Rutgers football is getting some early national respect from Athlon Sports, with WR KJ Duff and RB Antwan Raymond landing on the publication’s preseason All-America teams.
Duff was named a Second Team All-America selection, while Raymond earned Third Team All-America honors. Athlon also included both players on its Preseason All-Big Ten first team.
The Scarlet Knights picked up two more conference preseason nods as well. OL Kwabena Asamoah was tabbed Third Team All-Big Ten, and OL Tyler Needham came in on the Fourth Team All-Big Ten list.
Duff’s 2025 season was the kind that forces people to pay attention. The Academic All-Big Ten honoree finished third in the Big Ten, fourth among Power 4 players and seventh nationally with 90.3 receiving yards per game. He was one of just three Big Ten players to top 1,000 receiving yards, becoming the seventh Scarlet Knight to hit that mark in a season, the second in the Big Ten era and the first since 2014.
His 1,084 receiving yards included three games over 100, highlighted by a six-catch, 241-yard outing in the win at Purdue. That number was the fourth most in a game nationally in 2025, the highest by a Big Ten player and the second-highest single-game total in Rutgers history.
Duff also led the nation with 22 contested catches, according to Pro Football Focus, and added honorable mention All-America recognition from Phil Steele along with Second Team All-Big Ten honors. The Riverhead, New York, native finished with 60 catches, ninth most in a season in program history, and ranked second in the league with 18.1 yards per reception.
Fifty of those receptions either moved the chains or ended in the end zone, and he scored seven touchdowns.
Raymond put together a heavy-volume season that translated into production and honors. He was one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker National Running Back Award, won the Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in college football and was a Fourth Team All-America pick by Phil Steele. In 2025, he carried 244 times for 1,241 yards and 15 touchdowns, with 13 scores on the ground and two as a receiver.
That rushing total ranked third in the Big Ten, 14th nationally and eighth in a season in Rutgers history. Raymond posted four 100-yard games, including a school-record-tying 240 yards on 41 carries in the win over Maryland.
He scored at least once in 10 games, finished third in the conference in touchdowns, was second in all-purpose yards per game at 122.2 and ranked eighth nationally in rushing attempts. His season brought Second Team All-Big Ten recognition from both the media and coaches, plus Academic All-Big Ten and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team® honors.
Asamoah’s season was built on consistency. He started all 12 games at right guard in 2025 and has started each of the last 25 games there going back to the previous season. ESPN named him a Second Team All-America, and he helped anchor an offense that averaged 389.1 yards in Big Ten play, Rutgers’ best mark in a season since joining the conference.
That unit also produced a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver for only the second time in program history, and the first time since 2007. Following the regular season, Rutgers ranked 14th nationally in time of possession at 32:31, 15th in yards per completion at 13.7 and 20th in first downs gained with 279. The Pickerington, Ohio, native is a two-time honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.
Needham is heading into his sixth season with the program after appearing in all 12 games with 10 starts in 2025. The Newtown, Pennsylvania, native has played both tackle spots and has also lined up at tight end during his 32 collegiate games for the Scarlet Knights.
Like Asamoah, he was part of the offense that averaged 389.1 yards in Big Ten play, the program’s best season mark since entering the league. Rutgers also reached the rare combination of a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver for the second time in school history and first since 2007. Needham is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a member of the Hampshire Honor Society.
In Other News...
Rutgers Is Making A Serious Push To Keep This NJ Recruit Home
Rutgers has made its move on Jaisier Gray, extending a scholarship offer to the Weequahic High School defensive lineman after Penn State got in first. For the Scarlet Knights, the appeal is obvious: landing a New Jersey prospect with Big Ten interest is exactly the kind of in-state recruiting win that can shape the roster and the conversation around the program.
Gray recently got a closer look at Rutgers, where he met Greg Schiano, Dennis Dottin-Carter and other recruits while taking in the atmosphere around the team. The visit appears to have left a strong impression, especially with the way the staff and players carried themselves, and Rutgers now finds itself trying to turn that early momentum into something more lasting as the recruitment continues. [Read more 🡒]