Rutgers Football Roster Updates

On Thursday, Rutgers football head coach Kyle Flood announced a couple roster movements including a position change, updates on two defensive back’s eligibility, and more.

CB Nadir Barnwell
(Photo: MARK R. SULLIVAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER APP.com)

First, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Logan Lister (Katy, Tex.), who moved from tight end, will transfer out of the program he announced via Twitter Thursday morning. Lister missed the 2014 season with a foot injury.

Second, rumors swirled in May that expected starter, junior cornerback Nadir Barnwell, would be academically ineligible for the 2015 season. When asked for an update on his situation, Flood said, “We won’t know really until the end of the summer school. Regardless of the situation, he’ll be able to practice.” The defensive back from Piscataway has appeared in 22 games, including 10 starts, in his first two season “on the banks”.

Third, redshirt junior Kevin Marquez is moving from offense to defense making the switch from fullback to linebacker. Marquez is in the mix to replace Michael Burton, who is now with the Detroit Lions at fullback, but his knack for making tackles and being aggressive garnered the switch to the opposite side of the ball.

Fourth, incoming graduate transfer Kaiwan Lewis will enter the fold the day training camp begins on Aug. 9. Lewis will battle JUCO transfer Isaiah Johnson who had a solid spring, and brings top-level competition experience with him from South Carolina. Flood said of the New Jersey native, “All I want Kaiwan Lewis to do is come here and be a great teammate and work every day to be a better football player. Ultimately where that puts him on the depth chart, we’ll figure all that out as we get into training camp.”

In addition, “I think [Johnson] did a nice job in the spring learning the system, fitting in in terms of how we play and the swarm that we play with on defense,” Flood said. “That was exciting to see. Just like everybody else in the program, I’m curious to see what he’s done between the end and training camp. Kaiwan’s played a little bit more football, so he’ll bring a little bit more experience to the team.”

Flood also expects redshirt senior running back Paul James, who is coming off a torn ACL, to be healthy for camp. However, it makes sense that he will have a lighter workload coming off of a serious injury, in addition to having a stable of running backs at their disposal.

Lastly, incoming freshman safety Najee Clayton is finishing up summer classes before he enrolls. Flood said the situation with the Paramus Catholic product is similar to Kevin Wilkins last summer, who missed the first week of training camp.

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