Rutgers will send two of its biggest offensive names to Big Ten Media Day in Chicago after wide receiver KJ Duff and running back Antwan Raymond were named to the 2026 Big Ten Preseason Honors list on Tuesday.
The conference’s media vote included 12 players in all, and Rutgers was one of four schools with multiple selections. Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon were the others. Duff and Raymond are now the second and third Scarlet Knights to land preseason recognition in the media vote, following Kyle Monangai in 2024.
The full list featured three Indiana players - wide receiver Charlie Becker, linebacker Rolijah Hardy and defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker - along with Iowa offensive lineman Kade Pieper, Minnesota defensive lineman Anthony Smith, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and defensive back Koi Perich, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, and the two Rutgers standouts.
Duff’s 2025 season put him squarely among the most productive receivers in the Big Ten era for Rutgers. He averaged 90.3 receiving yards per game, good for third in the conference, fourth among Power 4 players and seventh nationally.
He was one of only three Big Ten players to top 1,000 receiving yards, finishing with 1,084, and became the seventh Rutgers player to reach that number in a single season. It was also the second time it had happened in the Big Ten era and the first since 2014.
He had three 100-yard games, and the biggest came at Purdue, where he caught six passes for 241 yards in a win. That performance ranked as the fourth-highest single-game total nationally in 2025, the best by any Big Ten player and the second-best in Rutgers history.
Duff also led the nation with 22 contested catches according to Pro Football Focus. He earned honorable mention All-America honors from Phil Steele and was named Second Team All-Big Ten.
He finished with 60 receptions, the ninth-most in a season in program history, and ranked second in the league with 18.1 yards per catch. Fifty of his catches went for either a first down or a touchdown, and he scored seven times.
He also had at least five catches in eight games.
Raymond put together a season that placed him among the country’s most productive backs. The Doak Walker Award semifinalist, Cornish Trophy winner as the top Canadian player in college football, and Phil Steele Fourth Team All-America pick carried 244 times for 1,241 yards and 15 total touchdowns, including 13 rushing scores and two receiving. His rushing total ranked third in the Big Ten, 14th nationally and eighth in a single season in Rutgers history.
He had four 100-yard rushing games, including a 240-yard day against Maryland on a school-record-tying 41 carries. Raymond scored in 10 games, ranked third in the Big Ten in touchdowns, second in the conference in all-purpose yards per game at 122.2, and eighth nationally in rushing attempts. He was named Second Team All-Big Ten by both the media and coaches, and also earned Academic All-Big Ten and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition.
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