Rutgers Football's 2026 recruiting class took a hit today, as quarterback Gavin Sidwar announced he will be reopening his recruitment.
Sidwar was the first commit of the class, pledging to head coach Greg Schiano and company on July 1st. The Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania native is ranked as the 33rd-best quarterback in the class, and is rated as a three-star as the 17th-ranked player in the state of Pennsylvania.
He is also teammates with wide receiver Dyzier Carter, the other 2026 commit, on the 7on7 circuit for Level 82, coached by former NFL wide receiver Torrey Smith.
"After careful consideration, I decided to decommit from Rutgers," Sidwar posted on X. "I appreciate all the coaches and staff that recruited me — there are great people in that building. I think it’s best that I reopen my recruitment at this time."
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The 6-foot-3 signal-caller has blossomed into a star in his junior season at La Salle College High School outside of Philadelphia. Through five games alone he threw for 1,251 yards with 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
He has only turned it on further since, leading the Explorers to a 10-0 start to the season, with high-flying offensive performances including a thrilling 4OT win over St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia.
"Rutgers was great to me from the time they started recruiting me, but I felt like I needed to take more visits and I didn’t want to do it as a 'committed' prospect," Sidwar told Rivals about his decision to decommit. "I’m going to let the dust settle. My coach said schools are inquiring, but they were being respectful to my situation. I’m sure I’ll attend a game next Saturday. I have a bye. Just not sure where yet."
It will be interesting to see if Sidwar's decommitment has an impact on Carter's recruitment, as the two have a close friendship and already have a connection on Level 82. Carter has his own relationship with Rutgers' staff however, as his older brother Dequece was coached at Fordham by current Scarlet Knights running backs coach Damiere Shaw in 2019, while Shaw was still the Rams' wide receivers coach.
Now, Schiano and his staff will have to find another quarterback in the 2026 class. The only signal-caller currently committed is Sean Ashenfelder in the 2025 class, along with true freshman AJ Surace already at Rutgers from the 2024 class.
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