Quotables
Leonte Carroo on leading the offense this year:
"When the offense is down, I want to be the guy to make a play to pick us back up. I am just going out there leading my receiver corps, not taking any plays off, executing my assignments, not having any mental errors and just going out and playing hard."
Kyle Flood on current No.4 QB Terrence Scanlon:
"Terence is a great kid. When he came here, he wanted to be a quarterback and we didn't really have room in that room at that point to do it. But we said, 'If you want to help us, we need some help at receiver.' So he said, 'Coach, I'll do whatever you want for the team.' So he's a selfless kid. He wanted to come back and try quarterback so we told him, 'We'll give you the opportunity to do that,' and he'll get that opportunity this spring. But just an awesome young man to be around."
Top Five Center Candidates
5.) Bryan Stonkus
4.) Marcus Applefield
3.) Chris Muller
2.) Dorian Miller
1.) Derrick Nelson
Bobby's Crystal Ball
Rutgers will have two players drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft
Recruiting Tidbits
Camden Prospects
Scarlet Nation has learned that, as of now, Rutgers will make the final five for all four of Camden's junior prospects (WR Brad Hawkins, DE Ron Johnson, DE Jamal Holloway and LB Dymelle Parker). Rutgers is one of only two schools that has offered the four the opportunity to play together and that is very important to the group. Expect the group to take an overnight visit to Rutgers in the coming month or so. Camden class of 2017 center Cesar Ruiz is likely to be the next Camden prospect to receive an offer from head coach Kyle Flood when he visits during spring practice. Pure center prospects are rare and Ruiz received his first offers from South Carolina and Temple recently.
WR Tyrell Washington - Vero Beach (Fla.)
The junior wide receiver prospect told Scarlet Nation that he will be visiting Rutgers today and is hoping to walk away with an offer.
"Coach Panagos was just telling me how they can't wait to show me everything. I'll be at the practice at 9:40 am and then I'll tour the school," said Washington. "I can tell Rutgers is a place they care about the player and not just during football, but after the football also."
The 6-foot-3, 210 pounder transferred from Montverde, where he also played on their well-known basketball team coached by former St. Patrick's coach Kevin Boyle. Washington has noticed the emphasis Rutgers puts on recruiting the Sunshine State.
"I know Jarius Adams and I've heard of Jawuan Harris and Rashad Blunt so I know they get some Florida players up there," Washington said. "They recently offered my cousin Patrick Bethel (also of Vero Beach) as well."
South Florida, Florida State, Colorado and Florida Atlantic are some of the schools keeping tabs on Washington, who is one credit away from being able to enroll early at the college of his choice.
Additional Friday visitors
Highlighted earlier this week, North Carolina DT Christian Colon is expected to make his way to campus today. Born in Brooklyn before moving to Charlotte, expect Colon to walk away with an offer. Rutgers is looking to possibly make a dent in his top two of North Carolina and Penn State.
2016 PK Jon Ryker of Hammonton will also be at practice. Ryker has visited multiple Rutgers games and camps and has maintained close contact with special teams coach Phil Galiano. Ryker has built relationships with the current class of 2016 commitments and he wants nothing more than the opportunity to kick at Rutgers.
Florida RB Trey Sneed arrived yesterday and is expected to stay through the weekend along with RU commit Jonathan Pollock.
Additional Saturday visitors
While last week's Fat Cat highlighted a number of visitors expected this week, some additional names have surfaced. Expect more to be confirmed over the course of Friday on The Round Table.
Class of 2016 LB target Rashawn Battle of Wallenpauck (Pa.) told Scarlet Nation that he will make the trip back to campus. While Battle has seen increased attention from schools with Boston College being his most recent offer, Rutgers has positioned itself well. Battle , a Brooklyn native, has visited Rutgers more than any other college thus far.
Class of 2016 ATH target Yeedee Thaenrat may make the trip back up to campus. Thaenrat is coming off of a strong junior season on both sides of the ball and his most recent offer also comes from Boston College following a recent visit to Chestnut Hill.
