Rutgers Football RB Samuel Brown V intends to enter transfer portal
Rutgers Football has its second transfer portal departure at running back.
Senior tailback Samuel Brown V announced his intent to enter the portal when it officially opens on January 2nd, he announced on social media.
Brown spent four years as a Scarlet Knight, but battled through injuries for much of his career after a blazing-hot start. He finishes his tenure at Rutgers with 829 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 205 carries, to go along with seven receptions for 80 yards and a score through the air. He also played in 28 games across four seasons.
Brown’s career at Rutgers
A native of Philadelphia, Brown was a four-star recruit, according to Rivals, after a standout career at La Salle College High School. He was the lone running back commit in Rutgers’ 2022 recruiting class.
The 6-foot-1 running back got involved early, in a running back room that included Kyle Monangai, Al-Shadee Salaam, and Aaron Young. He showed flashes early on with a two-touchdown performance in a win over Wagner, and earned carries once the calendar flipped to October.
Brown truly had his breakout performance in a win over Indiana, the first game for then-interim offensive coordinator Nunzio Campanile, running for 101 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. As quickly as that breakout came, however, it was over. He suffered a season-ending foot injury and missed the remainder of the campaign.
As a sophomore, Brown continued to battle back from injury, playing in 12 of the 13 games in 2023, including the Pinstripe Bowl victory over Miami (FL). He finished with 216 yards and two scores.
Brown suffered another season-ending injury in 2024, another lower-body ailment, in the fifth game of the season against Wisconsin. He had seen an uptick in carries in the games prior, including 14 carries in each of his first two games, and two touchdowns against Virginia Tech. He also ran for a crucial 34-yard touchdown in a Friday night win against Washington.
The senior played in just four games in 2025 to retain his redshirt and saw spot duty at running back following CJ Campbell Jr‘s injury. He ran for 38 yards on 16 carries across the four games against Minnesota, Illinois, No. 1 Ohio State, and Penn State.
Rutgers’ future rushing attack
As Brown 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 CJ Campbell Jr‘s injury, as Brown also filled in at times.. Raymond finished the season ranking third in the Big Ten with 1,241 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns as the bell-cow back.
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.
Brown will have one year of eligibility remaining.
| POSITON / PLAYER | YEAR(S) LEFT | NEW TEAM |
| RB CJ Campbell | 1 | TBD |
| RB Samuel Brown V | 1 | TBD |
| WR Dane Pardridge | 2 | TBD |
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