Rutgers football recruiting update: 2 intriguing transfer portal targets emerge

After starting the 2023 season hot, Rutgers ran out of gas towards the end of the year — an indictment on the depth of the roster beyond its starters which have proven they can go toe-to-toe with the country’s best for at least three quarters of a game. Schiano has successfully flipped Rutgers’ roster since retaking the program’s reigns in 2019. But, coming off of a four consecutive loses, mostly inspired by Rutgers’ inability to move the ball through the air, there is still much work to do, beginning on offense. And there are two players with ties to Rutgers, who will be available on Monday, and who could aid Rutgers’ offensive woes if they were to come .

Michigan State offensive lineman Kevin Wigenton announced on Monday that he is entering the portal following three years at Michigan State. Rutgers passed on Wigenton out of high school, but three years later has become an ideal plug-and-play for New Jersey’s flagship college football program, which may have interest this time around.

Standing 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds with two years of eligibility remaining, and after starting six games as a sophomore in East Lansing, Wigenton should have a host of suitors once the portal opens on Monday, but Rutgers appears to have an early edge.

“I miss mom’s home cooking,” Wigenton told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday.

Former teammates Jacob AllenLiam Remple — a junior and senior next fall — and freshman tight end Logan Blake, who should play a role in Rutgers offense next year, also call Rutgers home.

Rutgers could also take a hard look at a quarterback who once, literally, called Rutgers home — two-year Buffalo starter Cole Snyder, who transferred from Rutgers after three years to the Bulls once four-star Kentucky native Gavin Wimsatt, Rutgers’ current starter, made his intentions to lead Rutgers’ passing attack known.

Per 247Sports national college football and transfer portal writer Chris Hummer , Snyder will hit the open market on Monday, potentially creating a pow wow among Rutgers’ staff which could try to deepen its quarterback room with an ex-Knight, who has thrown for over 5,000 yards and 32 TDs since leaving campus, against, albeit, lesser competition that Rutgers faces week-in and week-out in the Big Ten.

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