Rutgers Football welcomes elite transfer prospects with coaching staff contacts

Rutgers Football is currently home to one of the top players at a top position in the transfer portal.

RUTGERS FOOTBALL SPRING TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

CJ West, a defensive tackle from Kent State, is currently visiting Piscataway, a person familiar with the situation told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. The Illinois native has one more season of eligibility.

As part of his visit, West was in Times Square in New York City on Monday evening, according to a post on his Instagram.

The Illinois native stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 315 pounds. During the 2023 season, he collected 40 tackles (seven for losses, including two sacks) and forced a fumble. According to ProFootballFocus, he was one of the top candidates to enter the portal this spring and became the ninth-best interior defender in FBS football last fall among the 491 players who played at least 200 snaps.

West received an offer from Rutgers shortly after entering the transfer portal in mid-April during the 15-day spring window. He has a longstanding relationship with first-year defensive line coach Colin Ferrell, who recruited the veteran lineman to Kent State and helped develop him into one of the league's best players.

Rutgers hopes to leverage that relationship into a massive expansion through the portal, but that won't be easy: West visited Wisconsin and Indiana, according to 247Sports, and has strong interest from other top schools like LSU and Florida State.

“LSU, Wisconsin, Indiana, Rutgers and Michigan,” West told 247Sports in late April about the schools he’s hearing from. “Florida State has reached out to me and they could have a role soon.”

West's addition would fill a scholarship of Rene Konga, a veteran defensive lineman who transferred in the spring, although he is expected to play a key rotation role next season.

“Make no mistake: (the transfer portal) is always in my mind,” head coach Greg Schiano said after Rutgers' spring game. “Both looking for players to bring here but also making sure we maintain our current squad because I really like the players we have and we are putting a lot of time, money and effort into their development ” said Schiano. “It’s college football. These are the challenges you face. So yeah, it’s definitely on my mind – and it always is.”

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Brian Fonseca can be reached at [email protected].