Rutgers football: Recent transfers bolster Knights defense

The Rutgers football team lost some key defensive players after the 2018 season. Knights head coach Chris Ash has filled in some of the gaps with power five transfers.

Rutgers football coach Chris Ash has taken advantage of the NCAA transfer process over the last few months. Ten players capable of making a positive impact have joined the program from other colleges since the dismal 2018 season ended. Among the new Scarlet Knights are quarterbacks, Johnny Langan (Boston College), and McLane Carter (Texas Tech), as well as tight ends, Matt Alaimo (UCLA), and Kyle Penniston (Wisconsin). Additionally, a pair of local defensive players, who were high school teammates, have returned home.

Just before the calendar year ended, linebacker Drew Singleton transferred into Rutgers from the University of Michigan. The 6-2, 220-pounder was a five-star recruit at one time. That was before he tore his ACL prior to the start of his senior season at Paramus Catholic High School. Despite the injury, he was still offered many power five conference scholarships, before settling on the maize and blue.

An athletic playmaker Singleton opened the spring as a backup at weakside linebacker. He was in the mix for playing time at Michigan for the WSLB spot, so it’s only logical that Singleton has an excellent chance to start for a thin Rutgers linebacking squad. His ability to read opposing offenses, combined with good athletic ability and speed are all traits the Scarlet Knight need in 2019.

Earlier this week, defensive tackle and Singleton’s PCHS teammate Corey Bolds announced he was joining the Rutgers football program. The 6-3, 295-pound DT was redshirted his freshman year at Penn State. He decided to leave the Nittany Lions program shortly after and attended ASA College in Brooklyn.

Bolds played in six games for the Avengers in 2018, recording six tackles including one and a half sacks and a fumble recovery. He will technically be a walk-on this year due to a lack of available football scholarships Ash has to give in 2019. Nevertheless, the big lineman is expected to contend for a big chunk of playing time this fall.

Multi-year starters Kevin Wilkins and Jon Bateky combined for 97 tackles in the middle of Rutgers defensive line last season. Both have graduated and moved on. Bolds now has an opportunity to step in immediately and make a huge impact on the Knights defensive front.

Singleton and Bolds join fellow college transfers, cornerback Tre Avery (Toledo) and defensive end Nihym Anderson on the revamped Rutgers defense. Whether the D improves in 2019 remains to be seen, but Ash has plugged some of the would-be holes the unit might have had.