Rutgers brought in a talented freshman class this season and nine of them made their college debut last Friday night against Washington. One of the most highly-touted freshman among that group was former four-star wide receiver Bo Melton, who saw his share of playing time in the season opener.

Melton did not finish with a catch, but is looking forward to finally getting his hands on the football this weekend against Eastern Michigan.

“I did okay, but I am looking to do better,” Melton said. “I need to start fast, I can’t start slow. Now it’s college and you need to start fast.”

Melton is no stranger to Rutgers as both of his parents attended and played for Rutgers. His mother Vicky, was a basketball player and his father, Gary, suited up for the RU football team.

Melton talked about what it was like finally taking the field at Rutgers in front of his parents.

“All I can say is it was amazing. I talked about it for so long and running onto the field was very emotional for me. I kept it in and played for my parents and when I got off the field, I could hug them and say thank you for everything. It was kind of like giving back to them.”

While Rutgers lost to then-No.8 Washington 30-14, there were enough positives to give the Scarlet Knights a boost of confidence moving forward.

“We know now that we can compete with teams,” Melton said. “People were doubting us, but we are closer as a team now. We are bonding more and we are just going to keep grinding.”

Melton was one of the centerpieces of Rutgers’ 2017 recruiting class, but all of that hype is now in the past as game No.2 of his college career approaches.

“Now, it’s time to go to work. You can talk a lot during recruiting, but once you get here, you have to go to work. You have to be a man of your word and do what you say. All of our freshmen are trying to men of our word. We played 22 new guys that never played in a Rutgers jersey [against Washington] and we are trying to make an impact.”