Class of 2016 Eastern (NJ) Center Jake Gruber will be on campus. Gruber played tackle out of need for his Vikings squad which has done a solid job of producing college prospects, highlighted by Rutgers grad and current New England Patriot Logan Ryan. Gruber is someone to keep a close eye on during the camp season.
There is also a chance that class of 2016 DL target Karamo Dioubate makes the trip to campus Saturday but , as of now, that is still up in the air.
More Recruiting Tidbits
DT Josh Keeler - Bishop Moore (Fla.)
The Florida defensive tackle visited Rutgers yesterday and came away impressed with what he saw while on campus.
"I had a great time. I absolutely loved Rutgers," Keeler said.
There was no offer issued and Keeler mentioned what was said in that regard.
"There was no mention of it really, just that they are taking things slow," Keeler said. "I think maybe when they come to see me practice in the spring."
WR Elijah Robinson - Montclair
Rutgers sent out an offer to the junior about a month ago, but things have not really accelerated since then. Robinson's only upcoming scheduled visit is to Old Dominion and there has not been a whole lot of developments between him and Rutgers. With other higher ranked wide receiver prospects on Rutgers board as of now, it looks as though the staff is eying up some other targets at the receiver position.
ATH Jordan Fuller - Old Tappan
Rutgers has made up some ground in the race for the four-star prospect, although there figures to be some competition all the way through his recruitment. Next week, Fuller will make visits to UCLA and Ohio State before returning home to New Jersey.
OT Noah DeHond - Peddie School
As we've been hinting at in the past, DeHond has officially decided to reclassify to the class of 2017 and transfer from his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. to the Peddie School in N.J. DeHond told Scarlet Nation that he is drawn to the strong academic environment at the school. He is expected back on the Rutgers campus in May and he'll be working out on the Peddie campus during the spring evaluation period.
OT Malcolm Pridgeon - Nassau Community College (N.Y.)
Rutgers is expected to check in on the JUCO OT in the near future as Nassau starts spring practice this week. Pridgeon told Scarlet Nation that he is very familiar with the Scarlet Knight program as the staff was heavily recruiting him out of high school. As of right now, Pridgeon is leaning towards leaving the tri-state area with Ohio State and Alabama as schools of interest, but expect the Long Island native to take another visit to the RU campus once Nassau completes spring practice.
Visitors Next Week
There are a number of interesting visitors expected to visit the Rutgers campus next week. As we've highlighted recently, 2016 Morristown Beard OT Alex Motley will make it to campus for a practice on April 6th.
Rutgers hasn't had a prospect from Penns Grove since Aaron Hayward, but the staff is taking a close look at class of 2016 RB Craig Ransome who will be visiting April 6th.
From Pope John, junior OL Sam Howson and sophomore DL Dalyn Wade-Perry will be visiting on April 8th. Howson, who starred at Roman Oben's showcase highlighted on NJVarsity.com, projects as a center prospect but has the athleticism and size to possibly stay at tackle. Wade-Perry is a surefire BCS prospect and could walk away from campus next week with an RU offer.
Expected at some point next week are class of 2018 Paramus Catholic offerees QB Allan Walters and LB Bartek Rybka during their spring break. There is a chance their teammate, class of 2017 DL offeree Corey Bolds, also makes the trip.
Eye on Rutgers
Today will mark an upgrade on the practice field in Piscataway as Rutgers will take the field in shoulder pads and helmets before Saturday's fully-padded practice. There will be a lot more contact as well as a lot more to look for on the practice field. Here are some of the things Scarlet Nation will be keeping a close eye on from the sidelines.
The offensive line
With the pads coming on, it will be time to start seeing who will be stepping up in the trenches. The center position still looks to be one of uncertainty as Dorian Miller has started working in after preparing to play guard all of last year. The staff has options with Derrick Nelson and Chris Muller as potential centers as well. However it shakes out, Miller looks to be a starter whether it be at guard or at center.
