Rutgers is getting its top offensive weapon back for the 2026 season.
KJ Duff is running it back.
The star wide receiver is returning to Rutgers for his junior season next fall, a person with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media on Friday.
The news was officially revealed at Jersey Mike’s Arena, where a video of his highlights played at the jumbotron during the under-16 timeout of the men’s basketball team’s meeting with Ohio State. After the video ended with a graphic saying he was “Back on the Banks,” Duff walked onto the court and received a loud applause from a raucous home crowd.
JOIN OUR RUTGERS RANT DISCORD: Talk Rutgers with Steve Politi, Brian Fonseca.
The elation is warranted. Duff was at the top of the Scarlet Knights’ list of players to retain from the 2025 season, and his decision to come back takes sting off of them losing fellow star wide receiver Ian Strong to the transfer portal.
Combined with running back Antwan Raymond also returning for his junior season, head coach Greg Schiano’s program has a solid foundation to work with on the offensive side of the ball next fall.
Duff broke out as a sophomore last fall, when he became the seventh Scarlet Knight to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, finishing the year with 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns on 60 receptions. That marks the seventh-most productive receiving season in program history.
The 6-foot-6 receiver led the country in contested catches (20), per ProFootballFocus.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE RUTGERS RANT ON YOUTUBE: Watch our weekly podcast, live postgame reactions and more
Duff’s best performance came in West Lafayette, where he hauled in 241 yards and a 72-yard touchdown on six catches to practically carry the Scarlet Knights to a 27-24 victory over Purdue.
A four-star recruit in the 2024 class, Duff enters his junior season on pace to reach the top 10 in career receiving records at Rutgers across multiple categories: he is 503 yards from surpassing Bo Melton (2017-21), five touchdowns from tying Brian Leonard (2003-06) and Bob Simms (1957-59) and 45 receptions from tying Tiquan Underwood (2005-08) for 10th in each respective category.
Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Category: General Sports
