Rutgers Football has added another piece to its 2026 recruiting class, this time adding a new position to the mix.
Tight end Brady Owens announced his commitment to the Scarlet Knights following his Official Visit over the weekend.
A native of Arlington, Virginia, Owens is the first tight end commitment of the class and becomes the 15th commit overall.
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Rated as a 5.5 Three-Star, Owens had visited Rutgers in November, then for the spring practices in April, where he earned his offer from the staff. Five days later, he scheduled his Official Visit.
Owens also held offers from seven other Power Four programs, including Virginia Tech, Syracuse, and Kentucky.
He also originally had Official Visits scheduled with Seminoles (June 6th) and Orange (June 13th). Still, the Scarlet Knights impressed him enough on the visit that he was able to commit right away.
As a junior at Yorktown, he finished second on the team in receptions (36) and receiving yards (336) with five touchdowns. He also added five carries on the ground, with 67 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Originally, it seemed like Florida State may have been in the lead in his recruitment, but Rutgers was able to come away with his commitment, continuing a growing trend of taking advantage of being a recruit's first official visit to get them to commit immediately.
It remains to be seen if the Scarlet Knights will add another tight end to the class, as the staff had also targeted D.J. Howerton and Javonte Williams at the position. Rutgers also only had one tight end commit in the 2025 class (Ben Rothhaar), two in 2024 (Matthew Ogunniyi and Monte Keener), and one in 2023 (Logan Blake).
Owens is a solid athlete with good size and is a willing blocker, notably a key trait for tight ends in offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca's offense, at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds.
He is also the third commit of the 2026 class from Virginia, joining wide receiver Dyzier Carter and defensive back Brandon Murray. The staff has begun to tap into the state more in the class, after not having a single commit from Virginia since 2021.
The 2026 class continues to grow and has also risen into the top 20 in Rivals' team rankings.
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