Offensive lineman Raiqwon O’Neal is considered one of Rutgers’ top commits in its class of 2018 and recently played in the Shrine Bowl, one of the more prestigious high school all-star games down in the south.
The game consists of the top players in North Carolina facing off against the top players from the state of South Carolina.
“The Shine Bowl went great, and it was a great overall experience,” said O’Neal, who attends Conway High School in Conway, S.C. “There were plenty of high school kids and tons of fans who we got to sign some autographs for. We ended up losing, but it helped me see some of the different talent around the area. It just helps me prepare to be a freshman in college because all of the guys are pretty much committed somewhere.”
O’Neal has one more bowl game as he inches closer to his January enrollment at Rutgers.
“I’m getting ready to play in the upcoming Offense-Defense All-American Bowl game,” O’Neal said. “It’s coming up this week. I’m also just hitting the weight room and staying in shape. Rutgers basically told me to just stay where I’m at right now weight wise. They also gave me a little book with a little calendar and stuff. It just says what they do with weightlifting and stuff like that.”
O’Neal committed to Rutgers back in August and remained solid to that pledge. He also made it official last week by signing his national letter of intent.
“It feels great to get the recruiting process over with. It’s just a true blessing that I get to sign with my school early” O’Neal stated. “In the end, it was just the education, the people, the environment, and the players that sold me on Rutgers. It just felt the most like home.
O’Neal also credited his future position coach, AJ Blazek, on bringing him to Rutgers.
“Coach Blazek is a great person and just the way he interacts with us,” said O’Neal. “He just wants the best for us. Since I wanted to take [other official] visits, he encouraged me to take those visits because he wants me to pick the best stop for me. He basically just told me it didn’t matter where I ended up at, as long as I picked the best spot for me.”
On the first day of the early signing period, Rutgers head coach Chris Ash added some of his own thoughts about what Rutgers is getting in O’Neal.
“I think he brings a big, athletic hard-nosed offensive lineman,” Ash said. “He's a guy that could, quite honestly, probably play either side of the ball because of his athletic ability, but we're really excited about him being an offensive lineman. I think he's got a chance to be a really big, physical, athletic lineman for us. And he's a great kid, just walks around with a smile on his face all the time and loves football and is going to work really hard.”