This weekend will also be the first contact in a long time for Jacquis Webb who has been working in at the tackle position. It is also a chance for Ryan Brodie to make a push wearing his new No.55. Brodie has played guard and tackle in practice. Marcus Applefield has a lot of position versatility and now has a full year of experience in the program working for him. The battles in the trenches could be very telling and look for some younger guys to get more reps with Keith Lumpkin limited this week.
The tight ends
The group of tight ends had the chance to catch some footballs during the first two practices, but now they will get to show off their blocking skills. How each player fares in that area could be a major factor into how this season's reps are divvied up. As of now, there does not look to be a clear-cut leader for the No.1 spot. However, each competitor should get their fair chance at proving their worth.
Logan Lister has slimmed down and is fresh off an injury-riddled year that kept him sidelined. Nick Arcidiacono returns with the most experience but is known as more of a pass-catching tight end. Matt Flanagan brings in very good size on the line while Charles Scarff is a bit of an underrated walk-on candidate. George Behr is finally healthy after injury marred his first season in Piscataway. This bunch of players are short on overall game experience and it could be these blocking tests that determine a leader by the end of spring. As of now, the first two tight end spots look to be pretty wide open.
Nose Guard
The starting spot has been vacated by Kenneth Kirksey, which leaves Sebastian Joseph and Kevin Wilkins vying for playing time. Both are more imposing than Kirksey, each in the 290-pound range. However, that size has yet to be tested this spring. Both players provide an immediate upgrade in size, but Kirksey played bigger than he was at times. He was very physical and if either Joseph or Wilkins can match that physicality, Rutgers will see improvement at the position.
It was tough to tell two days in whether or not Wilkins or Joseph had the early advantage. However, that should start to become clearer over the next two weeks. How those two players handle the competition now that the pads are on could be very telling as to how the pecking order will look at the end of April.
This post was edited on 4/3 2:19 AM by Bobby Deren
Leonte Carroo on leading the offense this year:
"When the offense is down, I want to be the guy to make a play to pick us back up. I am just going out there leading my receiver corps, not taking any plays off, executing my assignments, not having any mental errors and just going out and playing hard."
Kyle Flood on current No.4 QB Terrence Scanlon:
"Terence is a great kid. When he came here, he wanted to be a quarterback and we didn't really have room in that room at that point to do it. But we said, 'If you want to help us, we need some help at receiver.' So he said, 'Coach, I'll do whatever you want for the team.' So he's a selfless kid. He wanted to come back and try quarterback so we told him, 'We'll give you the opportunity to do that,' and he'll get that opportunity this spring. But just an awesome young man to be around."
Top Five Center Candidates
5.) Bryan Stonkus
4.) Marcus Applefield
3.) Chris Muller
2.) Dorian Miller
1.) Derrick Nelson
Bobby's Crystal Ball
Rutgers will have two players drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft
Recruiting Tidbits
Camden Prospects
Scarlet Nation has learned that, as of now, Rutgers will make the final five for all four of Camden's junior prospects (WR Brad Hawkins, DE Ron Johnson, DE Jamal Holloway and LB Dymelle Parker). Rutgers is one of only two schools that has offered the four the opportunity to play together and that is very important to the group. Expect the group to take an overnight visit to Rutgers in the coming month or so. Camden class of 2017 center Cesar Ruiz is likely to be the next Camden prospect to receive an offer from head coach Kyle Flood when he visits during spring practice. Pure center prospects are rare and Ruiz received his first offers from South Carolina and Temple recently.
WR Tyrell Washington - Vero Beach (Fla.)
The junior wide receiver prospect told Scarlet Nation that he will be visiting Rutgers today and is hoping to walk away with an offer.
"Coach Panagos was just telling me how they can't wait to show me everything. I'll be at the practice at 9:40 am and then I'll tour the school," said Washington. "I can tell Rutgers is a place they care about the player and not just during football, but after the football also."
