Aaris Bethea, a top five player in New York, released a top four that includes Rutgers football among two Big Ten programs.
The Saturday cutdown from Bethea is an important if expected development for Rutgers in the race to capture one of the top players in the region. He is a consensus three-star recruit out of Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
Bethea listed a top five of Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and Ole Miss.
Among the programs not making Bethea’s final four are Power Five programs such as Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia.
His tweet on Saturday afternoon did not provide any timeline for a commitment:
Top 4! Where’s home…..🏡 pic.twitter.com/itXqPqR3h0
— Aaris Bethea (@AarisBethea) May 27, 2023
It has been a strong spring for Bethea, who has impressed on the camp and combine circuit. He has solidifed himself as a top five recruit in New York and is one of the top interior defensive linemen in the Northeast.
The Rutgers 2024 recruiting class is up to eight verbals. One of those commits, Wisconsin linebacker Sam Pilof, tweeted at Bethea shortly after the player’s top four announcement:
Come home!🪓
— Sam Pilof (@pilofsam1) May 27, 2023
Pilof is a three-star linebacker who held offers from Iowa State, Penn State and Wisconsin at the time of his commitment.
