Quotables
Carlton Agudosi on whether he could wind up sharing the field with Leonte Carroo:
“I couldn’t tell you, it’s up to the coaches. I am just going to go out there and try to work. Hopefully, I get the opportunity to go out there and show what I can do. If my number is called, I will perform to the best of my ability. I know the z-position.”
Isaiah Johnson on adjusting to life at Rutgers:
“It is a little different, but I think I have settled in. I have enjoyed the school, not only the football aspect but the academics too. I think I am handling everything well.”
Kyle Flood on what Steve Longa means to the team:
“He's a very productive player and he's been a very productive player for a long time and as I tell the players: There's nothing more valuable in life than consistency. And when you look at every post game and you look at the stats, he's consistently at the top of that tackle list. So why does he do that? Well, he does that because he prepares the right way and he does that because he's been blessed athletically. He runs very well, and he puts in the work during the week to make sure he can have the right reactions on game day.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Toughest Remaining RU opponents
5.) Maryland
4.) Nebraska
3.) Wisconsin
2.) Michigan
1.) Ohio State
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Leonte Carroo will play Saturday night
Saturday Night Visitors
There will be a contingent of prospects on hand for Saturday night’s game against Ohio State and here’s a list of players that are scheduled to be inside High Point Solutions Stadium.
Rutgers Class of 2016 commits
QB Anthony Russo - Archbishop Wood (PA)
RB Trey Sneed - Fleming Island (FL)
WR Ahmed Bah - Grand Street Campus (NYC)
WR Taysir Mack - Grand Street Campus (NYC)
WR Mo Jabbie - South Brunswick
OL Nick Krimin - St. Joseph Metuchen
CB Damon Hayes -Wise (MD)
S Phil Campbell - South Brunswick
LB Jon Pollock – Dr. Phillps (FL)
LB Soloman Manning - Colonia
Class of 2016 Rutgers offerees
DB Henry Miller - Gateway (FL) Official Visit
TE Jovani Haskins - Bergenfield
OL JohnCarlo Valentin - Imhotep (PA)
OL Yasir Durant - Imhotep (PA)
Class of 2017 Rutgers offerees
2017 QB Jon Lewis - St. Peters Prep
2017 RB Jon Taylor - Salem
2017 RB Elijah Barnwell - Piscataway
2017 RB D’Andre Swift - St. Joseph Prep (PA) Ranked 29th player nationally in 2017
2017 WR Mark Webb - Archbishop Wood (PA) Ranked 217th Nationally in 2017
2017 TE Devin Miller - Metuchen
2017 OL Josh Fedd-Jackson - St. Joseph Montvale NJ
2017 OL Robert Martin - St. Joseph Montvale NJ
2017 OL Sam Gerak - Avon (OH)
2017 OL Ben Petrula - St. Peters Prep
2017 DB Tariq Castro Fields - Riverdale Baptist (PA)
2017 DE Mike Tverdov - Union
2017 DE Damion Barber - Harrisburg (PA)
2017 DT Fred Hansard - Hun School Ranked 78th player nationally in 2017
2017 DT Romello Martin - Lincoln (NYC)
2017 ATH Markquese Bell - Bridgeton
Prospects of Note
2017 QB Kenny Pickett - Ocean
2017 QB Jyvon “Silky” Brown Irvington NJ
2017 WR Eddie Lewis - Mater Dei
2017 WR Jahmin Muse - Elizabeth
2017 WR Evidence Njoku - Cedar Grove
2017 DB Bryce Watts - Toms River North
Underclassmen
Rutgers offerees
2018 QB Artur Sitkowski - Old Bridge
2018 WR Shaquan Anderson-Butts - Harrisburg (PA)
2018 LB Justin Ademilola - St. Peter’s Prep
2018 DT Matt Jones - Erasmus Hall (NYC)
2018 DL Jayson Ademilola - St. Peter’s Prep
Prospects of Note
2018 WR Jasiah Provillon - Irvington
2018 RB Muraad Salaam - Irvington
2018 OL/DL Lance Turay - Irvington
2019 C/DT Abraham Karama - Irvington
2018 DB Jarrett Paul - Christ The King (NYC)
Basketball Visitors
Rutgers commits
2016 SG Kwe Parker - Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC)
Recruiting Tidbits
-There could be a few surprise visitors and we’ll give you the names once we finalize confirmation later today or early tomorrow.
