The Rutger Scarlet Knights have a top-25 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, putting them on pace to have the best class in school history.
Rutgers has never been a great football school. The Scarlet Knights have never won a national championship (unless you count their title in 1869) or made a college football playoff. They consistently finished in the bottom half of the Big Ten until recently. So what changed?
Rutgers Looking To Bring in Their Best Recruiting Class Ever
In 2020, Rutgers hired back their former head coach Greg Schiano and since then, they’ve started to find success. Schiano has built up Rutgers into a competitive Big Ten team, winning seven games in each of the last two seasons.
With the on-field improvement, Rutgers has also started recruiting better. According to 247Sports, Rutgers finished with the 55th best class in 2024 and the 33rd best class in 2025. And now in 2026, they are looking to have the best recruiting class in school history.
As of right now, according to both 247Sports and On3, Rutgers has the 17th best recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. The 2025 Rutgers class, which was 33rd in the nation, already had been one of the best classes in school history. If their 2026 one finishes in the top 30, it will become the best one in the school’s history.
Right now, Rutgers already has gotten three consensus four-star recruits to commit to their 2026 class; in 2025, they had one. If Rutgers can stay hot on the 2026 recruiting trail, not only will they have the best class in school history, but they could start to see some serious success on the field.
So what’s the difference maker for Rutgers? It’s a combination of two things: coach Schiano and NIL.
Schiano is historically a good coach. In 2006, he brought Rutgers to their second double-digit win season ever and helped Ohio State win 11+ games in his three years as their defensive coordinator. Now, in his second stint with Rutgers, he once again is turning the program around.
On top of good coaching, Rutgers has made some drastic improvements to their NIL. For the first four years that NIL was legal, Rutgers had no clue how to handle it.
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Finally, in August of 2024, Rutgers created a position to have someone run their NIL and started gaining funding. Since then, Rutgers recruiting has taken off.
With the 17th best class in the 2026 cycle, it’s time to start taking Rutgers very seriously in the football world and put them as a potential surprise Big Ten contender in a couple of seasons.
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