The 6-foot-3, 210 pounder transferred from Montverde, where he also played on their well-known basketball team coached by former St. Patrick's coach Kevin Boyle. Washington has noticed the emphasis Rutgers puts on recruiting the Sunshine State.
"I know Jarius Adams and I've heard of Jawuan Harris and Rashad Blunt so I know they get some Florida players up there," Washington said. "They recently offered my cousin Patrick Bethel (also of Vero Beach) as well."
South Florida, Florida State, Colorado and Florida Atlantic are some of the schools keeping tabs on Washington, who is one credit away from being able to enroll early at the college of his choice.
Additional Friday visitors
Highlighted earlier this week, North Carolina DT Christian Colon is expected to make his way to campus today. Born in Brooklyn before moving to Charlotte, expect Colon to walk away with an offer. Rutgers is looking to possibly make a dent in his top two of North Carolina and Penn State.
2016 PK Jon Ryker of Hammonton will also be at practice. Ryker has visited multiple Rutgers games and camps and has maintained close contact with special teams coach Phil Galiano. Ryker has built relationships with the current class of 2016 commitments and he wants nothing more than the opportunity to kick at Rutgers.
Florida RB Trey Sneed arrived yesterday and is expected to stay through the weekend along with RU commit Jonathan Pollock.
Additional Saturday visitors
While last week's Fat Cat highlighted a number of visitors expected this week, some additional names have surfaced. Expect more to be confirmed over the course of Friday on The Round Table.
Class of 2016 LB target Rashawn Battle of Wallenpauck (Pa.) told Scarlet Nation that he will make the trip back to campus. While Battle has seen increased attention from schools with Boston College being his most recent offer, Rutgers has positioned itself well. Battle , a Brooklyn native, has visited Rutgers more than any other college thus far.
Class of 2016 ATH target Yeedee Thaenrat may make the trip back up to campus. Thaenrat is coming off of a strong junior season on both sides of the ball and his most recent offer also comes from Boston College following a recent visit to Chestnut Hill.
Class of 2016 Eastern (NJ) Center Jake Gruber will be on campus. Gruber played tackle out of need for his Vikings squad which has done a solid job of producing college prospects, highlighted by Rutgers grad and current New England Patriot Logan Ryan. Gruber is someone to keep a close eye on during the camp season.
There is also a chance that class of 2016 DL target Karamo Dioubate makes the trip to campus Saturday but , as of now, that is still up in the air.
More Recruiting Tidbits
DT Josh Keeler - Bishop Moore (Fla.)
The Florida defensive tackle visited Rutgers yesterday and came away impressed with what he saw while on campus.
"I had a great time. I absolutely loved Rutgers," Keeler said.
There was no offer issued and Keeler mentioned what was said in that regard.
"There was no mention of it really, just that they are taking things slow," Keeler said. "I think maybe when they come to see me practice in the spring."
WR Elijah Robinson - Montclair
Rutgers sent out an offer to the junior about a month ago, but things have not really accelerated since then. Robinson's only upcoming scheduled visit is to Old Dominion and there has not been a whole lot of developments between him and Rutgers. With other higher ranked wide receiver prospects on Rutgers board as of now, it looks as though the staff is eying up some other targets at the receiver position.
ATH Jordan Fuller - Old Tappan
Rutgers has made up some ground in the race for the four-star prospect, although there figures to be some competition all the way through his recruitment. Next week, Fuller will make visits to UCLA and Ohio State before returning home to New Jersey.
OT Noah DeHond - Peddie School
As we've been hinting at in the past, DeHond has officially decided to reclassify to the class of 2017 and transfer from his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. to the Peddie School in N.J. DeHond told Scarlet Nation that he is drawn to the strong academic environment at the school. He is expected back on the Rutgers campus in May and he'll be working out on the Peddie campus during the spring evaluation period.
OT Malcolm Pridgeon - Nassau Community College (N.Y.)
