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Rutgers gets walk-on commitment from highly-rated kicker

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Rutgers has added a kicker to its 2022 recruiting class. The news came on Sunday morning, when Jai Patel made his announcement.

Patel, a native of New Jersey, is a 5-star kicker in the 2022 class, per Kohl’s Kicking Camps and is also listed as a 3-star punter. He made his announcement with a post on Twitter. Patel will be a preferred walk-on for the Scarlet Knights.

“I would like to thank coach Scheier, Coach Bruno, Coach Miller and Coach Schiano for their time and commitment in recruiting me from day one,” Patel wrote. “After much consideration and thought, I would like to announce my commitment to Rutgers University.”

Per Kohl’s, Patel was named a USA TODAY First-Team New Jersey All-State kicker in 2020, his junior season. He also set his high school record for longest field goal at 44 yards in 2019.

“Patel’s most recent camp was a 2021 May Showcase. He did very well in the field goal charting phase at camp,” reads an evaluation from Kohl’s Kicking. “His kickoffs are solid for a rising senior in high school. Patel is one of the cleanest ball strikers in his class and the drill work at multiple camps demonstrate that.”

Patel ranks as the No. 27 kicker in the 2022 class.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB