Rutgers vs. Penn State: Stealing from rival's home state

With Penn State traveling to New Jersey for its matchup with Rutgers on Saturday, here is a look at the top-rated players each team has signed from the other team’s state.

Class of 2017 Commitment List: Penn State | Rutgers

Impact: High

Overview: Mahon has been one of the building blocks of Penn State’s resurgence over the past few years. He started 11 games last year and started every game this season until an injury against Iowa.

Impact: High

Overview: After starting 12 games last year and eight this year, Sickels has become an important leader for Penn State and is a big reason for their success this year. He leads the team in sacks and tackles for a loss this season.

Impact: Low

Overview: Johnson was a fantastic talent coming out of high school. After redshirting for his freshman year, Johnson has only started one game this year and has only one reception. Big things were expected of Johnson but Penn State’s wide receiver depth chart has proven difficult to ascend.

Impact: Medium

Overview: Eliades was an important recruit for Penn State in the 2006 class but it took him awhile to find the field. He started every game as a redshirt junior but tore his ACL in late September of the 2010 season in a game against Temple. The Oakland Raiders signed Eliades but he only saw time in a few preseason games before he was out of the NFL.

Impact: Medium

Overview: The fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal overshadowed much of what Belton was able to accomplish at Penn State. He made the majority of his contributions during the 2013 season, gaining more than 1,000 all-purpose yards and scoring seven touchdowns. In his senior year, Belton gained more than 700 all-purpose yards and scored seven touchdowns again. Belton never caught on in the NFL, getting cut by the Jets in 2015.

Impact: Medium

Overview: After a redshirt year, Muller has started every game for Rutgers since the first game of the 2014 season. In that respect, he has been a very impactful player for Rutgers but many people thought his commitment would help Rutgers recruit Pennsylvania better. That hasn’t happened so he has had an average impact on the Rutgers program.

Impact: Medium

Overview: Savage didn’t start the first game of his career but did start the second half of that game. He had a good freshman season and was named a freshman All-American but in the fourth game of his sophomore season he injured his hand. Chas Dodd replaced him and Savage never regained his starting role. He transferred to Arizona and then Pittsburgh, and is now playing for the Houston Texans.

Impact: Low

Overview: Denman started every game of the 2015 season but has only started the first seven games this year. He arrived at Rutgers with a ton of potential but never really progressed.

Impact: Low

Overview: The things many teams liked about Smith as a recruit were his explosiveness and size as a cornerback. He arrived at Rutgers in the summer of 2009 and redshirted that season. Before ever playing a down for the Scarlet Knights, Smith transferred to Temple.

Impact: Medium

Overview: Martin tore his ACL his senior year of high school and had a slow start at Rutgers because he was still recovering. He has shown flashes of his potential throughout his career but he has largely been ineffective because of poor offensive line play and a subpar passing game.