Top 25 New Jersey high school football players from the Class of 2021

Those often mentioned at the very top are Franco Harris, Joe Theismann, Sam Mills, Elvin Bethea, Andre Tippett and Irving Fryar.

Some of the more current NFL standouts from New Jersey are Joe Flacco, Greg Olsen, Brian Cushing, Victor Cruz and Neil O'Donnell.

The best from the current high school class of 2021 has been evaluated by the football experts from 247Sports.

From their list of top 25 players, six each play either defensive line or defensive back. On offense, this is the year of the running back in The Garden State with five on the list.



A high percentage, 17 of 25, have already committed to college with Rutgers claiming by far the most recruits with nine. Boston College and Virginia Tech claimed two each from the Top 25.

See the complete Top 25 as compiled by 247Sports below. 1. Tywone Malone, Bergen Catholic (Oradell)
6-foot-4 | 300 pounds | defensive tackle | Undecided
Ranked the No. 4 defensive tackle in the country, Malone is also a big-time baseball player. He's received 29 college offers, but appears to have narrowed his choices to Ohio State, Ole Miss, Rutgers and Texas A&M.

2. George Rooks, St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City)
6-4 | 260 | DT | Undecided
Rooks had a breakout junior season with 71 tackles, 15 for losses including 9.5 sacks. He led his team to a New Jersey Non-public Group 4 title last season. Ranked the No. 14 defensive tackle in the country, Rooks has 20 college offers but appears to be choosing between Michigan, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

3. Aaron Armitage, Blair Academy (Blairstown)
6-4 | 242 | DE | Undecided
Fast and athletic, Armitage has piled up 38 college offers and he could end up anywhere in the country, with Florida, LSU, Oregon, Stanford and USC among his finalists.

4. Geno VanDeMark, St. Joseph Regional (Montvale)
6-4 | 313 | OG | Undecided
College coaches called often during the coronavirus, with Nebraska (March 31), Maryland (April 10), Oklahoma State (April 10), Arizona State (May 4) and Ole Miss (May 8) all making offers. A big frame with excellent quickness, VanDeMark is said to be considering Arizona State, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ole Miss and Rutgers as his finalists. He has 19 offers overall.

5. Khayri Banton, West Side (Newark)
6-2 | 220 | OLB | Rutgers
Had 60 tackles, with 25 percent for losses with seven sacks and three forced fumbles. Picked the Scarlet Knights on March 26 over such schools such as Miami, Michigan and Tennessee.

6. Duce Chestnut, Camden
Not blessed with blinding speed, Chestnut just knows how to play and does so effectively. He keeps up with the fleetest of receivers, however, and likes to tackle. He's got 12 college offers, including Kansas, Louisville, Miami, Michigan and Baylor.

7. Audric Estime, St. Joseph Regional (Montvale)
6-2 | 215 | RB | Undecided
With 2,050 career rushing yards and 27 touchdowns, Estime is hard to bring down. He's very muscular and figures to get even bigger in college. On top of his rugged running, he has good hands and is a good threat as a receiver out of the backfield. He has 16 college offers, including Arizona State, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers and Virginia Tech.

8. Jalen Cheek, Winslow Township (Atco)
6-1 | 187 | CB | Boston College
Good length and strength, Cheek has 13 college offers, but picked the Eagles over such schools as Baylor, Howard, Kent State and Maryland.

9. Corey Yeoman, Atlantic City
6-2 | 214 | ATH | Undecided
He's got only one offer thus far, from Massachusetts, but figures to pick up much more interest, mostly as an inside linebacker.

10. Keshon Griffin, St. Joseph (Hammonton)
6-4 | 220 | DE | Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights scored again with this multi-talented defensive end. He secured 15 college offers but picked Rutgers over Baylor, Central Michigan Miami, Nebraska and Pittsburgh, among others.



11. Carnell Davis, St. Augustine Prep (Richland)
6-1 | 170 | WR | Rutgers
The long and athletic Davis has piled up 22 offers, but picked the Scarlet Knights over such schools as Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon and Tennessee.

