Figure 1 Multiple Scarlet Knights have gone on to win Super Bowls
As proud as we are of our Scarlet Knights, Rutgers will probably not win the College Football National Championship this year. We may be the oldest program in the country but there are others now that regularly compete at the very top of the NCAA game. But that is not to say that Rutgers has ever stopped producing world-class players.
There is a fine history of Scarlet Knights going on to light up the NFL and we hope that Max Melton – taken by the Arizona Cardinals in this year’s NFL Draft – is just the latest former Rutgers player to go on to do great things in the professional game. He already has a lot to live up to though.
Plenty of Scarlet Knights have made it all the way to the Super Bowl – the pinnacle of the profession. But there are those who have also forged consistently successful careers after learning their most valuable life lessons at Rutgers. The teams our players have starred for are those who feature on sportsbooks that are profiled on www.onlinesportsbetting.net. There will be more to come – but here are five former Scarlet Knights that proved themselves in the NFL.
Deron Cherry
Arguably one of the best free safety players that the NFL has ever seen, Cherry famously went undrafted and was signed by Kansas City. What a move that turned out to be for the Chiefs, with the New Jersey native finishing his career as a six-time Pro Bowler and a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.
Cherry was also a punter at Rutgers and even tried out for the Chiefs in that position before concentrating on a more defensive role. Retiring after 11 seasons with the Chiefs – and regularly playing every single game of the grueling NFL season – Cherry then became the first minority owner of an NFL franchise. He still holds the record for most passes intercepted in a single game.
Ray Rice
One of the greatest running backs the Scarlet Knights fans have ever seen, Rice was somewhat overshadowed by others in the NFL Draft of 2008, not being taken until the second round by the Baltimore Ravens. But he proved that he was an exceptional athlete for six seasons in the pro game, being part of the Super Bowl-winning Ravens team in 2012.
Rice still holds many of the rushing records at Rutgers and was First Team All-American in 2007. He carried on that form in the NFL and was played in the Pro Bowl on three occasions. A controversial domestic violence incident essentially ended his career in 2014 but he has changed his life around since then. He has become an outspoken advocate against domestic violence and a motivational speaker.
Devin McCourty
One of an incredibly successful pair of twins – who both played for Rutgers – Devin McCourty can count three Super Bowl rings in his private collection and is regarded as one of the best cornerbacks to play in the NFL in the 2010s. He also only missed five games in his 13-year New England Patriots career.
McCourty was just as reliable when he was a Scarlet Knight, playing all 13 games in all four years at Rutgers. His talent was also easily identifiable, being named as a First Team All-Big East in 2009 before being taken by the Pats in the first round of the draft. Devin and his twin brother Jason jointly delivered the 2019 commencement address at the school and continue to be impressive ambassadors and great examples of what being a Scarlet Knight means.
Isiah Pacheco
Another New Jersey native, Pacheco is one of the latest examples of how good Rutgers alumni can be in the NFL. We thought we had been concentrating on greats from the recent past a little too much so far, so how about an athlete who was only drafted in 2022 but can already claim two Super Bowl victories?
Pacheco was a consistent player during his time at Rutgers, rushing and receiving to great acclaim. The Chiefs took him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft and he showed what he could do immediately – scoring in his very first game as a professional. He has carried on that form ever since and even scored a touchdown in his first Super Bowl, even though he was playing with a broken hand. It is that kind of determination that has seen Scarlet Knights succeed in all walks of life.
Figure 2 Lessons learned at Rutgers have helped athletes in later life
Harry Swayne
If we are talking about Rutgers alumni who went on to do great things then we can’t forget about Harry Swayne. An offensive tackle, Swayne eventually played in the NFL for 15 years and is one of only a few players who have lined up for three different teams in a Super Bowl. It should be said that he also managed to finish on the winning side every single time.
Inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003, Swayne played on the other side of the ball while a Scarlet Knight and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 1987 NFL Draft. After an illustrious professional career, Swayne showed that he is much more than just a phenomenal athlete, becoming the chaplain at the Chicago Bears, before returning to a role at the Ravens, one of his former teams.