-As mentioned in a thread yesterday on the Round Table, a number of prospects will play games on Saturday which will make them unable to attend the big game in person. Even guys like Maryland DB commit Damon Hayes, whose game starts at 2pm on Saturday and the Imhotep duo of Yasir Durant and Johncarlo Valentin who play at 3pm on Saturday, are on the fence about making the trip. It could be huge if Rutgers can get Durant back on campus again for what would be his last visit to a college campus before he makes a commitment in the next week or two.
-This will be the first official visit for Florida ’16 DB target Henry Miller. He has been hearing great things about Rutgers from his former teammate and current starting Scarlet Knight CB Isaiah Wharton, so it’s time to experience everything in person. He’s been keeping a close eye on the Scarlet Knights progress this season.
“I loved how they kept fighting and I enjoyed my boy (Isaiah) catching a pick,” said Miller. “I have loved the fight they had in them during the Indiana game and against Michigan State.”
-It will be big for Rutgers to have its prized QB commit Anthony Russo back on campus for multiple reasons. As mentioned in a recent Sports Illustrated article on the Eastern PA signal caller, he is still talking to a few colleges although he maintains committed to the Scarlet Knights. Saturday will be a good opportunity to spend some time with his fellow commits and the coaching staff, further strengthening their bond.
Russo will get a chance to spend some time with one of RU's top offensive targets available in the class of 2016, Bergenfield TE Jovani Haskins. Haskins was one of many prospects who took note of Russo’s performance in the Elite 11 this summer. Russo is well liked in his region and has good relationships with the Imhotep offensive linemen Durant and Valentin.
-If class of 2017 Philadelphia RB De'Andre Swift makes the trip, it will be his first time to the Rutgers campus in a while after counting RU as one of his first offers. He is probably considered the top prospect expected to attend and while he seems likely to head out of the area for college, anytime a program can get a prospect of his caliber to visit campus it is a big deal.
- On the basketball front, it is always a plus to get a commitment back on campus and it will be Kwe Parker’s first time back since his commitment.
2016 JUCO DL Jonathan Kongbo - Arizona Western (AZ)
Kongbo is a new name on the Scarlet Knight radar, as the British Columbia, Canada native decided to transfer to a JUCO after one season on the FBS level.
“I transferred in from Wyoming because I felt I could play at a Power 5 school,” said Kongbo.
Rutgers has been taking a long look at the 6-foot-6, 255-pound prospect.
“I talk to Coach Vallone every week," said Kongbo. “Rutgers hasn’t discussed an official visit yet, once they finish doing their homework on me we will discuss all of that.”
Kongbo was just offered by Tennessee and he told ScarletNation.com that he’ll visit Ole Miss this weekend and Auburn on November 21st. Every school is recruiting him to play defensive end besides Auburn which sees him a hybrid DE/LB. Kongbo will graduate in May 2016.
Scarlet Nation Scouting Report
Scarlet Nation was on hand for the recent Colonia vs Matawan showdown and here is a complete scouting report of all the prospects who took the field.
Solomon Manning - Colonia
Manning finished with 12 tackles on the night as Matawan relied on the Zone Read concept in the run game, with the running back usually running dive. With Manning, he is a very physical ball player. Although he projects to either the SAM or WILL when he gets to Rutgers, he is comfortable in the middle of the Colonia defense as their MIKE linebacker. Manning loves to come downhill as he constantly took on blockers to clog running lanes. Manning plays with such intensity which is a positive for the most part, but can prove to be an issue at times. There were a few occurrences where he missed a tackle because he ran himself out of the play or put himself in a position where he couldn’t square up to make a tackle. There was also a crucial 4th down where Colonia had forced a punt, and Manning jumped offsides as he was a little too antsy to try and block the punt.
