Rutgers University hasn’t had much to cheer about recently, until now.
Here is a fun trivia opportunity to stump a friend at your Super Bowl party. Ask your buddy what college has the most representatives playing in the Super Bowl this year? Some of the answers might be Alabama or LSU, powerhouse programs that control the college football landscape. Yet, unless your friend comes across this article or a few others, the chances he or she answers Rutgers is slim to none. No, this not a joke. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will have five former players heading to Houston, more than any other school. Four of them land on New England’s roster and include Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, Devin McCourty and an injured Jonathan Freeny. The last alum comes from Atlanta, WR Mohamed Sanu Jr. who is having quite the postseason.
Congrats to R #RFootball Alums competing in Super Bowl LI!#NFLKnights🛡⚔ pic.twitter.com/QOvMCAOR6H
— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) January 23, 2017
For somebody who attends the university like myself, this is exciting news for a school that could use a jolt athletically. This is a free recruiting pitch for Rutgers head football coach Chris Ash as he gets himself set for National Signing Day. The school needs to ride this train as long as it possibly can. The good news is either way, one of their former players will be winning a Super Bowl. McCourty is the only first round pick of the bunch, drafted back in 2010. Sanu, Harmon, and Ryan were all third round picks. New England used both of their third round picks in 2013 on Harmon and Ryan. Freeny was undrafted in 2011 and wound up on New England in 2015.
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The programs that just missed out on the top spot for alumni were Alabama, LSU, and Stanford with four former players. The rest of the list is above on Rutgers Football’s tweet. Yes, for now, you can brag about being a Rutgers fan.