Rutgers football now has two commits for the 2027 class as three-star offensive lineman James Cocozzo has decided to commit to the Scarlet Knights, according to the Knight Report. He decided to come to Rutgers despite receiving offers from programs such as Maryland, Penn State, Syracuse, UConn, and Virginia Tech, among others. He did have an official visit scheduled to Syracuse, but it is expected that he will cancel that in the coming days. He is scheduled to take his official visit to Rutgers on May 29th.
The 6-foot-4, 292-pound interior offensive lineman is heading into his senior year at Stillwater High School in upstate New York. Cocozzo is no stranger to Piscataway, as he has made several trips to campus over the past few years, with his most recent visit last Saturday sealing his commitment.
Cocozzo was originally offered under former Knights OL coach Pat Flaherty, but the school’s interest in him did not waver as they switched to current OL coach Jim Turner.
Cocozzo had a stellar sophomore season at Stillwater before missing the entirety of his Junior season with a torn ACL. In 2024, he did not allow a single sack or quarterback hurry. He also earned Times Union First Team honors that season.
Football runs in the Cocozzo family, as James’ father, Joe, played at the University of Michigan, where he earned first-team all-Big Ten honors and was named a second-team all-American in 1992. He was drafted by the Chargers in 1993, where he started 48 games over 7 years, including the Chargers’ loss to the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX.
Cocozzo shared what he liked about Rutgers in a statement to 247sports after he visited campus in early March.
“What stood out to me the most were the facilities and amenities they have for the players. They have all the training and recovery equipment that you could ever need. There is stuff there that I didn’t even know existed. It is like a well-oiled machine how they run all of the stuff there.”
He would revisit campus not long after his early March trip before committing.
