Rutgers has moved on from second-year edge Wydeek Collier-Johnson, who was dismissed from the football team after a violation of team rules, according to a source cited by Scarlet Nation.
The 6-foot-7, 240-pound defender from Philadelphia arrived in Piscataway early after reclassifying from the 2026 recruiting class to 2025, a move that put him on campus in time for the 2025 season. He saw limited action as a freshman, appearing in three games and finishing without a stat.
Before Rutgers, Collier-Johnson built his name at Neumann Goretti High School, where he worked on both sides of the ball as a defensive end and wide receiver. As a junior, he put together 35 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and eight sacks on defense while also catching 13 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns.
That production earned him First Team All-Catholic recognition, and he later picked up Defensive Line MVP honors at the 2025 Under Armour Camp. Those performances pushed him into four-star territory, and he closed his prep career as the No. 28 edge in the class of 2025 and the No. 8 prospect in Pennsylvania.
Rutgers landed his commitment in January 2025, with running backs coach Damiere Shaw - another Philadelphia native - serving as the lead recruiter. Shaw developed a strong bond with Collier-Johnson and his family, and the Scarlet Knights beat out schools that included Penn State and Florida State. Even after he committed, other programs kept coming after him, but he stayed locked in with Rutgers.
The choice to reclassify came during an official visit in early June 2025, when head coach Greg Schiano laid out the option of skipping his senior year of high school and joining the program right away.
Collier-Johnson’s father, Kristian Johnson, played at Morgan State and was an all-conference tight end.
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