Rutgers is expected to check in on the JUCO OT in the near future as Nassau starts spring practice this week. Pridgeon told Scarlet Nation that he is very familiar with the Scarlet Knight program as the staff was heavily recruiting him out of high school. As of right now, Pridgeon is leaning towards leaving the tri-state area with Ohio State and Alabama as schools of interest, but expect the Long Island native to take another visit to the RU campus once Nassau completes spring practice.
Visitors Next Week
There are a number of interesting visitors expected to visit the Rutgers campus next week. As we've highlighted recently, 2016 Morristown Beard OT Alex Motley will make it to campus for a practice on April 6th.
Rutgers hasn't had a prospect from Penns Grove since Aaron Hayward, but the staff is taking a close look at class of 2016 RB Craig Ransome who will be visiting April 6th.
From Pope John, junior OL Sam Howson and sophomore DL Dalyn Wade-Perry will be visiting on April 8th. Howson, who starred at Roman Oben's showcase highlighted on NJVarsity.com, projects as a center prospect but has the athleticism and size to possibly stay at tackle. Wade-Perry is a surefire BCS prospect and could walk away from campus next week with an RU offer.
Expected at some point next week are class of 2018 Paramus Catholic offerees QB Allan Walters and LB Bartek Rybka during their spring break. There is a chance their teammate, class of 2017 DL offeree Corey Bolds, also makes the trip.
Eye on Rutgers
Today will mark an upgrade on the practice field in Piscataway as Rutgers will take the field in shoulder pads and helmets before Saturday's fully-padded practice. There will be a lot more contact as well as a lot more to look for on the practice field. Here are some of the things Scarlet Nation will be keeping a close eye on from the sidelines.
The offensive line
With the pads coming on, it will be time to start seeing who will be stepping up in the trenches. The center position still looks to be one of uncertainty as Dorian Miller has started working in after preparing to play guard all of last year. The staff has options with Derrick Nelson and Chris Muller as potential centers as well. However it shakes out, Miller looks to be a starter whether it be at guard or at center.
This weekend will also be the first contact in a long time for Jacquis Webb who has been working in at the tackle position. It is also a chance for Ryan Brodie to make a push wearing his new No.55. Brodie has played guard and tackle in practice. Marcus Applefield has a lot of position versatility and now has a full year of experience in the program working for him. The battles in the trenches could be very telling and look for some younger guys to get more reps with Keith Lumpkin limited this week.
The tight ends
The group of tight ends had the chance to catch some footballs during the first two practices, but now they will get to show off their blocking skills. How each player fares in that area could be a major factor into how this season's reps are divvied up. As of now, there does not look to be a clear-cut leader for the No.1 spot. However, each competitor should get their fair chance at proving their worth.
Logan Lister has slimmed down and is fresh off an injury-riddled year that kept him sidelined. Nick Arcidiacono returns with the most experience but is known as more of a pass-catching tight end. Matt Flanagan brings in very good size on the line while Charles Scarff is a bit of an underrated walk-on candidate. George Behr is finally healthy after injury marred his first season in Piscataway. This bunch of players are short on overall game experience and it could be these blocking tests that determine a leader by the end of spring. As of now, the first two tight end spots look to be pretty wide open.
Nose Guard
The starting spot has been vacated by Kenneth Kirksey, which leaves Sebastian Joseph and Kevin Wilkins vying for playing time. Both are more imposing than Kirksey, each in the 290-pound range. However, that size has yet to be tested this spring. Both players provide an immediate upgrade in size, but Kirksey played bigger than he was at times. He was very physical and if either Joseph or Wilkins can match that physicality, Rutgers will see improvement at the position.
It was tough to tell two days in whether or not Wilkins or Joseph had the early advantage. However, that should start to become clearer over the next two weeks. How those two players handle the competition now that the pads are on could be very telling as to how the pecking order will look at the end of April.
This post was edited on 4/3 2:19 AM by Bobby Deren
