Rutgers Football has continued its strong weekend of official visits, now flipping a recruit from the weekend.
2026 Athlete Rinaldo Callaway III announced his commitment to the Scarlet Knights following the weekend, flipping from South Florida. Listed as an athlete, Callaway III could play either tight end or defensive line as an edge rusher.
At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, he has a similar frame and build to that of 2025 TE signee Ben Rothaar and 2026 EDGE commit Wydeek Collier.
The Macon, Georgia-native plays at Southwest High School and had originally committed to the Bulls in late April.
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"The visit was pretty good, I spent some quality time with the players," Callaway III told The Knight Report. "I also got a chance to go out to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. We went to the beach and checked out Times Square in the city too. There wasn't one thing that stood out, the entire trip stood out."
Callaway III first earned his offer from Rutgers on May 12th, after he had already committed to South Florida. Tulane and Kentucky also offered around the same time, and he scheduled official visits with all three schools, in addition to South Florida. He also held Power Four offers from Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
Being the first visit, the Scarlet Knights impressed Callaway III enough to shut it down right after and flip to the program.
"My favorite part was being able to spend time with the players and getting a feel for the culture," he added. "I was hosted by [freshman defensive back] Michael Clayton and he was just telling me about how it's a family up there and it's more than just playing football."
In 2024 as a junior, he recorded 100 total tackles (66 solo), 29 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, three passes defended and three forced fumbles for Southwest. At tight end, he caught 17 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns.
He also played forward for the Patriots' basketball team, averaging 5.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and a team-high 0.7 blocks per game in the 2024-25 season.
“Coach [Scott] Vallone and I connected on Twitter not too long ago and we’ve been communicating ever since,” Callaway III told Rivals when he originally scheduled his visit.
He becomes the second commit in the class from the state of Georgia, joining offenisve lineman Jared Smith, after Rutgers landed a trio of commits from the Peach State in 2025, including Clayton.
Callaway III is also the 16th commit of the class, in a group that sits inside the top 20 in Rivals' team recruiting rankings.
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