Rutgers Football has flipped a second Toledo commit.
The Scarlet Knights landed a commitment from safety Rihyael Kelley after his Official Visit over the weekend.
Kelley is Rutgers' third safety commit of the class, joining Sebastian Cruz, who committed in March, and Chris Hewitt Jr., who committed in January and was also on campus this weekend.
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The Cincinnati, Ohio, native committed to Toledo on May 9th, and had a slew of MAC offers.
Three days later, safeties coach Vic Hall visited Kelley, and head coach Greg Schiano called to offer him. He scheduled his Official Visit a day later.
"The safeties coach stopped by to see me practice the other day and then he came back for an in-home visit," Kelley told TKR after receiving his offer. "It was great, we talked about football obviously and some of my hobbies. Basically his message was that I need to ear more protein, so that way I feel more confident going against bigger competition. I know Rutgers has seen some good DBs in the past come out of there, so I'm eager to visit."
Kelley did have his Official Visit with the Rockets last weekend, but the Scarlet Knights were able to keep their visit on the schedule and eventually flipped him during it.
He also had offers at the Power Four level from West Virginia and Vanderbilt.
At Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati, Kelley had experience both playing as a centerfield-type free safety, as well as closer to the box as more of a strong safety. He even had some reps in the slot as a nickel, a key tenant to Schiano's 4-2-5 defense.
One of his best traits is his play recognition and speed to the ball, showcased both in the run game and in the passing game. He was able to close on the ball and pick off multiple passes, and also had some hard hits on running backs after getting around blockers.
As a bonus, he had multiple reps on the Warriors' punt block team as a gunner, helping make big plays on special teams, whether it was forcing a fumble of the returner, or scooping up a blocked punt for a score. In an aspect of the game Schiano emphasizes more than most, Kelley makes the most of it.
The 6-foot-2, 165-pound safety also comes from a long line of Power Four talent at Winton Woods, including current Kansas City Chiefs safety Mike Edwards and free agent linebacker David Long.
Rutgers' 2026 class now sits in the top 10 nationally, according to Rivals' Team Rankings.
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