Rutgers Football RB CJ Campbell Jr. intends to enter transfer portal
Rutgers Football has its first transfer portal departure.
Running back CJ Campbell Jr. announced his intent to enter the portal when it officially opens on January 2nd, a source confirmed to The Knight Report, first reported by Pete Nakos. He is the first Scarlet Knight to announce their intent to transfer this offseason.
The speedy running back spent one year at Rutgers, and played just three games before suffering a season-ending ankle injury against Norfolk State. He finished with 22 carries for 119 yards on the ground.
Campbell’s season at Rutgers
Campbell transferred after a year at Florida Atlantic, where he started 11 games for the Owls. He compiled 1,310 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns, ranking eighth in the American Athletic Conference with 70.3 rushing yards per game. He also earned All-AAC Third Team honors in the process.
That came after three years at Florida State, where Campbell worked his way up the depth chart after initially joining the Seminoles as a walk-on.
The Louisiana native appeared to share carries with Antwan Raymond early on in the season, including a season-high 71 rushing yards on 11 carries in a season-opening win over Ohio. He ran for 45 yards on 10 carries the following week against Miami (OH), and was injured early on the following week.
Campbell did earn some accolades before the season, as he was named to the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 watch list in August.
Rutgers’ future rushing attack
As Campbell departs, Rutgers’ running back room remains in a strong place. Currently, Raymond and Ja’shon Benjamin are set to return after taking on much of the load in the run game — particularly Raymond — after Campbell’s injury. Raymond finished the season ranking third in the Big Ten with 1,241 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns as the bell-cow back. Samuel Brown V also has a year of eligibility remaining, after only playing in four games in 2025.
Some younger depth remains as well, with redshirt freshman Edd Guerrier and true freshman Terrell Mitchell earning second-team snaps at multiple points late in games throughout the year. The Scarlet Knights also brought in running back Michael Dukes for the 2026 class on Signing Day.
Campbell will have one year of eligibility remaining.
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