Delaware Football: Blue Hens Add 19 on Early Signing Day

The Delaware Blue Hens ended their first season in the FBS with bowl-eligibility. It’s a result not many could have predicted, especially when the team lost their starting quarterback in Week 1. Yet, under head coach Ryan Carty and quarterback Nick Minicucci, Delaware rose above expectations to put together a great season for the Blue Hens. And during the early signing period for national recruiting, Delaware continued to add talent to their roster.

Delaware Football: Blue Hens Add 19 on Early Signing Day

The Delaware Blue Hens current 2026 recruiting class has a composite ranking of 118th out of 192 listed programs (116th overall). They currently have the seventh-highest graded recruiting class in Conference USA, which is worth admiring considering it’s their first year within the conference.

The primary recruit on early signing day is Delaware native Dorian Rutledge. Rutledge is a three-star safety out of Middletown, and stands 6-foot-2 at 180 pounds. He helped his program win back-to-back DIAA national championships and is a multi-sport athlete. Currently, the safety is the fourth-best recruit all-time recruit for the Blue Hens, per 247Sports.

Just behind Rutledge is Jaiden Edwards, an offensive lineman from Virginia. Edwards played along the trenches on both offense and defense, and is a force standing at 6-foot-5, 300 pounds. As an offensive lineman, Edwards was a four-time first team all-district selection, a two-time first team all-region selection, and one-time second team all-district and all-region selection. His presence will be a big boost for Delaware.

The other three-star prospects for the Blue Hens on early signing day include:

• Tyler Bell, Quarterback
• Carson Griffin, Athlete
• Rowen Walsh, Tight End
• Joseph Zamot, Linebacker
• Christian Corbin, Defensive Lineman
• Miles Muldrow, Offensive Tackle
• Cristian Alvarez, Interior Offensive Lineman
• Collier Book, Defensive Lineman
• Trenton Gummer, Cornerback
• Tae’Sean Robinson, Wide Receiver
• Noah Frazier, Defensive Lineman

From that list, it’s worth noting that Bell is the only quarterback brought in by the Blue Hens. And, that Delaware is targeting trench players with experience in track and wrestling which help contribute to football in a variety of ways.

The final six recruits for Delaware do not have a star grade by major recruiting outlets at this time. Two of the six are offensive players in Brandon Truszkowski (offensive lineman) from Pennsylvania, and Nakeem Powell (wide receiver) from New Jersey.

For the defense, the Blue Hens now have Wayne Cunningham (linebacker) from Kansas, Dannell Jester (safety) from Georgia, Kevin Moore (safety) from New York, and Demarco Daniels (linebacker) from Florida.

It’s interesting to see Delaware be able to spread their recruiting to the south and the midwest. After all, Delaware does have an explosive offense, which could attract a lot of prospects. And, Manny Rojas has a complex defense that helps put players in great positions if they can understand the concepts correctly.

How the Blue Hens fill out the rest of their class (and navigate the transfer portal) remain to be seen. However, the 2026 class is showing intrigue, and optimism as Delaware prepares for their offseason endeavors.