Program field guide · 2026

Big Ten · New Jersey

Rutgers

Scarlet Knights

Rutgers’s New Jersey-developed core fell from 51 to 40 players.

2026 roster · Roster geography

In 2016, 51 of 108 roster spots were filled by New Jersey players with no earlier college team detected. On the 2026 roster, 40 of 126 fit the same definition. Detected transfers went from 3 to 12.

In 2016 the median player grew up 45 mi from campus. Now it is 152 mi.

Of the 12 players who came from another college, 1 is from New Jersey. Those home-state players make up 8% of detected-transfer stock on this roster.

Then → now

2016–18 compared with 2021–25

2016–182021–2549.7%44.8%4.1%10.4%
  • Local-developed core
  • Transfer stock
Measure2016–182021–25
Local-developed core49.7%44.8%
Transfer stock4.1%10.4%

The roster, at a glance

  • 352 miAverage hometown distanceAverage hometown distance among 112 located players.
  • 33.1%In-state33.1% of the roster is from New Jersey.
  • 46.4%Backyard46.4% grew up within 100 miles of campus.
  • 9.5%Detected transfers9.5% of the roster arrived after playing at another school.

Across the FBS

Where Rutgers ranks

Most In-State#5833.1%Most Transfers#1289.5%Closest to Home#27352 miFarthest From Home#112352 miBiggest Localism Shift#2833.1%Most Backyard Players#846.4%Fewest Transfers#119.5%Biggest Transfer Shift#1249.5%

Homecoming Radius over time

The median hometown-to-campus distance, by season. The dotted line is the FBS median.

050100150200250FBS median (250 mi)200920122016201920232026

Roster composition over time

Where the in-state lens draws the line: local-developed, local transfer, outsider developed, outsider transfer, and unknown. This chart begins where stable athlete IDs make transfer detection possible; the radius chart above carries the official-archive geography farther back.

Local-developedOutsider developedOutsider transfer200920122016201920232026

Where do Rutgers's players come from?

SeasonRosterIn-stateTransfer signalRadius
202612633.1%9.5%152 mi
202513341.2%12.8%63 mi
202413544.4%5.9%54 mi
202313148.5%7.6%50 mi
202213052.7%13.8%40 mi
202112654.9%11.9%39 mi
202016458.8%10.4%37 mi
201912456.7%5.6%38 mi
201810455.9%1.9%37 mi
201710653.3%7.5%43 mi
201610848.1%2.8%45 mi
201511949.6%1.7%45 mi
201410853.7%1.9%43 mi
201313154.2%0.8%39 mi
201210048.0%0.0%46 mi
201111147.7%0.0%47 mi
201010445.6%0.0%47 mi
200910950.9%0.9%46 mi

Where the roster grew up

Every 2026 player's hometown, with campus marked and the Homecoming Radius circled.

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Homecoming Radius: 152 mi

(This slider is for exploring — leaderboards use the fixed lenses.)

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