Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Redshirt Freshmen
(Best chances at playing time in ‘16)
5.) Jonah Jackson
4.) Rashad Blunt
3.) Nakia Griffin
2.) Jawuan Harris
1.) Ron’Dell Carter
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Four true freshmen will play for Rutgers this coming season
Recruiting territories
Chris Ash’s staff at Rutgers has started to get comfortable in their new digs over the past couple of weeks, making their presence known on the recruiting trail. In talking to numerous prospects, it appears that the Rutgers staff will have specific area recruiters. However, each prospect's position coach will maintain a strong involvement, which will include making visits. Position coaches are also responsible for handing out the offers.It should be noted that offensive and defensive coordinators typically have less recruiting responsibilities than the position coaches. Here are the names we’ve seen linked with the respective prospects in these areas.
New Jersey
DB Coach Bill Busch - North Jersey (handling the Big 6 Non Publics like Don Bosco, St Joseph Montvale, St.Peter Prep etc.) Bergen, Passaic and Hudson Counties
RB Coach Zak Kuhr- Essex, Sussex , Morris, Warren Counties so prospects in this class like Evidence Njoku, Dayln Wade Perry
.
DL Coach Shane Burnham – Central NJ Middlesex, Union and Jersey Shore Conference (Monmouth and Ocean) Prospects like Devin Miller, Pete Tverdov, Jahmin Muse, Micah Clark
OL Coach A.J. Blazek - Mercer, Hunterdon and Somerset Counties
WR Coach Jafar Willams - South Jersey (Bo Melton, Markquese Bell, Harrison Hand)
Surrounding areas
New York City – Busch
Upstate New York, Northeastern PA (Scranton, Wilkes Barre) – DC Jay Niemann
Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Easton, Bethlehem) – Williams
Other States
Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC- Kuhr: That will extend into Tidewater region of Virginia (Virginia Beach, Hampton, Norfolk)
New England – ST coordinator Vince Okruch
Georgia - Williams
Ohio – Okruch
Florida – Kuhr North (Jacksonville), Burnham Central (Tampa, Orlando), Aaron Henry South (Miami)
Walk-on Commit
It looks as though class of 2016 quarterback Thomas Wyatt of Overbrook (N.J.) is set to join Rutgers as a preferred walk-on this summer.
"It's going good, I've been talking to coach [Rick] Mantz," Wyatt said. "Once my academic documents get through admissions, I'll be walking on to play quarterback. There may be a possibility of a gray shirt scholarship but I'm not sure yet. They said I have to come this fall and earn it."
Wyatt visited on Valentine's Day and actually talked about the most recent conversation he had with Coach Ash.
"He told me how proud he was of me for wanting to represent New Jersey and how I need to work really hard over this off season to make sure I get a solid shot at being the shot caller this year. He explained how all the QBs are new to him and all on the same playing field. No favoritism, he plays his best players."
Recruiting Tidbits
RB Weston Bridges – Copley (OH)
It has been a busy couple days for Bridges, who was offered by Rutgers, Marshall, Western Michigan and Purdue in a two-day span. His offer list now stands at 13 while Rutgers has started off strong.
“Rutgers impressed me a lot. The whole staff started following me on Twitter and the staff wanted to get me down for a junior day,” Burton said. “I apologized to them because I could not make it. They contacted my coach and wanted to know if I was interested in Rutgers and I told him yes. It is a good school and Chris Ash is from Ohio State, he is going to turn that program around.”
Bridges also said that he is going to plan a spring visit to Rutgers and would be very open to a potential future as a Scarlet Knight.
C Cesar Ruiz - IMG Academy (FL)
The 106th-ranked player in the class of 2017, the Camden native has thrived after transferring to IMG Academy before the 2015 football season. As the starting center, Ruiz helped to lead his team to an undefeated season while beating New Jersey powers St. Joseph Montvale, Bergen Catholic and Paramus Catholic along the way.
Ruiz is approaching 30 offers and Rutgers was one of the earlier offers he received after his sophomore season at Camden from the previous staff. Before reconnecting with OL coach AJ Blazek this week, Ruiz told ScarletNation.com that he will come back home for his spring break, which spans from March 16th to April 4th, and he intends to visit Rutgers along with classmate and fellow NJ native CB Elvis Hines Jr. Earlier this month, Hines Jr. visited Rutgers with the large group of South Jersey visitors on February 14th and he told Ruiz that he really liked the new coaching staff.
ATH Bruce Judson – Cocoa (FL)
The No.88 player in the class of 2017, Judson, who was previously committed to Ohio State before backing away from that commitment in the fall of 2015, was recently offered by Rutgers. Judson has a strong relationship with RU head coach Chris Ash from their time as part of the Ohio State family.