One place where Manning has made great improvement was in the passing game, as he did a great job of taking deep drops, keeping all underneath routes in front of him in the zone, and he had an excellent stop on a 4th down when Matawan decided to go for it. Manning tracked down a receiver towards the sideline near the first down marker. He is a team captain and a team first player as he is mainly used as a blocker when split out as a flex TE on offense. Although Matawan dominated most of the game, Manning never pouted or complained. He was constantly trying to will his team to keep playing hard. Manning will enroll early and it will definitely be a benefit for him as he needs to add some size, like most high school players joining the Big Ten.
2018 Matawan QB George “LC” Pearson
Pearson camped at Rutgers this summer, and has an early offer from Temple for good reason. He’s not the biggest QB at this point at 5-11/ 6-0 but fashions himself as a drop-back, pro-style QB. Pearson was most impressive when it came to keeping the play alive. He went 6 of 13 for 278 yards and 2 TDs. Almost all of his yards came on plays where Colonia blitzed and Pearson was able to avoid the rush to keep the play alive. He is a sturdy 205-210 pounds so he isn’t the easiest QB to tackle. He has a live arm, with the ability to make plays in the vertical passing game, but showed an ability to throw with touch when necessary.
2016 Matawan RB Makiya Caesar
Caesar was the star of the night, an underrated 2016 RB who is likely heading to the JUCO ranks. With great size at 6-foot, 215 pounds, he ran with great patience waiting for plays to develop but proved to be quite nimble for a larger running back. He wasn’t the fastest but had a few long runs on the way to his 146-yard, 3 TD night. When Matawan got in the red zone, Caesar used his size to his advantage between the tackles.
Carlton Agudosi on whether he could wind up sharing the field with Leonte Carroo:
“I couldn’t tell you, it’s up to the coaches. I am just going to go out there and try to work. Hopefully, I get the opportunity to go out there and show what I can do. If my number is called, I will perform to the best of my ability. I know the z-position.”
Isaiah Johnson on adjusting to life at Rutgers:
“It is a little different, but I think I have settled in. I have enjoyed the school, not only the football aspect but the academics too. I think I am handling everything well.”
Kyle Flood on what Steve Longa means to the team:
“He's a very productive player and he's been a very productive player for a long time and as I tell the players: There's nothing more valuable in life than consistency. And when you look at every post game and you look at the stats, he's consistently at the top of that tackle list. So why does he do that? Well, he does that because he prepares the right way and he does that because he's been blessed athletically. He runs very well, and he puts in the work during the week to make sure he can have the right reactions on game day.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Toughest Remaining RU opponents
5.) Maryland
4.) Nebraska
3.) Wisconsin
2.) Michigan
1.) Ohio State
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Leonte Carroo will play Saturday night
Saturday Night Visitors
There will be a contingent of prospects on hand for Saturday night’s game against Ohio State and here’s a list of players that are scheduled to be inside High Point Solutions Stadium.
