Retrospective: Looking Back Rutgers Preseason Player Rankings for 2025

In anticipation for the 2025 season, I had ranked what I felt were the top 10 players for the Scarlet Knights as a countdown to kickoff. That series will return with The Knight Report as we prepare for the inaugural game of the 2026 season. That day is rapidly approaching, but before the offseason officially concludes, I thought it would be a fun exercise to take a look back on how I had felt about specific players leading up to the start of last season. For a limited time, new members get their first year of exclusive Scarlet Knights coverage for just $30 – that’s 75% off. Don’t miss the sale of the season. Honorable Mentions The Scarlet Knights who narrowly missed the cut of the top 10 were resigned to a devastating fate: a singular line of fine print. A pair of them proved to mean way more than that to Rutgers in 2025, however, as Antwan Raymond and Kobe Asamoah solidified themselves as offensive cornerstones. Penn State transfer Cam Miller joined them on the short list, but did not enjoy the same successful seasons as the offensive duo. If I had followed this series up with a post-season counterpart, there is no denying that both Raymond and Asamoah would have placed themselves highly on that list. Any more discussion of that pair will be reserved for the 2026 rankings. The defensive failures, that of historic proportions in 2025, have been dissected beyond belief. I had anticipated that Miller would start alongside now, Texas Cornerback Bo Mascoe, on the boundary. Miller, who wound up starting in the nickel for the entirety of the season, certainly tried his best to enjoy an average season from that position. In a post-season ranking scenario, he might have been around the honorable mention category once again. That does not mean his season was not a disappointment relative to expectation, however. Fortunately for Miller, he still has had the opportunity to compete in an NFL training camp with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent. The Rankings #10 Bradley Weaver & #9 CJ Campbell Jr. – Transfer Injuries The first two to debut in the preseason top 10 wound up as a pair transfer misses, unfortunately due to injuries. I flaunted Ohio transfer Bradley Weaver as plus run defender, largely based on his production from his final season with the Bobcats. The numbers suggested he was a below average pass rusher relative to the rest of the nation, but given the defensive line room he would be entering, that ability figured to be counted on. It would eventually be revealed that he was beset with injuries from before the season has even kicked off, and it certainly appeared that way with the benefit of hindsight. Weaver managed two sacks in a road contest with Minnesota, and that was most of the pass rush production he managed in 2025. He was also a far cry from what he showed as a run defender with Ohio, going from the anchor of a top five unit in College Football, to one bottom units in the nation in 2025. Countdown to Kickoff: Top 10 Rutgers Players for 2025#10 – Bradley Weaver-Transfer DE from Ohio, 6'4" 267 lbs-83.3 DEF grade, including 86.6 Rush DEF-44 Tackles, 8.5 Sacks, 3 Forced Fumbles in 2024Full write-up can be found here:https://t.co/LwkCjxdZ28 pic.twitter.com/sydq6KtdP1— Ryan DeAgazio (@ryandegaz) August 18, 2025 CJ Campbell Jr. did not have the opportunity to appear in any Big Ten games, as his season ended due to an injury sustained in the first quarter of a game against Norfolk State. He will look for a fresh start with the Duke Blue Devils in 2026. I was very bullish on the FAU transfer’s explosiveness and versatility, and thought he would be the lead of a shared backfield alongside Antwan Raymond. There was no one in recent Rutgers history I managed to liken his game to, but perhaps the Scarlet Knights found another of a similar mold in Clay Thevenin. #8 Bo Mascoe & #7 Gus Zilinskas – Key Returnees I will be the first to admit that I was a massive Bo Mascoe fan, even dating back to his collegiate football debut in the Pinstripe Bowl against Miami. I admired his attitude and tenacity at the position, and he enjoyed a very productive final five games of 2024. I thought he would parlay that into an exceptional 2025, but the foundational defensive woes proved to disrupt that positive momentum. The departures of now, NFL cornerbacks Robert Longerbeam and Eric Rogers, did him no favors, but I thought he was more than ready to compete as a CB1. He simply did not bring that same attitude down-to-down, and did not have any insulation around him. Mascoe transferred to play for the Texas Longhorns this upcoming season, and eyes to recalibrate his NFL aspirations. Third year starter at center Gus Zilinskas did live up to my expectations, and when people cite Athan Kaliakmanis’ improvement over his two season with Rutgers, he is certainly underappreciated in that regard. He was simply forever consistent and steady, and developed an excellent rapport with Kaliakmanis. He would land in a similar range in a post-2025 season ranking. #6 Jett Elad & #5 Dariel Djabome – Weak Down the Middle I recall UNLV transfer Jett Elad being a very enjoyable study, as he had an insanely versatile usage profile from the safety position. He was far from in the first few games of the season with Rutgers. Following his gifted interception against FCS Norfolk State, he seemed to parlay that confidence into solid, steady play for the remainder of the season. For where he, and the rest of the defense were at that point, that was a significant improvement. I would have liked to see a defense that deployed him similarly to how he was utilized