“Coach Ash and have a great relationship,” said Judson. “We get a connection every time we talk and he’s always checking up on me.”
Judson projects to a number of positions including RB, WR and DB and is looking for a place that offers early playing time. Judson told ScarletNation.com that he is working on a visit to Rutgers during the month of June.
ATH Deon Jackson – Pace Academy (GA)
The Florida junior just started to get involved with Rutgers as he picked up a Thursday offer that was issued by wide receivers coach Jafar Williams.
“Basically, Coach Williams told me to call him because he had some good news for me and when I called he told me they offered me,” Jackson said. “It was right after I stepped off the court from basketball practice. They offered me as a running back.”
DT Romello Martin - Lincoln (NYC)
The Brooklyn junior defensive line target is working on building a relationship with the new Rutgers staff as he is mainly in contact with DB Coach Bill Busch and DL Coach Shane Burnham. Previously, Martin told ScarletNation.com that he intended to visit the Rutgers campus this weekend and there is still a possibility that he makes the visit. Florida State and Miami FL were two of the most recent offers for Martin.
DE Tommy Christ – Dominion (VA)
Although it is early, recruiting can still take a toll on recruits. Recent RU offeree Tommy Christ is up to 14 offers and since his visit to RU last weekend, things have been very hectic.
“I've been very busy and I've been putting off phone calls,” Christ said. “It's been hard finishing homework and calling coaches. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I can’t wait to finish this process up.”
Rutgers may have gotten in a little late with Christ and if he sticks to his early decision timeline, there will be plenty of competition from schools who have been pursuing him much longer than RU.
WR Jahan Dotson – Nazereth (PA)
The sophomore was the first offer issued by Coach Ash’s staff in the class of 2018 and last week’s junior day was his first chance to get a close look at Rutgers.
“(The visit) was great. The speeches by Coach Ash and Coach Parker really stood out to me and how they emphasize attitude and effort,” said Dotson. “The locker room was extremely cool and I like how everything is going to be brand new almost I've talked a lot with Coach Williams and Coach Okruch just about getting over there more.”
Although he wasn’t the position coach when Dotson was offered, WR coach Jafar Williams took some extra time to speak with the NJ native.
“He basically said I was a good player and to stay humble. But he mainly focused on getting me back to Rutgers for a visit.”
OL Ryan Solt – Coughlin (Pa.)
Rutgers has quickly moved up in the eyes of Solt, who visited last weekend. Solt, a junior with excellent size, has other offers from Maryland and Army, but the early offer by the RU staff could put them in a very good spot heading into the future.
“They actually surprised me a lot,” Solt said of Rutgers. “When they jumped up to the Big Ten, I followed them. They performed well against Penn State and Michigan. Now I will definitely follow them more.”
ATH Grahm Roberts – Concord (DE)
The younger brother of class of 2017 four-star LB Avery, Grahm projects on either side of the football as a RB on offense and a LB on defense. The sophomore received his first offers from Nebraska and North Carolina after attending a Rutgers Junior Day during the weekend.
“The (Rutgers) visit went good. I enjoyed the coaches and liked the facilities,” said Roberts. “I just wasn’t sure how interested in me or if they were more focused on the 2017 prospects.”
Roberts said he spoke with Coach Ash as well as Coaches Niemann, Mehringer and Vallone along with recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt. Grahm is the youngest member of a football family as older brother Grant walked onto the University of Delaware football team as a LB before growing into a 270-pound d-lineman who earned a scholarship. Grahm told ScarletNation.com that while Avery is open to attending college anywhere, he is more likely to attend a college closer to their Wilmington home.
QB Kyle McCloskey – Germantown Academy (PA)
The junior, who recently received his first FBS offer from Toledo to add to numerous Ivy and Patriot League offers, is receiving a lot of attention from the Scarlet Knights new OC Dre Mehringer.
“I had a great conversation with Coach Mehringer. I think I'm going to plan a visit in the upcoming weeks,” said McCloskey. “We discussed how interested they were in me, he talked about how he really likes my game and has watched all my film many times. Now we are working on scheduling a visit in the next 1-2 months.”
McCloskey, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound lefty, is also receiving interest from Northwestern, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, PSU and Duke.
OL Devon Robinson - Winslow NJ
The South Jersey senior prospect is focused on his ongoing basketball season, but he told ScarletNation.com that right now he is waiting for the results from his latest standardized test score results to come in before making a decision. Of his original suitors, Rutgers has offered Robinson a preferred walk-on spot and Monmouth has issued a scholarship offer. UMass and Penn State have recently gotten involved as well.
