rutgers developed a likely multi-year starter in Dariel Djabome and should get senior Mohamed Toure back for a seventh season after he recovers from the torn ACL that kept him out of action during the 2024 season. But the Scarlet Knights suffer a major loss in Tyreem Powell, who played 528 snaps in 10 games and displayed the importance of veteran leadership at the position when he was on the field.
Moses Walker and Abram Wright showed flashes of potential that could turn into significant snaps next season, but it would not hurt Rutgers to add a veteran contributor to replace Powell.
Left tackle (5)
Hollin Pierce has one of the best personal stories in Rutgers football history, but the walk-on-turned-bonafide starter was also one of the best offensive lineman the program has produced in recent years. He played 851 out of a possible 875 offensive snaps this season and was highly effective. He conceded just 13 pressures and one sack on 433 pass-blocking snaps, finishing the regular season as one of 26 tackles in FBS football to surrender one or less sacks on at least 400 pass-blocking snaps.
That is a difficult player to replace.
The position is at a premium in the portal, too, so any high-quality players will cost a fortune. The Scarlet Knights will likely be forced to find an internal solution here, but they should certainly test the market for any potential diamonds in the rough.
Wide Receiver (4)
Ian Strong and KJ Duff are the two most promising prospects Rutgers has had at wide receiver in a long time, so they set a high floor for the position. But with leading receiver Dymere Miller and steady senior Christian Dremel both graduating, the Scarlet Knights could use another weapon to accompany their St. Anthony stars.
One of their many underclassmen reserves — Benjamin Black, Famah Toure, Dylan Braithwaite, etc. — could have a breakout year, but it is probably unwise for Rutgers to put all its eggs in that basket.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Brian Fonseca may be reached at [email protected].