Rutgers Lands Second Edge Rusher of the Transfer Portal
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Rutgers defensive line last season was one glaring issue on a defense that was full of them. The pass rush was nonexistent, while the run-stopping was below average. On top of that, the highest producers on that defensive line are set to graduate this year, as both Bradley Weaver and Eric O'Neill will be leaving the program due to their eligibility running out. All of these circumstances coupled together meant that the Scarlet Knights would have to do some serious work in the transfer portal to help their defensive line/ pass rush.
Rutgers has already landed EDGE Malachi Davis from Toledo, DT Jaedin Lee from Maine, and DT Rondo Porter from Appalachian State, but they needed more, especially since Lee and Davis's stats don't really jump off the page despite both of them playing at a lower level.
The most recent addition to Rutgers' defense will help a lot in solving their issues up front, as the Knights have landed Tulse transfer J'Dan Burnett.
The 6-foot, 250-pound Burnett started his career at Louisiana Tech, where he redshirted his true freshman season in 2021 before appearing in 12 games his redshirt freshman year. Burnett was injured during his third year with the program and was granted a medical redshirt.
Burnett would rebound from his injuries by having his best year in college up until that point. He would again appear in all 12 games before opting to transfer to Tulsa. He finished his tenure with the Bulldogs with 54 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, and five sacks.
🚨BREAKING: Tulsa EDGE transfer J’Dan Burnett commits to Rutgers Football!
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights | The Knight Report (@RutgersOn3) January 19, 2026
He had 28 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, and 6.5 sacks, while earning All-AAC second team in 2025.https://t.co/Yn0riNhWj4 pic.twitter.com/xLVbRRbDoX
During his one season at Tulsa, Burnett appeared in 12 games and despite only making five starts, he was one of the most productive members on the team. Strangely enough, despite only having five starts, he played at least 30 snaps in each of his games at Tulsa. During that time, Burnett recorded 28 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, a team-high 6.5 sacks, and one forced fumble, while earning All-AAC second team honors in the process. In terms of playing against Power Five competition, he had a solid performance against Oklahoma State, where he registered five pressures and one sack.
Burnett had received interest from Florida State and Iowa, and was expected to visit them in the following weeks before he committed to play for Rutgers. He is expected to sign with the university today and enroll in classes tomorrow.
Andrew Rice has covered Rutgers athletics for two years for the Rutgers site, OnTheBanks.com. In February of 2025, he took over as the site manager of OnTheBanks and has been running the site ever since. His other professional journalism experiences include being a Rutgers beat reporter for GridironHeroics.com, along with being a general New York sports journalist for Sports Radio America.