Top Five RU Redshirt Freshmen
(Best chances at playing time in ‘16)
5.) Jonah Jackson
4.) Rashad Blunt
3.) Nakia Griffin
2.) Jawuan Harris
1.) Ron’Dell Carter
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Four true freshmen will play for Rutgers this coming season
Recruiting territories
Chris Ash’s staff at Rutgers has started to get comfortable in their new digs over the past couple of weeks, making their presence known on the recruiting trail. In talking to numerous prospects, it appears that the Rutgers staff will have specific area recruiters. However, each prospect's position coach will maintain a strong involvement, which will include making visits. Position coaches are also responsible for handing out the offers.It should be noted that offensive and defensive coordinators typically have less recruiting responsibilities than the position coaches. Here are the names we’ve seen linked with the respective prospects in these areas.
New Jersey
DB Coach Bill Busch - North Jersey (handling the Big 6 Non Publics like Don Bosco, St Joseph Montvale, St.Peter Prep etc.) Bergen, Passaic and Hudson Counties
RB Coach Zak Kuhr- Essex, Sussex , Morris, Warren Counties so prospects in this class like Evidence Njoku, Dayln Wade Perry
.
DL Coach Shane Burnham – Central NJ Middlesex, Union and Jersey Shore Conference (Monmouth and Ocean) Prospects like Devin Miller, Pete Tverdov, Jahmin Muse, Micah Clark
OL Coach A.J. Blazek - Mercer, Hunterdon and Somerset Counties
WR Coach Jafar Willams - South Jersey (Bo Melton, Markquese Bell, Harrison Hand)
Surrounding areas
New York City – Busch
Upstate New York, Northeastern PA (Scranton, Wilkes Barre) – DC Jay Niemann
Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Easton, Bethlehem) – Williams
Other States
Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC- Kuhr: That will extend into Tidewater region of Virginia (Virginia Beach, Hampton, Norfolk)
New England – ST coordinator Vince Okruch
Georgia - Williams
Ohio – Okruch
Florida – Kuhr North (Jacksonville), Burnham Central (Tampa, Orlando), Aaron Henry South (Miami)
Walk-on Commit
It looks as though class of 2016 quarterback Thomas Wyatt of Overbrook (N.J.) is set to join Rutgers as a preferred walk-on this summer.
"It's going good, I've been talking to coach [Rick] Mantz," Wyatt said. "Once my academic documents get through admissions, I'll be walking on to play quarterback. There may be a possibility of a gray shirt scholarship but I'm not sure yet. They said I have to come this fall and earn it."
Wyatt visited on Valentine's Day and actually talked about the most recent conversation he had with Coach Ash.
"He told me how proud he was of me for wanting to represent New Jersey and how I need to work really hard over this off season to make sure I get a solid shot at being the shot caller this year. He explained how all the QBs are new to him and all on the same playing field. No favoritism, he plays his best players."
Recruiting Tidbits
RB Weston Bridges – Copley (OH)
It has been a busy couple days for Bridges, who was offered by Rutgers, Marshall, Western Michigan and Purdue in a two-day span. His offer list now stands at 13 while Rutgers has started off strong.
“Rutgers impressed me a lot. The whole staff started following me on Twitter and the staff wanted to get me down for a junior day,” Burton said. “I apologized to them because I could not make it. They contacted my coach and wanted to know if I was interested in Rutgers and I told him yes. It is a good school and Chris Ash is from Ohio State, he is going to turn that program around.”
Bridges also said that he is going to plan a spring visit to Rutgers and would be very open to a potential future as a Scarlet Knight.
C Cesar Ruiz - IMG Academy (FL)
The 106th-ranked player in the class of 2017, the Camden native has thrived after transferring to IMG Academy before the 2015 football season. As the starting center, Ruiz helped to lead his team to an undefeated season while beating New Jersey powers St. Joseph Montvale, Bergen Catholic and Paramus Catholic along the way.
Ruiz is approaching 30 offers and Rutgers was one of the earlier offers he received after his sophomore season at Camden from the previous staff. Before reconnecting with OL coach AJ Blazek this week, Ruiz told ScarletNation.com that he will come back home for his spring break, which spans from March 16th to April 4th, and he intends to visit Rutgers along with classmate and fellow NJ native CB Elvis Hines Jr. Earlier this month, Hines Jr. visited Rutgers with the large group of South Jersey visitors on February 14th and he told Ruiz that he really liked the new coaching staff.
ATH Bruce Judson – Cocoa (FL)
The No.88 player in the class of 2017, Judson, who was previously committed to Ohio State before backing away from that commitment in the fall of 2015, was recently offered by Rutgers. Judson has a strong relationship with RU head coach Chris Ash from their time as part of the Ohio State family.
