This episode features my rapid reaction to 4-star recruit Kaj Sanders committing to Rutgers on Saturday. The Bergen Catholic star had plenty of options but ultimately chose to become a Scarlet Knight.
Sanders is a 6’1″, 185 pound athlete who is projected as a defensive back at Rutgers. He plays both sides of the ball for Bergen Catholic. In his junior season, he had 32 rushes for 261 yards on 8.2 yards per carry and three touchdowns along with 3 catches for 14 yards. On defense as a safety and cornerback, Sanders had 40 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and six pass deflections. He also became an All-American in Track & Field after breaking the school record at the Penn Relays as part of a 4×100 team that finished with a time of 41.93. He also has personal best times of 11.27 in the 100 meters and 22.55 in the 200 meters.
Per 247 Sports composite rankings, Sanders is rankedthe No. 6 recruit in New Jersey, the No. 35 safety and the No. 388 overall prospect in the 2024 class. He holds offers from almost two dozen power five schools including Notre Dame, Penn State, Miami, Michigan State, Nebraska, Pitt, Purdue, Maryland among others. Sanders took four official visits to North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Rutgers. He ultimately chose to become a Scarlet Knight.
In this episode, I discuss the potential impact Sanders can make on the field, the importance of landing a top New Jersey recruit, the current overall assessment of the 2024 recruiting class for Rutgers, where it projects rankings wise and much more.
To read my article on Sanders’ commitment, click here.
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Among the remaining offers, I had 4 recruits as personal priorities – Duff & Sanders being two of them and Caden Brown & Josh Philostin being the other two. Once I saw Fran Brown involved with Nyier Daniels, I knew not to include him as a reasonable get. If Brown & Philostin commit, I’m a happy guy. Just a word about Willy Love out of Eastside Camden (formerly Woodrow Wilson H.S.). Maybe it’s me & I’m being overly harsh, but I’d think long & hard about recruiting Camden players. Rutgers hasn’t had much success there (even when Fran Brown was here at Rutgers). I note that Love pushed back his commitment date and opened up his recruitment beyond his “Lucky Seven”. He’s fishing, probably for an NIL deal fitting his 4* stature. Let him fish. Rutgers has 3 LB commits. Camden players (not all) don’t really seem to care about Rutgers, its culture etc, etc. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. You can look it up.
Your reasoning about Love waiting too long probably makes more sense than my NIL comment. Given all of the offers he’s had, it would be interesting to know just what has caused him to wait so long. Anyway, I question whether he was a good fit for what Schiano is trying to build. I love the all in attitude of the commits in this class. Thanks for the feedback and for all the good work you do on this site.
pj43
July 9, 2023 at 1:37 pm
Among the remaining offers, I had 4 recruits as personal priorities – Duff & Sanders being two of them and Caden Brown & Josh Philostin being the other two. Once I saw Fran Brown involved with Nyier Daniels, I knew not to include him as a reasonable get. If Brown & Philostin commit, I’m a happy guy. Just a word about Willy Love out of Eastside Camden (formerly Woodrow Wilson H.S.). Maybe it’s me & I’m being overly harsh, but I’d think long & hard about recruiting Camden players. Rutgers hasn’t had much success there (even when Fran Brown was here at Rutgers). I note that Love pushed back his commitment date and opened up his recruitment beyond his “Lucky Seven”. He’s fishing, probably for an NIL deal fitting his 4* stature. Let him fish. Rutgers has 3 LB commits. Camden players (not all) don’t really seem to care about Rutgers, its culture etc, etc. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. You can look it up.
Aaron Breitman
July 9, 2023 at 11:07 pm
I agree Brown and Philostin would be great adds.
In regard to Love, Rutgers wanted him but now I think its a case of him waiting too long and there is no longer a spot available for him.
pj43
July 11, 2023 at 12:56 pm
Your reasoning about Love waiting too long probably makes more sense than my NIL comment. Given all of the offers he’s had, it would be interesting to know just what has caused him to wait so long. Anyway, I question whether he was a good fit for what Schiano is trying to build. I love the all in attitude of the commits in this class. Thanks for the feedback and for all the good work you do on this site.