Rutgers True Freshman Receiver Vernon Allen III Balls Out During Spring Game
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The Scarlet Knights closed out spring practice with the annual Scarlet-White game and a diaper dandy stole the show. True freshman Vernon Allen III, from Perry Hall High School in Baltimore, Maryland finished with a game-high five receptions for 98 yards.
The 6'2, 195 receiver looked very comfortable on the receiving end of redshirt freshman AJ Surace's passes, showing an ability to high point the ball along the sideline and come down with difficult receptions inbounds. In addition to Allen III, true freshman Jordan Houston also had a productive game, giving the Scarlet Knights two additional depth pieces entering this season to a wide receiver room that suddenly looks loaded with Ian Strong and KJ Duff on the outside, DT Sheffield in the slot, and Ben Black providing a home run threat.
Head coach Greg Schiano spoke to the media post game about the depth of the receiver room.
"I'm excited about their youth and their performance but we have a lot of work to do. It's exciting today but we got a lot of work to do this summer. It will be good to get Ian (Strong) back eventually. I thought KJ (Duff) had a great spring... we have a chance to have a really good receiver room and when you have young guys that are getting better all the time, it just raises the bottom of the room."
Prior to his arrival at Rutgers, Allen played at Perry Hall high school under head coach Ryan Pittillo. As a senior, he grabbed 34 receptions for 622 yards, over 18 yards per catch. His junior year was even more impressive, catching 74 passes for 1,123 yards and earning an all-state first-team nod by the MPSSAA.
The Baltimore native had a long list of offers from Power Five schools, including Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Indiana, Syracuse, West Virginia and Wisconsin but ultimately chose to play ball on the banks. His comfort hauling in balls from Surace during the spring game bodes well for the future of the program when Athan Kaliakmanis passes the torch to the young quarterback for the 2026 season.
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John Catapano graduated from Rutgers in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism, covering the women’s field hockey and soccer teams for the campus paper, The Daily Targum. After college, he moved to Los Angeles, got a job at Walt Disney Television, and has worked in media ever since. John currently works with the Wasserman Media Group in their Brooklyn, NY office, collaborating with brands, influencers, and athletes across the globe. When the pandemic struck in 2020 and Catapano began working remotely, he resumed writing by contributing to a Rutgers fan blog. He covered various sports, highlighted human interest stories, and focused on topics that Scarlet Nation wanted to discuss. It’s never easy being a Rutgers fan, but with over 500,000 alumni living worldwide and a passionate fanbase, covering the Scarlet Knights is always engaging.