2027 Virginia OL Aaron Southard commits to Rutgers Football
Rutgers Football’s first Official Visit weekend has resulted in a new commitment today, as 2027 offensive lineman Aaron Southard from Virginia announced his decision today while on campus today.
“I chose Rutgers because of the coaches, and the culture,” Southard told TKR. “There is nothing not to like about Rutgers. Everything about the visit stood out, the facilities, and the resources you name it.”
The 6-foot-5, 300-pounds offensive tackle hails from The St. James Academy down in Madison, Virginia and chose the Scarlet Knights over the likes of offers from East Carolina, Marshall, UConn, USF, and was also being pushed by Michigan State to visit next weekend.
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The Virginia native earned his offer back in late March following an workout in front of new offensive line coach Jim Turner and took a trip to campus almost immediately after that on April 2nd for a spring practice visit.
“The head coach (Greg Schiano) FaceTimed me while I was with the offensive line coach (Jim Turner) at my house,” Southard told TKR. “Coach Schiano was just telling me about the program and the fact that I now have a committable offer to Rutgers. Also I spent time with coach Turner, he’s a really cool guy and has definitely proven he can put guys in the league. When I visited the campus is beautiful and the culture at Rutgers is definitely different, I just don’t know how to describe it.”
According to his HUDL profile, Southard has posted a 5.8, 40-yard dash, benches 315-pounds, squats 465-pounds and can deadlift 535-pounds.
Southard becomes the second offensive line commit in the 2027 class for the Scarlet Knights, joining the likes of fellow interior offensive lineman James Cocozzo from New York.
Southard becomes the eighth member of the 2027 recruiting class for Rutgers Football, which you can check out who else is committed below.
- RB Trenton Lynch (Spartanburg – SC)
- WR Jamar Taylor (Salesianum – DE)
- TE Sydney Padilla (West Orange – NJ)
- TE Saleh Atariwa (Cardinal Hayes – NY)
- IOL James Cocozzo (Stillwater – NY)
- IOL Aaron Southard (The St. James Academy – VA)
- LB Moses Poku-Kankam (Providence Day – NC)
- S Trent Buttles (St. Francis – NY)
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