East Orange and Irvington players gear up for Rutgers football season

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EAST ORANGE/IRVINGTON, NJ — The Rutgers University football team this season features several players from East Orange and Irvington.

Junior wide receiver Nasir Montgomery, junior running back Al-Shadee Salaam and sophomore quarterback Raeden Oliver are East Orange Campus High School graduates. The Irvington graduates are Famah Toure and Zaire Angoy. 

Montgomery, a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder who played quarterback at EOCHS, played in four games last season, including making his first catch for six yards against Wagner.

After not seeing any game action as a freshman in 2021, Salaam played in all 12 games with one start last season. The 5-10, 185-pound Salaam had a memorable debut against Boston College in the season opener. He scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 22-yard run with 2:43 remaining in regulation.

Oliver did not see any game action last year as a freshman. In his senior season, Oliver was the starting quarterback for EOCHS, leading the Jaguars to a perfect 13-0 state-championship season under his father and then-head coach Rae Oliver.

Angoy, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive lineman, saw his first action last season after not seeing any time as a freshman. In three games, he had two tackles.

Toure, a wide receiver, is entering his freshman season. Last season he was named to the first team all-state, all-group and all-Super Essex Conference by the Star-Ledger and was named to the first team all-state by USA Today. He had 95 carries for 720 yards and 10 touchdowns, and had 351 yards and three touchdown catches to lead the Blue Knights to an 8-3 season last fall.

Famah’s brother, Mohamed Toure, also plays for Rutgers. A senior 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker and graduate of Pleasantville High School, Mohamed missed his junior season due to an injury. In 2021 as a sophomore, he played in all 13 games with five starts, totaling 52 tackles with eight for loss and 4.5 sacks.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights, coming off a 4-8 season, will open the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 3, against Northwestern at SHI Stadium in Piscataway.

Photos Courtesy of Rutgers University Athletics

  East Orange Campus High School football, Irvington High School football