12. Alijah Clark, Camden
6-1 | 180 | CB | Rutgers
After securing offers from Boston College (Jan. 23) and Syracuse (Feb. 1), Clark picked Rutgers on Feb. 6. The nation's No. 42-ranked cornerback, also had offers from Miami and Maryland, among others.

13. Johnny Martin, Highland Regional (Blackwood)
5-10 | 215 | RB | Temple
Fast (4.57 seconds in the 40) and strong, Martin piled up 4,321 career rushing yards with 40 touchdowns. He had 10 other offers besides Temple that included Baylor, Boston College, North Carolina State and West Virginia.

14. Jordan Thompson, Parsippany Hills (Parsippany)
6-3 | 225 | ATH | Rutgers
There's little Thompson can't do on the football field as he proved last season for the Viking with 27 catches for 547 yards and nine touchdowns, to go along with 87 tackles and 14 sacks. He picked the Scarlet Knights over Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, Toledo and Buffalo, among others.

15. Tahj Bullock, St. Peters Prep (Jersey City)
6-4 | 223 | QB | Virginia Tech
The only quarterback among this group, Bullock completed 126 of 210 for 2,274 yards and 26 touchdowns against five interceptions. He also rushed for 480 yards and six scores. He's rated the No. 19 dual-threat quarterback in the country. He picked the Hokies over 11 other offers, including Duke, Boston College, Syracuse and UCLA, among others.

16. Mikai Gbayor, Irvington
6-2 | 210 | LB | Undecided
Attracting a lot of attention lately, Gbayor was last offered by Michigan State on June. 8. He's got 18 other offers, including Kentucky, Nebraska, Ole Miss and West Virginia.

17. Xavier Coleman, Lenape (Medford)
5-10 | 190 | RB | Boston College
A versatile back with good speed, power and hands, Coleman picked Boston College over 10 other offers that included Baylor, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Temple and West Virginia.

18. Will Towns, Jackson Memorial (Jackson Township)
5-11 | 190 | RB | Wake Forest
Another versatile back, Towns committed to the Demon Deacons on May 30 after getting strong offers from, among others, Boston College, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.

19. Mike Jarvis, Shawnee (Medford)
6-5 | 250 | DE | Wisconsin
Jarvis piled up 19 offers, but couldn't resist the Badgers over such schools as Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Nebraska and Wake Forest. A very strong student, he also received offers from Ivy League schools such as Yale and Princeton.

20. Shaquan Loyal, West Side (Newark)
6-0 | 175 | CB | Rutgers
Tough, strong and smart, Loyal committed to Rutgers on March 19 and hasn't wavered. He also has offers from Tennessee, Syracuse, Massachusetts and Kent State.



21. Jalen Hoyle, Dwight Morrow (Englewood)
6-0 | 180 | S | Virginia Tech
Seemingly always around the ball, Hoyle has the ball skills, strength, speed and smarts to make it at the next level. He also owns offers from Georgia Tech and West Virginia.

22. Al-Shadee Salaam, East Orange Campus (East Orange)
5-9 | 170 | ATH | Rutgers
Known mostly for his rushing skills, Salaam is drawing a lot of attention from throughout the country. He picked the Scarlet Knights over such schools as Michigan and Syracuse.

23. Zaire Angoy, Irvington
6-4 | 310 | DT | Rutgers
A standout on both sides of the line, Angoy impressed college scouts with his strength, quickness and big, chiseled frame. He also had offers from Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts and Pittsburgh, among others.

24. Desmond Igbinosun, Union
6-3 | 195 | S | Rutgers
Great length and size for his position, Igbinosun committed to the Scarlet Knights on May 20. He had 13 other offers including Central Michigan, Colorado State, Buffalo, Purdue, Pittsburgh and Temple, among others.

25. Kevin Wigenton, Hun (Princeton)
6-5 | 290 | OG | Michigan State
Great agility for a player of his size, Wigenton secured 13 offers, but chose the Spartans over such schools as Colorado State, Georgetown, Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.