Six Rutgers Football Players Named Athlon Sports Preseason All-Big Ten
Athlon Sports has released their annual preseason All-Big Ten teams today and it features several Rutgers Football players, as we are quickly approaching the 2025 college football season.
With that being said, let’s take a look at which six Scarlet Knights made the cut for this year’s All-Big Ten preseason honors.
LINEBACKER DARIEL DJABOME
All-Big Ten Second Team
The first name to pop up on the list for Rutgers was senior linebacker Dariel Djabome. After some early season struggles last year filling in for the injured Mohamed Toure, the Canada native stepped up big time and not only filled his shoes, but was was considered one of the better backers in the Big Ten last season.
Djabome is looking to take his game to the next level this season and potentially even turn the game he loves into a profession, as several NFL scouts have been monitoring him closely as a potential 2026 NFL Draft pick.
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN TYLER NEEDHAM
All-Big Ten Third Team
Prior to the start of the 2024 season, Tyler Needham went into camp and won the starting right tackle job pretty easily and he looked good throughout the first nine games before getting banged up a bit.
Needham was announced back in November with having a season ending injury, but he continued to power through and returned for the final two games of the season, running mostly as a blocking tight end.
With Hollin Pierce now gone, Needham is expected to shift over to the left side and is considered the front runner for that job. However the program did add Lafayette transfer Ryder Langsdale post-spring ball and he will have to fight off the talented FCS transfer.
DEFENSIVE END ERIC O’NEILL
All-Big Ten Third Team
The Staten Island, New York native made his way home this offseason, after spending one year at James Madison in 2024. In that lone season, Eric O’Neill finished with 13 sacks and that was good for fourth nationally. He also was tied for seventh in the nation with 18 tackles for loss and posted a 90.4 overall defensive grade per PFF, which was eighth among all edge rushers nationwide. He notched multiple sacks in a game four times in 2024, including three sacks twice.
Now all those stats are nice, but going from the FCS level to the Big Ten Conference is a major jump, so it won’t be all that easy for O’Neill. However there’s been plenty of FCS transfers over the past few years that have gone on to the FBS level and made a name for themselves, so O’Neill could be next on that list.
RUNNING BACK ANTWAN RAYMOND
All-Big Ten Fourth Team
The second year back out of Canada returns to Rutgers, after a stellar freshman year where he was supposed to still be in high school. The former four-star recruit’s high school down in Florida (Clearwater Academy International) announced that they were close their doors last spring and since Antwan Raymond had the credits already, he decided to reclassify from 2025 to 2024 and join the Rutgers Football program a year early.
In his true freshman season, Raymond was mostly just filling in here and there for a few spot carries early on, but then injuries started to hit the running back room as both Samuel Brown V and Ja’shon Benjamin both got dinged up. Raymond stepped up big time, carried the ball 100 times for 457 yards and eight touchdowns on the year, including 113 rushing yards and three scores in the 2024 Rate Bowl versus Kansas State.
This upcoming season will be an interesting one, as the Scarlet Knights added another talented back in Florida Atlantic transfer CJ Campbell to the mix. Expect the duo to split the carries, with the staff likely to go with whoever has the hot hand each Saturday.
WIDE RECEIVER IAN STRONG
All-Big Ten Fourth Team
The St. Anthony’s alumni enters year three with the program and Ian Strong continues to take big strides year after year, going from 230 receiving yards and two touchdowns as a freshman in 2023 to 676 yards and five touchdowns in 2024.
Strong is expected to help continue the revival of the offense under OC Kirk Ciarrocca and many within the program think he has a chance to have a special year in 2025. On top of that, there’s even been some murmurs from NFL scouts that he could leave early if all goes to plan in 2025.
He is a tall, lengthy wideout with a big frame, a legit 6-foot-3, 215-pounds and possesses a long wingspan which only helps expand his catch radius. He also has some unique athleticism for his size, estimated that he runs somewhere in the 4.5 range for his 40-yard dash. Last season he was All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, but the sky is the limit here if the Scarlet Knights can allow Athan Kaliakmanis time to get him the ball.
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN KWABENA ASMAOAH
All-Big Ten Fourth Team
Speaking of allowing the quarterback time to get the ball, Kwabena or better known as Kobe Asamoah did just that last season and will to continue to be a dominant force inside the trenches this year as well.
Asamoah was arguably the second most consistent offensive lineman last season for Rutgers behind now Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Hollin Pierce, as he only allowed 17 pressures on the year per PFF. He also went on to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media last season.
Look for a big year out of Asamoah, as he hopes to continue to build on his solid 2024 season.
