Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff has been named to ESPN’s list of the top 100 college football players in the 2025 season. Duff came in at No.52, ahead of Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr and behind Cal Defensive Back Hezekiah Masses.
In 2025, Duff had 1,084 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He also had several acrobatic catches against Big Ten opponents, such as his deep ball reception
against Penn State.
“Duff had a monster game Oct. 25 against Purdue, finishing with 241 receiving yards — the second most in program history and most by a Big Ten player against a Power 4 opponent since Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 347 yards against Utah in the 2021 Rose Bowl. Duff also had 100-yard receiving outings against Norfolk State and Penn State.”-ESPN’s description on why Duff made the list.
His contributions led him to be a top retention priority for Rutgers this offseason. Despite him likely receiving several offers from other schools, the Knights were able to keep him on the team. With the loss of Ian Strong to the portal and DT Sheffield to the draft, Duff will likely be relied on even more next season, no matter who is throwing him the ball.
Duff has already received several postseason honors, such as being named to the all-Big Ten second team and being named a Phil Steele All-American, two honors that he shared with Rutgers running back Antwan Raymond. Duff was the only player on Rutgers to make ESPN’s list.
Duff, a sophomore, will have at least one more season at Rutgers. If he continues to progress and has a similar season in 2026, he will likely be declaring for the NFL draft around this time next year.
