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Why KJ Duff returned to Rutgers football to build on breakout year
CHICAGO – KJ Duff knew he had a decision to make.
The Rutgers football star wide receiver weighed whether he wanted to enter his name into the transfer portal and leave the Scarlet Knights , or stick with the only college program and the only coaches he’d ever known.
In the modern era of college football, where so few stars stick with the same program, nothing is guaranteed.
But ultimately for Duff, it came back to the relationships – both with coach Greg Schiano and his wide receivers coach, Dave Brock.
“It was big for me,” Duff said Tuesday, July 28 at Big Ten Media Days. “The relationship with Coach Schiano, the relationship with Coach Brock. What both of them have done to get me to this point. Ultimately I wanted to finish what I started with them.”
So Duff returned to the Scarlet Knights, and now is on the cusp of beginning his third season with the program.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Duff had a breakout season in 2025, one of just three Big Ten players to have 1,000 receiving yards as he cemented his status as one of the top receivers in the nation and a potential first-round NFL Draft pick.
Duff is facing high expectations. He’s not shying away from them.
He spent the offseason identifying ways to elevate his game to the next level.
“Now going into my third year, I feel like it’s the finest of fine details that I can only improve on now,” Duff said. “Going through film with a fine-toothed comb, seeing what you can do. Whether it was a route that I ran, why I slipped, why did I not catch the ball, did I take my eyes away from it, why didn’t I make this block. It’s just trying to figure that stuff out.”
Thankfully for Rutgers, he’ll be doing that with the Scarlet Knights.
Duff could’ve left for a different opportunity, similar to the way his friend and former high school and Rutgers teammate Ian Strong did (he’s now at California).
Schiano remembers having conversations with Duff about his future – conversations that have become part of the sport.
“It’s par for the course right now in college football,” Schiano said. “They’re all a little bit tense situations because No. 1, you better have a relationship so you can have dialogue and people trust what you’re saying and we trust what they’re saying. But there’s other forces at work. There’s representation, there’s family, there’s high school coaches, there’s friends. And you never really know who’s got someone’s ear so you have to be current, stay on point with the people that are most important.”
Their relationship goes back a long way – back to when Duff was at St. Anthony's High School and suffered a hand injury at the 7-on-7 showcase that Rutgers hosts every summer for high school teams.
Duff was brought to the hospital. Schiano and his wife Christy went to visit him.
“It was a long day in the hospital,” Duff recalled. “It did mean a lot to me that he and his wife came to visit me. That’s something I never forgot in this process.”
That process is now behind him.
Duff’s focused on the 2026 season, with Rutgers, the only college program he’s ever known.
The NFL is next. He’s on plenty of draft boards.
Duff admitted he’s aware of it. But he’s not paying much attention to it.
“For sure I definitely see it,” Duff said. “People close to me talk about it. When I open up Instagram I can see it. But that’s definitely something I don’t buy a lot of stock in. In my mind, I still haven’t done anything yet. Nothing’s guaranteed. I’ve got to go out and play the way I know I can and hopefully that puts me in a good position.”
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Why KJ Duff returned to Rutgers football to build on breakout year
Why KJ DuffRutgersKJ DuffScarlet KnightsNowThe RutgersDuffGreg SchianoDave BrockBig Ten Media DaysCoach SchianoCoach Brock
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