Rutgers lands commitment from New Jersey’s top-ranked HS football player

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program continues to construct a superb 2022 recruiting class, recently landing New Jersey’s top player.

It’s the Greg Schiano Effect, and it strikes again.

The Rutgers football program has landed the top player in the state of New Jersey — offensive tackle Jacob Allen. This is now Rutgers‘ fifth four-star recruit for the class of 2022, per college football reporter Bruce Feldman.

It’s been a heck of a ride. Thank you to everyone who has supported me.

I am 100% committed let’s get it! #Jersey #CHOP@Red_Zone75 @Coach_Aurich @GregSchiano pic.twitter.com/JWpt0ZCMhm

— Jacob Allen (@JacobAllen_79) May 20, 2021

OT Jacob Allen, the top-ranked player in the state of New Jersey (a pretty talent-rich football state) just committed to Rutgers. Allen becomes the fifth four-star to commit to RU in the class of 2022. Greg Schiano has it going there and has a Top 10 class in the works.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) May 20, 2021

Feldman is correct — it’s a great state for high school football.

New Jersey is home to powerhouse high school programs such as Wall Township, Bergen Catholic, Delbarton, Somerville, and Don Bosco.

Allen (6-foot-6, 293 pounds) sports his talents for the Hun School, a private boarding school in Princeton, New Jersey. Todderick Hunt of NJ Advance Media reports Allen has more than 40 scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the country, including Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Miami, and Texas A&M.

“They’ve been there since the beginning. [Offensive line] coach [Andrew] A(urich) and coach Schiano. Coach A(urich) is my guy. He and I talk like every night,” Allen said, per Hunt. “I feel like I have a personal connection with him. I know a lot about him and he knows a lot about me. So there’s a feeling of reliance there.”

Schiano returned to the role as the Scarlet Knights head coach last season after serving in the same role from 2001-11. In between either term in Piscataway, Schiano was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach from 2012-13 and then the Ohio State assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 2016-18.

Rutgers football is seemingly on the right track following six consecutive losing seasons, including last year’s 3-6 campaign. 247Sports.com currently has the program’s 2022 recruiting class as the 10th-best in the country and third-best in the Big Ten. Additional 2022 four-star recruits for Rutgers include Owensboro’s Gavin Wimsatt, Neumann Goretti inside linebacker Anthony Johnson, Martin County wide receiver Amarion Brown, and La Salle College running back Samuel Brown.