Meet 6 Rutgers starters who are proving recruiting rankings don’t matter

5-7 minutes 7/20/2023
Big Ten football: Rutgers vs Indiana, Oct. 22, 2022
Wesley Bailey (23) of Rutgers rushes the passer during the second half of the Big Ten football game between Rutgers and Indiana at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ on 10/22/22. Rutgers won 24-17.
Some went under-recruited, others have developed into every-down players. Whatever the case may be, these six Rutgers players arrived on campus with little to no fanfare or have wildly exceeded what recruiting experts thought of them at the time as high school prospects.
Star rankings? Forget about it.
This list features no one who was considered elite or close to a four-star evaluation coming out of high school. Nevertheless, the players listed below are all set to make big impacts for the Scarlet Knights in 2023. They’ve gone from unheralded to the most-important players on the roster. Some look like NFL prospects, and that was hardly a thought when they were 18-year-old seniors.
With that in mind, meet the six unsung starters who have already outshined their former evaluations.
Wesley Bailey, DL, Jr.
247 composite: Three stars, .8517
Rivals rankings: Three stars, 5.6
What to know: Rutgers landed the Canadian pass rusher, who played high school football at Clearwater Academy International in Florida, through a whirlwind recruitment and on the final day of the Early Signing Period in 2019 At the time, he failed to crack the list of the nation’s top 1,000 prospects, checking in at No. 1,073 overall, according to 247sports. Last season, Bailey led the team with 3 1/2 sacks, registered 30 tackles and won the David Bender Award as the team’s best lineman.
Kyonte Hamilton, DL, Jr.
247 composite: Three stars, .8515
Rivals rankings: Two stars, 5.6
What to know: Hamilton arrived at Rutgers as a blue-chip recruit ... in wrestling. Considered one of the nation’s top heavyweights coming out of Georgetown Prep in Maryland, the defensive tackle eventually doubled down as a two-sport athlete in March of 2020. Hamilton, ranked the No. 28 prospect in Maryland as a football recruit, competed in both sports as a freshman but dropped wrestling last season to focus solely on football. The results showed. Playing mostly at defensive tackle, Hamilton started 12 games and recorded four or more tackles in four games.
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Max Melton, DB, Jr.
247 composite: Three stars, .8572
Rivals rankings: Three stars, 5.6
What to know: Melton has begun landing on NFL draft boards as an intriguing cornerback prospect in the 2024 class. Nevertheless, he was never viewed as a blue-chip recruit. The Cedar Creek High prospect was ranked the No. 23 recruit in New Jersey by Rivals and had just three FBS offers. Melton chose Purdue over Rutgers and Boston College. His family ties helped flip his commitment back to the Scarlet Knights, a major recruiting win for Greg Schiano’s first recruiting class. Last season, Melton boosted his draft stock by finishing as one of the Big Ten’s leaders in passes defended and led the nation on special teams with three blocked kicks.
Robert Longerbeam, DB, Jr.
247 composite: Three stars, .8457
Rivals rankings: Two stars, 5.4
What to know: Rutgers was the only Power 5 school to offer Longerbeam, who starred as a quarterback at T.C. Williams High in Virginia. Despite missing time with an injury, Longerbeam was a valuable starter at cornerback last season who finished with 36 tackles and two interceptions. He wasted no time making an impression in the secondary. One defensive play into the season, Longerbeam walloped Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec and forced a fumble.
Kyle Monangai, RB, Jr.
247 composite: Three stars, .8234
Rivals rankings: Three stars, 5.5
What to know: Coming into his senior year, Monangai had one offer from Cal. Things didn’t change much after an All-State season at Don Bosco Prep, but Schiano was able to pull off a Signing Day scramble to land Monangai after Chris Ash’s staff let its offer fall through the cracks. Monangai was the No. 1,992-ranked prospect in the country, according 247 and the lowest-graded three-star recruit possible. As for his New Jersey ranking, 247 tabbed him 47th while his teammate Jalen Berger checked in as the state’s third-ranked prospect behind a four-star evaluation. In a head-to-head meeting between Berger (Michigan State) and Monangai, the latter set a Rutgers record for rushing yards against a Big Ten opponent, finishing with 24 carries for 162 yards. Berger also shined, netting 100 yards of offense and a touchdown.
Hollin Pierce, OL, Jr.
247 composite: N/A
Rivals rankings: N/A
What to know: The 6-8, 340-pound tackle may be one of Schiano’s best development stories. A former walk-on, Pierce has worked his way to becoming the team’s top offensive lineman and the rest of the Big Ten has noticed. A graduate of Trenton Central, Pierce was so far off the recruiting radar, he was never evaluated by Rivals of 247. It took a year at a junior college plus a complete revamp of his body to become the highly regarded player he is today.