“Coach Ash and have a great relationship,” said Judson. “We get a connection every time we talk and he’s always checking up on me.”
Judson projects to a number of positions including RB, WR and DB and is looking for a place that offers early playing time. Judson told ScarletNation.com that he is working on a visit to Rutgers during the month of June.
ATH Deon Jackson – Pace Academy (GA)
The Florida junior just started to get involved with Rutgers as he picked up a Thursday offer that was issued by wide receivers coach Jafar Williams.
“Basically, Coach Williams told me to call him because he had some good news for me and when I called he told me they offered me,” Jackson said. “It was right after I stepped off the court from basketball practice. They offered me as a running back.”
DT Romello Martin - Lincoln (NYC)
The Brooklyn junior defensive line target is working on building a relationship with the new Rutgers staff as he is mainly in contact with DB Coach Bill Busch and DL Coach Shane Burnham. Previously, Martin told ScarletNation.com that he intended to visit the Rutgers campus this weekend and there is still a possibility that he makes the visit. Florida State and Miami FL were two of the most recent offers for Martin.
DE Tommy Christ – Dominion (VA)
Although it is early, recruiting can still take a toll on recruits. Recent RU offeree Tommy Christ is up to 14 offers and since his visit to RU last weekend, things have been very hectic.
“I've been very busy and I've been putting off phone calls,” Christ said. “It's been hard finishing homework and calling coaches. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I can’t wait to finish this process up.”
Rutgers may have gotten in a little late with Christ and if he sticks to his early decision timeline, there will be plenty of competition from schools who have been pursuing him much longer than RU.
WR Jahan Dotson – Nazereth (PA)
The sophomore was the first offer issued by Coach Ash’s staff in the class of 2018 and last week’s junior day was his first chance to get a close look at Rutgers.
“(The visit) was great. The speeches by Coach Ash and Coach Parker really stood out to me and how they emphasize attitude and effort,” said Dotson. “The locker room was extremely cool and I like how everything is going to be brand new almost I've talked a lot with Coach Williams and Coach Okruch just about getting over there more.”
Although he wasn’t the position coach when Dotson was offered, WR coach Jafar Williams took some extra time to speak with the NJ native.
“He basically said I was a good player and to stay humble. But he mainly focused on getting me back to Rutgers for a visit.”
OL Ryan Solt – Coughlin (Pa.)
Rutgers has quickly moved up in the eyes of Solt, who visited last weekend. Solt, a junior with excellent size, has other offers from Maryland and Army, but the early offer by the RU staff could put them in a very good spot heading into the future.
“They actually surprised me a lot,” Solt said of Rutgers. “When they jumped up to the Big Ten, I followed them. They performed well against Penn State and Michigan. Now I will definitely follow them more.”
ATH Grahm Roberts – Concord (DE)
The younger brother of class of 2017 four-star LB Avery, Grahm projects on either side of the football as a RB on offense and a LB on defense. The sophomore received his first offers from Nebraska and North Carolina after attending a Rutgers Junior Day during the weekend.
“The (Rutgers) visit went good. I enjoyed the coaches and liked the facilities,” said Roberts. “I just wasn’t sure how interested in me or if they were more focused on the 2017 prospects.”
Roberts said he spoke with Coach Ash as well as Coaches Niemann, Mehringer and Vallone along with recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt. Grahm is the youngest member of a football family as older brother Grant walked onto the University of Delaware football team as a LB before growing into a 270-pound d-lineman who earned a scholarship. Grahm told ScarletNation.com that while Avery is open to attending college anywhere, he is more likely to attend a college closer to their Wilmington home.
QB Kyle McCloskey – Germantown Academy (PA)
The junior, who recently received his first FBS offer from Toledo to add to numerous Ivy and Patriot League offers, is receiving a lot of attention from the Scarlet Knights new OC Dre Mehringer.
“I had a great conversation with Coach Mehringer. I think I'm going to plan a visit in the upcoming weeks,” said McCloskey. “We discussed how interested they were in me, he talked about how he really likes my game and has watched all my film many times. Now we are working on scheduling a visit in the next 1-2 months.”
McCloskey, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound lefty, is also receiving interest from Northwestern, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, PSU and Duke.
OL Devon Robinson - Winslow NJ
The South Jersey senior prospect is focused on his ongoing basketball season, but he told ScarletNation.com that right now he is waiting for the results from his latest standardized test score results to come in before making a decision. Of his original suitors, Rutgers has offered Robinson a preferred walk-on spot and Monmouth has issued a scholarship offer. UMass and Penn State have recently gotten involved as well.
