Rutgers Football has added yet another addition via the Transfer Portal, as Illinois offensive lineman Zachary Aamland has announced his commitment to the Scarlet Knights today.
The 6-foot-6, 305-pounds Offensive Tackle hails from South Brunswick, New Jersey and played his high school ball at the Hun School over in Princeton.
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Out of high school, Aamland was ranked as a 5.5, Three-star recruit and the No. 22 overall prospect in the state of New Jersey for the 2023 class. At the end of his recruitment, he chose the Illini over 15 other offers from Boston College, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, and several others.
Now the Hun School has been pretty kind to Rutgers over the past few years, sending several recruits to the banks including 2004 QB Domenic Natale (transferred in prior to 2006), 2021 DE Liam Rempel (transferred in prior to 2023), 2022 OL Jacob Allen, 2023 TE Logan Blake, 2025 LB Kamar Archie and 2025 LB John Insinga.
Aamland would go on to spend two seasons with the Fighting Illini, but he didn't appear in any games over those couple of years. He will now join the Scarlet Knights with three years of eligibility remaining.
HIGH SCHOOL FILM BREAKDOWN....
"A devastating run blocker against high school talent, Aamland throws his weight around and just outmuscles and out hustles would-be tacklers. He has a natural instinct to follow through and finish his blocks and a nastiness about him. Aamland wants to drive guys into the turf and he does a nice job running his feet and pushing defenders entirely out the play.
The Hunt School runs a lot of inside zone and quick traps inside, and Aamland is nimble and very effective on those plays. He has good instincts on the combination blocks and has been well-coached on how to execute them. That will come in handy at Illinois, where the new offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. plans to implement a zone running scheme.
There's one combo-block that Aamland executes to perfection at around the 5:30 mark of his HUDL film. He's uncovered, so he double teams to the play side, controls the DT, then takes out the second tier defender. It could have been a touchdown, but there was a missed assignment by the right guard.
Like most high school linemen, Aamland needs quite a bit of technique work. He's not making full use of his athleticism quite yet. He has a natural knee bend and good body control, but I want to see him fire, fit, and stun defenders more. His initial quickness is good but not great. I think he has the athleticism to improve his get off and create more of a collision.
Again, technique comes into play in pass pro. He sets up okay and has good enough quickness to change direction, and the right attitude and aggression. He doesn't get a great base, however, and he leans on defenders and wrestles with them instead of delivering a violent punch. Obviously, that's coachable. He just hasn't developed his technique playing on a running team." -- Doug Buchson, Orange And Blue News
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