Rutgers’ top 20 football recruiting class down 1 Knight after a Father’s Day flip

Published Jun. 19, 2023, 11:38 a.m. By Todderick Hunt Rutgers’ football program has had as strong a month of June as any team in the country after adding eight commitments over two official visit weekends. However, no program is immune to attrition, especially during official visit season when top recruits visit various schools that roll out the red carpet in exchange, they hope, for a verbal pledge. That was the case on Sunday when Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) two-way lineman Judah “Ju” Pruitt, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound three-star rising senior, flipped from Rutgers to Boston College, leaving Rutgers’ 2024 football recruiting class with two offensive linemen ranked three-stars — 6-foot-4, 290-pound Delran (N.J.) offensive tackle Kenny Jones, who will play offensive guard at Rutgers, and Raynor Andrews, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive tackle from Norlands high school in Miami, Fla. Pruitt began playing football as a freshman in high school, but got off to a slow recruiting start despite his size, upside and tools. First-year coach Nazier Oliver helped connect the dots when he became Pruitt’s head coach this offseason. Primarily recruited to play offense, Pruitt was pegged to start his Rutgers career on defense to see if his size and quick feet could help Rutgers stop the run and reinforce Rutgers’ interior. That task will be left to Florida’s highly-sought Luman twins, who Greg Schiano secured during Rutgers’ first mass official visit this month, and Aaris Bethea, a 6-3, 260-pound defensive tackle from Erasmus Hall, who committed last weekend — all ranked three-stars. A large, developmental athlete with high upside, Pruitt chose Rutgers over Boston College, Syracuse, and various Group of Five and FCS schools on April 27. “Rutgers is my dream school,” he said at the time. “I love the environment, I love the family, the coaching staff and the business school because education comes first.” Rutgers defensive line coach Marquise Watson “stood on a table” for Pruitt, the junior said, and showed just how badly he wanted Pruitt to join his defensive line — one of the team’s best position groups. “He gave me tough love,” Pruitt said. “He was the first coach to recruit me and he’s shown me how college and football works. He’s just kept it real with me throughout my recruiting process.” However, Pruitt will try his luck in Chestnut Hill after rescinding the verbal pledge he gave to Rutgers coach Greg Schiano in his office that day. “I would like to announce and thank Rutgers for the opportunity they have given me to commit, but after speaking with my family, I will be withdrawing my commitment and have committed to Boston College,” Pruitt wrote on his Twitter page on Sunday evening. Rutgers’ 2024 football recruiting class — once a member of the national top 20 — now features 14 recruits and sits at No. 26 nationally per 247Sports and No. 25 per Rivals.com.