at UNLV, but alas. In a re-ranking, he probably would have snuck back onto the list. Rutgers was devastatingly bad up the middle of the defense last season, and that is where my biggest miss of the preseason ranking lies. Linebacker Dariel Djabome cracked the top five of my preseason rankings entering 2025. Djabome was a revelation in 2024, emerging as a junior alongside an injured Tyreem Powell. Despite his impressive production, there were very clear signs that he was still learning the position as an off-the-ball backer. He was an exceptional blitzer as well, which was something you might have suspected he would flash given his time working as an edge rusher. Unfortunately, all of the good went and the bad stayed bad in 2025. His tackling ability plummeted, he was less reliable as a blitzer, he remained slow at reading and reacting, and was still porous in coverage. The drop off was really disappointing, especially given his inspiring story arriving at Rutgers alongside his surprising rise and fast success. #4 DT Sheffield & #2 Eric O’Neill – Transfer Hits Rutgers did hit on a pair of G5 transfers last season, with DT Sheffield and Eric O’Neill. Unfortunately for myself, I woefully overrated how Sheffield would be deployed with the Scarlet Knights. He fielded just two punts, did not return a kick, did not get a rush, or catch a singular screen pass in all of 2025. He proved to be a threating and viable deep threat from the slot, but did not get a ton of run-after-catch opportunities and had some drops early on in the year. That may seem like a lot of negative, but he was probably one of the better WR3s that Rutgers has had in their history. I did not foresee the drastic ascension of KJ Duff, and expected Sheffield to be a more popular target of Kaliakmanis. I actually had predicted stat lines for the top four players in my rankings, so I figure those should be featured as well. Predicted-Actual 55 Catches-44 Catches 800 Yards-577 Yards 9 Total TDs-5 Total TDs O’Neill was damn good last year, and he was for the entirety of the season. He may not have the counting stats, but no one did on defense last year. The James Madison transfer managed to account for 26.9% of the team’s pressures last year, surprisingly only nine less total pressures than his tremendous season with the Dukes. He was not great at turning those pressures into sacks, but he had very little assistance along the defensive line. He put forth frequent valiant efforts against the run, but his size did allow to him get washed out of plays on occasion. It is hard to quantify just how much better he was than the next best defender on the team last year. He would definitely remain in the top five of a re-ranking. Predicted-Actual 10 Sacks-2.5 Sacks #3 Athan Kaliakmanis & #1 Ian Strong – Offense Returns to Rutgers I have faint and fond memories of Gary Nova as a newly-minted adult and lifetime Rutgers fan. That seems like a cruel fate to impose upon someone. Thankfully, Athan Kaliakmanis has allowed me to see the light. Reunited with his former offensive coordinator and recruiter from his time at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis steadily ascended into the best signal caller the Scarlet Knights have seen in two decades. Skilled positions blossomed alongside him, and competent Big Ten offense had arrived in Piscataway. Kaliakmanis began the first quarter of the season on a heater, before his erratic tendencies began to rear their head once again. Less often certainly, but still present. Unfortunately, must of his historic season will be mired in “what-ifs” as he dropped the ball literally and figuratively numerous times in clutch situations, and Rutgers failed to qualify for a bowl game. That said, I am not one to bask in the wallows of negativities, so since there are simply to many records or firsts to count, allow us to celebrate Athan Kaliakmanis as the one who brought offense back to The Banks. (I also almost perfectly predicted his stat line, so let me have this.) Predicted-Actual 62.5%-62.2% 3,187 Yards-3,124 Yards 7.5 YPA-8.5 YPA 26 Total TDs-24 Total TDs 7 INTs-7 INTs Despite quarterback being the single most important position on the field, my number one player coming into the year was actually a wide receiver. It ended up being the wrong one. Ian Strong had an exceptional conclusion to the 2024 season, producing a 13-game pace of 70 catches for 1,063 yards and 10 touchdowns over the last five games. He was also the best contested catcher in all of College Football, coming down with 20 of his 31 opportunities. He certainly picked up where he left off in 2025, opening the season with 24 catches for 367 yards and a pair of scores in the first three games in which he played. Strong would eclipse 100 yards one more time in a road loss to Washington, and scored three touchdowns in a home win over Maryland. Unfortunately, consistency was not there for him over the course of the season largely due to injury. Strong missed two games due to injury and appeared on the injury report numerous times. He was still excellent opposite of sophomore phenom KJ Duff, but now will take his talents to the west coast to play for Cal. Strong would not stay my top pick in a 2025 post-season ranking, but he would certainly remain in the top five. Predicted-Actual 65 Catches-52 Catches 975 Yards-762 Yards 75 YPG-76.2 YPG 8 TDs-5 TDs Omissions The one glaring omission is KJ Duff, who did get a mention in my original write-up of Strong, but nothing more beyond that. He will be discussed further in my 2026 iteration, which will supplement his ever-deserving preseason buzz and accolades. All the original write-ups can still be found, here.