Rutgers football has landed a commitment from a late riser in the 2026 recruitment class, as ATH RJ Wortman has decided to commit to the Scarlet Knights. Wortman is ranked as a three-star prospect according to 247Sports, but is unranked by the other recruiting sites.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound prospect plays defensive back and wide receiver for Colonia High School in New Jersey, the same high school that Rutgers legend Eric Legrand played for.
His decision to commit to Rutgers came after he took an unofficial
midweek visit to campus on Wednesday, where he had a good conversation with head coach Greg Schiano and was given an offer. He is set to take an official visit to campus on November 28th for the Knights game against Penn State before signing his letter of intent on December 3rd.
During his senior season at Colonia, Wortman registered 101 catches for 1306 yards and 15 touchdowns in 11 games. He had five games where he caught at least 11 passes, and seven games where he totaled more than 100 receiving yards. He also contributed heavily on defense and special teams, recording 15 total tackles, grabbing two interceptions, and returning one for a touchdown. He also returned one punt for a touchdown.
One major reason why Wortman could’ve flown under the radar is that he was injured for most of his Junior season. Over the summer, he committed to play for FCS Maine, but decommitted in October when he started to receive FBS attention. He took an unofficial visit to Rutgers for their game against Oregon, and despite the outcome, seemed to enjoy his time. He also took an official visit to UMass last weekend and was set to visit Temple this weekend before he decided to shut down his recruitment
His commitment brings Rutgers up to 21 commitments in the 2026 class. He joins OL Cameron Greene as the only other New Jersey native in the class.
