Just a day after visiting campus for the first time, Class of 2026 offensive lineman Donovan Johnson from Fayetteville, North Carolina has made the decision to join the Rutgers Football 2026 recruiting class.
"It was amazing,” Johnson told TKR. “The family, the atmosphere, how genuine the people were and the facilities were all just amazing. “I was pretty much with every offensive coach, but specifically spent a lot of time with (Scott) Vallone, (Pat Flaherty) Flats, and (Greg) Schiano. They preached to me about the culture of the program, the history of Coach Schiano, the prestigious background of the coaching staff and the hard work you have to put in to be a Scarlet Knight.”
Johnson hails from Pine Forest High School and becomes the sixth commitment of the Scarlet Knights' 2026 class, the third offensive prospect and the first linemen of the class.
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At 6-foot-3 and 325-pounds, Johnson projects best as an interior offensive lineman at the next level despite playing mostly left tackle for his high school team.
In the end, Johnson chose the Scarlet Knights over 11 other offers from the likes of schools such as Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, West Virginia and several others.
With this addition, Johnson becomes sixth commitment from the Tar Heel State to join the program over the past few recruiting cycles as they landed WR Steven Murray and LB Isaiah Deloatch last cycle and WR Benjamin Black, DB Isaiah Crumpler and S Noah Shaw the year before that. The new found recruiting territory for the Scarlet Knights is partially in thanks to Tight Ends coach Scott Vallone, who has built some really strong ties to the region over the years.
Stay tuned for more news on Johnson and Rutgers Football recruiting here at The Knight Report!
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