Rutgers football lands Bergen Catholic's Kaj Sanders. Here's what it means for recruiting

Rutgers football’s 2024 recruiting class reflects an expanding footprint, including prospects from areas in the South and Midwest that the Scarlet Knights traditionally haven’t recruited too heavily. But on Saturday Greg Schiano’s program landed a highly touted prospect from its home state. Kaj Sanders, a four-star defensive back from Bergen Catholic, announced that he had committed to the Scarlet Knights, becoming the 21st member of the class and the second four-star prospect, joining top-New York recruit Korey Duff Jr. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Sanders is rated as the No. 6 overall prospect in New Jersey and and 35th overall safety recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Sanders chose Rutgers from a long list of offers that included South Carolina, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Miami, Michigan State, Penn State, Notre Dame and Syracuse. Rutgers, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin were the finalists. But ultimately Sanders, who took an official visit to Rutgers last month, decided to stay close to home. Sanders made his announcement during a live announcement on Rivals' YouTube channel, noting that Rutgers has been recruiting him since he was a freshman. Sanders finished his junior season with 40 tackles (2½ for loss) and three interceptions. 'IT WAS AN IMPORTANT GET'How Rutgers football is bolstered by these transfer players WHAT IT MEANS FOR RUTGERS FOOTBALL Landing Sanders is arguably the biggest recruiting victory that the Scarlet Knights have had since Schiano’s return to Rutgers. While the Scarlet Knights have landed top-10 in-state recruits in their recent classes – players like Shaquan Loyal, Jordan Thompson, Famah Toure and Jacob Allen, among others – Sanders’ commitment represents the first top recruit that Rutgers has secured from one of the North Jersey non-public powerhouses. It could have an impact moving into the future, as Sanders' commitment shows that more in-state stars from the non-public powers are looking at Rutgers as a legitimate option. The addition of Sanders also gives Rutgers a second defensive back in the 2024 class – Dahkari Gilley from University Christian in Jacksonville, Florida became the first when he committed last month. Rutgers has had success with the class of 2024 – it landed 13 commitments last month – and Sanders’ pledge is the latest boost to a class that entered Sunday ranked No. 32 in the nation (and has ranked in the Top 25 in recent weeks) according to 247Sports.