Rutgers Adds Maine Transfer Jaedin Lee to Bolster Defensive Line
In this story:
On January 5th, four days after the transfer portal opened, Rutgers continued its work trying to rebuild their defensive line in the transfer portal. After landing Toledo EDGE Malachi Davis the day before, the Scarlet Knights added some talent to their interior line by grabbing defensive tackle Jaedin Lee from Maine.
Rutgers' interior defensive line was one of the major weak points on the team last year, as they often failed to generate any pressure on quarterbacks while surrendering an average of over seven yards per carry on the ground last season. On top of all of that, many of their current and more experienced defensive lineman entered the transfer portal or are leaving for graduation, meaning that the need to add some help in that area was as glaring as ever.
Lee, who weighs in at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, originally joined the Black Bears as a part of the 2024 recruitment class. He largely played on special teams during his true freshman season. It wouldn't be until his sophomore season that he truly began to break out. In 2025, he registered 32 total tackles, 11 solo, and 3.5 tackles for loss. He will have time to develop in Rutgers seperior athletics facilities, as he has two years of college eligibility remaining.
👀🎥 - Check out some of the highlights from our newest D-Lineman,
— Maine Football (@BlackBearsFB) December 21, 2023
Jaedin Lee!#BlackBearNation pic.twitter.com/I9Ju7CBOR4
Despite Rutgers' intense need for quality interior defensive linemen, Lee will likely be a rotational guy his first year with the program. While his stats are decent at the FCS level, the jump from the FCS to the Big Ten is a big one, especially for a lineman. Since Rutgers is extremely lacking at the position right now, he will have a strong chance to come in and compete for the starting job, but they will likely be looking to add more talent to the position before the transfer portal closes on January 16th.
In addition to Lee and Davis, Rutgers has grabbed one other player to help rebuild their defensive line, as Rondo Porter from Appalachian State has decided to play for Rutgers. Porter has a much greater chance of earning the starting role at Rutgers due to the fact that he has Power Five experience at South Carolina. However, that doesn't mean that Lee won't have a significant impact. Since Rutgers is in desperate need of defensive line help, if things stay the way they are right now, he will likely see a lot of playing time as a rotational piece his first year on the banks.