Rutgers Class of 2016 commits
QB Anthony Russo - Archbishop Wood (PA)
RB Trey Sneed - Fleming Island (FL)
WR Ahmed Bah - Grand Street Campus (NYC)
WR Taysir Mack - Grand Street Campus (NYC)
WR Mo Jabbie - South Brunswick
OL Nick Krimin - St. Joseph Metuchen
CB Damon Hayes -Wise (MD)
S Phil Campbell - South Brunswick
LB Jon Pollock – Dr. Phillps (FL)
LB Soloman Manning - Colonia
Class of 2016 Rutgers offerees
DB Henry Miller - Gateway (FL) Official Visit
TE Jovani Haskins - Bergenfield
OL JohnCarlo Valentin - Imhotep (PA)
OL Yasir Durant - Imhotep (PA)
Class of 2017 Rutgers offerees
2017 QB Jon Lewis - St. Peters Prep
2017 RB Jon Taylor - Salem
2017 RB Elijah Barnwell - Piscataway
2017 RB D’Andre Swift - St. Joseph Prep (PA) Ranked 29th player nationally in 2017
2017 WR Mark Webb - Archbishop Wood (PA) Ranked 217th Nationally in 2017
2017 TE Devin Miller - Metuchen
2017 OL Josh Fedd-Jackson - St. Joseph Montvale NJ
2017 OL Robert Martin - St. Joseph Montvale NJ
2017 OL Sam Gerak - Avon (OH)
2017 OL Ben Petrula - St. Peters Prep
2017 DB Tariq Castro Fields - Riverdale Baptist (PA)
2017 DE Mike Tverdov - Union
2017 DE Damion Barber - Harrisburg (PA)
2017 DT Fred Hansard - Hun School Ranked 78th player nationally in 2017
2017 DT Romello Martin - Lincoln (NYC)
2017 ATH Markquese Bell - Bridgeton
Prospects of Note
2017 QB Kenny Pickett - Ocean
2017 QB Jyvon “Silky” Brown Irvington NJ
2017 WR Eddie Lewis - Mater Dei
2017 WR Jahmin Muse - Elizabeth
2017 WR Evidence Njoku - Cedar Grove
2017 DB Bryce Watts - Toms River North
Underclassmen
Rutgers offerees
2018 QB Artur Sitkowski - Old Bridge
2018 WR Shaquan Anderson-Butts - Harrisburg (PA)
2018 LB Justin Ademilola - St. Peter’s Prep
2018 DT Matt Jones - Erasmus Hall (NYC)
2018 DL Jayson Ademilola - St. Peter’s Prep
Prospects of Note
2018 WR Jasiah Provillon - Irvington
2018 RB Muraad Salaam - Irvington
2018 OL/DL Lance Turay - Irvington
2019 C/DT Abraham Karama - Irvington
2018 DB Jarrett Paul - Christ The King (NYC)
Basketball Visitors
Rutgers commits
2016 SG Kwe Parker - Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC)
Recruiting Tidbits
-There could be a few surprise visitors and we’ll give you the names once we finalize confirmation later today or early tomorrow.
-As mentioned in a thread yesterday on the Round Table, a number of prospects will play games on Saturday which will make them unable to attend the big game in person. Even guys like Maryland DB commit Damon Hayes, whose game starts at 2pm on Saturday and the Imhotep duo of Yasir Durant and Johncarlo Valentin who play at 3pm on Saturday, are on the fence about making the trip. It could be huge if Rutgers can get Durant back on campus again for what would be his last visit to a college campus before he makes a commitment in the next week or two.
-This will be the first official visit for Florida ’16 DB target Henry Miller. He has been hearing great things about Rutgers from his former teammate and current starting Scarlet Knight CB Isaiah Wharton, so it’s time to experience everything in person. He’s been keeping a close eye on the Scarlet Knights progress this season.
“I loved how they kept fighting and I enjoyed my boy (Isaiah) catching a pick,” said Miller. “I have loved the fight they had in them during the Indiana game and against Michigan State.”
-It will be big for Rutgers to have its prized QB commit Anthony Russo back on campus for multiple reasons. As mentioned in a recent Sports Illustrated article on the Eastern PA signal caller, he is still talking to a few colleges although he maintains committed to the Scarlet Knights. Saturday will be a good opportunity to spend some time with his fellow commits and the coaching staff, further strengthening their bond.
Russo will get a chance to spend some time with one of RU's top offensive targets available in the class of 2016, Bergenfield TE Jovani Haskins. Haskins was one of many prospects who took note of Russo’s performance in the Elite 11 this summer. Russo is well liked in his region and has good relationships with the Imhotep offensive linemen Durant and Valentin.
