Rutgers has named true freshman Artur Sitkowski as the starting quarterback for next week's season opener against Texas State, coach Chris Ash announced Friday.
Sitkowski beat out incumbent Gio Rescigno and Johnathan Lewis in camp to become the first freshman quarterback to start a season opener for Rutgers since Ryan Cubit in 2001. The Scarlet Knights haven't started a freshman quarterback in any game since Gary Nova in 2011.
An ESPN 300 prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, the 6-foot-6 Sitkowski rated as the nation's No. 17 pocket passer. He's the second freshman quarterback from Florida's IMG Academy to be named a Big Ten starter this week, joining Minnesota's Zack Annexstad, a walk-on.
Sitkowski enrolled early at Rutgers, practiced throughout the spring and threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns on 11 completions in the spring game. He played three years for Old Bridge (New Jersey) High School before transferring to IMG Academy.