Can Rutgers be known as Grad Transfer U?
Every year various college football programs debate on who is wide receiver university, who is defensive backs university, who is linebacker university, etc. One that you never hear debated is which school would you consider grad transfer university.
The Rutgers football program make a great case for being that school. Over the past seven years the program managed to get multiple grad transfers to the NFL.
Here is a look at some of the graduate transfers who have made an impact after transferring to Rutgers.
RB GUS EDWARDS (Previous School: Miami)
Edwards spent three years as a Miami Hurricane before making the decision to come back home closer to his home town of Staten Island, NY. Edwards ran for a total of 186 carries for 977 yards (Longest rush: 74yds) and 12 touchdowns over a three year span. In just one season at Rutgers, he managed to put up similar numbers. He ran the ball 164 times for 713 yards (Longest rush: 74yds) with six touchdowns in that one year alone. Edwards went on to sign an un-drafted free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens this past Saturday.
WR DAMON MITCHELL (Previous School: Arkansas)
Mitchell was moved around a lot by the Arkansas staff as he played quarterback, running back, and receiver all in his three years as a Razorback. His career numbers at Arkansas showed he has six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown over a three year span. However his one season as a Scarlet Knights he showed some promise making 10 catches on the season for 130 yards.
WR ANDREW TURZILLI (Previous School: Kansas)
Playing for Kansas for three seasons (2011-2013), you can say that Turzilli never got a fair shot to showcase his skills. In those three years he played in 23 games, but only managed 27 receptions for 491 yards and two touchdowns. Turzilli came into Rutgers for one year (2014) and immediately became one of the teams starting wideouts. In his one season he had 10 receptions but he had 347 receiving yards and four touchdowns in that one season alone. Turzilli went on to play three seasons in the NFL with the Titans, 49ers, Lions, and Giants before being cut just last August.
OL RJ DILL (Previous School: Maryland)
Before Rutgers and Maryland joined the Big Ten they were in separate conferences (ACC & Big East), so transfers between schools weren’t as tricky. Dill an offensive tackle who started 33 games (30 in a row) for the Terps made the decision to grad transfer after a 2-10 season at Maryland. Dill went not o start there games at right tackle for Rutgers and helped the team claim it’s first share of a Big East title in 2012. He went on to spend time with five NFL teams (Jaguars, Patriots, Chiefs, Rams & Cowboys) over the next five seasons before being cut in September of 2015.
LB KAIWAN LEWIS (Previous School: South Carolina)
Back at South Carolina, Lewis didn’t play a whole lot in his three seasons as a Gamecock. In those years, he managed to have a total of 40 solo tackles (73 total tackles) along with four tackles for loss, two sacks, and two interceptions. When he transferred to Rutgers, Lewis managed to lock up one of the start spots almost immediately. In that one last season, Lewis put up career numbers as he managed to rack up 45 solo tackles (66 total tackles), four tackles for loss, and two interceptions as a Scarlet Knight.
DB LEWIS TOLER (Previous School: Western Michigan)
This situation is a little unique as Toler had a pretty successful first two seasons at Western Michigan, before slumping a little bit during his junior year. At WMU, Toler played in 37 games putting up 106 solo tackles (155 total), 16.5 tackles for loss and had eight interceptions over those three years. After a down year in his third season as a Bronco, he made the decision to leave and join the Scarlet Knights as a grad transfer. Toler was injured midway through the season, but he still managed to set a new career high in tackles in one game with 10 vs. Eastern Michigan. Along with that, Toler also had 15 solo tackles (25 total), four pass deflections and a forced fumble in just five games. After Rutgers, he went on to play one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
P RYAN ANDERSON (Previous School: Oliver College *D3*)
Anderson spent has a unique situation where he spent two seasons (one redshirt) at a division two school called Saginaw Valley State before transferring to Olivet College in Michigan. At Olivet, Anderson appeared in 11 games as a senior held the division III record for average yards per punt in season with 46.2 yards per attempt. After that he transferred to Rutgers for his senior season where went on to make the All-Big Ten first team, Big Ten punter of the year, Ray Guy award watch list, and much more. He just recently was invited to the New England Patriots rookie minicamp this past Saturday.
This past offseason the Scarlet Knights added yet another graduate transfer in running back Jonathan Hilliman from Boston College. He will look to continue this trend that the Scarlet Knights have started of grad transfers finding success at Rutgers.