-If class of 2017 Philadelphia RB De'Andre Swift makes the trip, it will be his first time to the Rutgers campus in a while after counting RU as one of his first offers. He is probably considered the top prospect expected to attend and while he seems likely to head out of the area for college, anytime a program can get a prospect of his caliber to visit campus it is a big deal.
- On the basketball front, it is always a plus to get a commitment back on campus and it will be Kwe Parker’s first time back since his commitment.
2016 JUCO DL Jonathan Kongbo - Arizona Western (AZ)
Kongbo is a new name on the Scarlet Knight radar, as the British Columbia, Canada native decided to transfer to a JUCO after one season on the FBS level.
“I transferred in from Wyoming because I felt I could play at a Power 5 school,” said Kongbo.
Rutgers has been taking a long look at the 6-foot-6, 255-pound prospect.
“I talk to Coach Vallone every week," said Kongbo. “Rutgers hasn’t discussed an official visit yet, once they finish doing their homework on me we will discuss all of that.”
Kongbo was just offered by Tennessee and he told ScarletNation.com that he’ll visit Ole Miss this weekend and Auburn on November 21st. Every school is recruiting him to play defensive end besides Auburn which sees him a hybrid DE/LB. Kongbo will graduate in May 2016.
Scarlet Nation Scouting Report
Scarlet Nation was on hand for the recent Colonia vs Matawan showdown and here is a complete scouting report of all the prospects who took the field.
Solomon Manning - Colonia
Manning finished with 12 tackles on the night as Matawan relied on the Zone Read concept in the run game, with the running back usually running dive. With Manning, he is a very physical ball player. Although he projects to either the SAM or WILL when he gets to Rutgers, he is comfortable in the middle of the Colonia defense as their MIKE linebacker. Manning loves to come downhill as he constantly took on blockers to clog running lanes. Manning plays with such intensity which is a positive for the most part, but can prove to be an issue at times. There were a few occurrences where he missed a tackle because he ran himself out of the play or put himself in a position where he couldn’t square up to make a tackle. There was also a crucial 4th down where Colonia had forced a punt, and Manning jumped offsides as he was a little too antsy to try and block the punt.
One place where Manning has made great improvement was in the passing game, as he did a great job of taking deep drops, keeping all underneath routes in front of him in the zone, and he had an excellent stop on a 4th down when Matawan decided to go for it. Manning tracked down a receiver towards the sideline near the first down marker. He is a team captain and a team first player as he is mainly used as a blocker when split out as a flex TE on offense. Although Matawan dominated most of the game, Manning never pouted or complained. He was constantly trying to will his team to keep playing hard. Manning will enroll early and it will definitely be a benefit for him as he needs to add some size, like most high school players joining the Big Ten.
2018 Matawan QB George “LC” Pearson
Pearson camped at Rutgers this summer, and has an early offer from Temple for good reason. He’s not the biggest QB at this point at 5-11/ 6-0 but fashions himself as a drop-back, pro-style QB. Pearson was most impressive when it came to keeping the play alive. He went 6 of 13 for 278 yards and 2 TDs. Almost all of his yards came on plays where Colonia blitzed and Pearson was able to avoid the rush to keep the play alive. He is a sturdy 205-210 pounds so he isn’t the easiest QB to tackle. He has a live arm, with the ability to make plays in the vertical passing game, but showed an ability to throw with touch when necessary.
2016 Matawan RB Makiya Caesar
Caesar was the star of the night, an underrated 2016 RB who is likely heading to the JUCO ranks. With great size at 6-foot, 215 pounds, he ran with great patience waiting for plays to develop but proved to be quite nimble for a larger running back. He wasn’t the fastest but had a few long runs on the way to his 146-yard, 3 TD night. When Matawan got in the red zone, Caesar used his size to his advantage between the tackles.
