In a sentence that only 2024 could write, who’s ready for Rutgers and Washington to battle it out on Friday night? The Pittsburgh Steelers will keep an eye on it and send personnel to the game. according to Rutgers beat writer Brian Fonseca.

Now part of the Big Ten after leaving the Pac-12, matchups like the Scarlet Knights and Huskies are on the table. Tonight will mark only the third time these two teams have ever met; the other two occurred most recently in 2016 and 2017. Washington won both games, but enters tonight as slight underdogs.

From a draft perspective, the Huskies still have the top names to watch. They are led by RB Jonah Coleman, a stocky and stocky runner who weighs 5-9, 229 pounds. A transfer from Arizona, he leads the team with 56 carries for 373 yards and 4 rushing scores, an average of almost 7 yards per carry. Even though he is a junior, he will likely show a strong rest of the season, as many running backs do. He’s a name to consider if RB Najee Harris signs elsewhere this offseason.

Senior wide receiver Giles Jackson isn’t big, but is having a career year and is now getting playing time after taking the school’s talent from last year’s draft. Jackson leads Washington with 27 receptions, 342 yards and a score. The replacement for Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback is Will Rogers, who is off to an impressive start with 8 touchdowns and no interceptions. He played at Mississippi State and threw 35 touchdowns in 2022 before struggling and transferring last year.

Rutgers has a standout running back in Kyle Monangai. While he rushed for nearly 1,300 yards a year ago, he has racked up 457 yards in just three games. That included a 208-yard performance against Akron. Like Coleman, he is stocky at 5-9, 200 pounds and has no resume, but he could be considered a mid-round back in April’s draft. Paving the way for him up front is senior left guard Bryan Felter, another name to keep an eye on.

While it doesn’t mean much, the Steelers have only drafted one Rutgers player in the Mike Tomlin era. That happened in his first class of 2007, where he took OG Cameron Stephenson in the fifth round. He never played in a regular season game with the team and is ranked No. 160 out of 183 picks held by Kevin Colbert during his tenure with the team.

Washington and Rutgers kick off tonight at 8pm on Fox.