Greg Schiano just put the cherry on top of a historic football recruiting class.
Rutgers has added its 10th high school junior football recruit ranked four-stars in Hun School (Princeton, N.J.) linebacker Kamar Archie, who may have the most upside of them all.
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Heading into the offseason, Archie was already New Jersey’s most college-ready defender.
That was before the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder linebacker-slash-runner could squat 495 pounds three times, or broad jump 10-feet-six-inches.
Running backs and quarterbacks best have their heads on a swivel when Archie, who boasts a national offer list, maturity most kids his age don’t have, and elite metrics, comes to town.
The second-ranked junior in the NJ.com Top 50, Archie took official visits to Clemson and Michigan, and earned offers from the University of Georgia, Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, UVA and Wisconsin, to name a few. But after being courted for over three years by Schiano and staff, he’s seen enough.
“We’ve had that connection for a while,” Archie told NJ Advance Media on Friday. “Seeing what they are doing with the program and culture really opened my eyes to what this place is going to be and how special it is. It’s real.
“They have been in my top-three. I always thought they were a place I could fit in and do something special, but this week is actually the week I got that gut feeling. I was waiting for it and I didn’t want to pass up on it. I really got to sit down and think about all my visits, think about culture, the academic part too, and my decision was made.”
Archie ran 21.8 miles per hour and was the Hun’s fastest player during workouts last week, and ran into Greg Schiano’s arms after officially visiting Rutgers, where he was hosted by linebackers Tyreem Powell, from Vineland, and Sam Gadie, who hails from Trenton, the weekend of June 14.
Rutgers became the first school to offer Archie during his freshman year at Ewing high school in March 2021 before he transferred to the Hun, where he reclassified to the 2025 class and earned a national offer list.
“There are very few kids that have his size with his mobility, speed, power, kids that can run the way he does with the balance and the ability to affect the game on both sides of the ball,” Hun coach Todd Smith said.
A Trenton native, Archie is Rutgers’ fifth four-star on defense, including Chase Linton, an explosive edge from Georgia, DJ McClary, a fellow linebacker from Jersey City, Tariq Hayer, a big, fast DB from Washington, D.C., and Talibi Kaba — a defensive athlete from Hillside who could play the “Star” role, linebacker, or safety based on how he grows.
Rutgers will lose up to nine starters on defense after next fall, and will need said high schoolers and others who have filled out the class, to play early — which schools that prioritize the transfer portal, can’t sell.
Rutgers has snagged six of the top 15 players from New Jersey among its historic haul, which Schiano hopes will project in-state pride as the next recruiting cycle nears.
Heading into June, Rutgers’ 2025 class ranking dabbled in the mid-50′s out of 134 FBS teams. But, as recently as last month, the class soared as high as No. 5 nationally after adding a whopping 21 commitments post-official visits — 13 from the first weekend of June, headlined by N.J. four-stars Jae’lyne Matthews, an offensive lineman, Michael Thomas III, a wide receiver, and running back John Forster.
Rutgers added the first player to its 2026 class this week when battle-tested, three-star La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.) quarterback Gavin Sidwar opted in.
Meanwhile, Rutgers’ 2025 class features 29 players and ranks 11th nationally per Rivals.com.
“Coach Schiano and I have had that bond for so long now that if I was to compare him to any other head coach, I trust him the most,” Archie said.
New Rutgers 4-star LB commit Kamar Archie (Photo courtesy of Archie)Photo courtesy of Archie
Todderick Hunt covers Sports and Culture and Recruiting. Have a story idea or a tip? He can be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com.