Quotables
Elijah Johnson on Rutgers’ location:
“I like the location because it’s more interactive than most campuses around the country.”
Jon Pollock on his relationship with DL coach Jim Panagos:
“We talk if not every day, every other day, just about what is going on. I always ask to see how his kid is doing, what camps he is going to. He and I are really close.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU sack leader candidates in 2015
5.) Djwany Mera
4.) Julian Pinnix-Odrick
3.) Darius Hamilton
2.) Steve Longa
1.) Kemoko Turay
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
At least three new offers will go out at the RU Passing Camp
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Chase Claypool – Abbotsford (British Columbia)
Claypool confirmed with Scarlet Nation last night that he will be competing in tomorrow’s 7-on-7 shootout at Rutgers as things continue to go well with the Scarlet Knights.
QB Anthony Russo - Archbishop Wood (Pa.)
Since earning the Elite 11 invite earlier this month, Rutgers’ QB commit has been keeping to himself preparing for the competition next month at the Nike Headquarters in Oregon during “The Opening” showcase.
“It's such a blessing. Being able to be recognized as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks is crazy to think about, knowing I wasn't even a starting high school quarterback a year ago," Russo told Scarlet Nation. “But the preparation is going well. I've been hounding the playbook, making sure I know that thing inside and out by the time I get out there.”
Russo has enjoyed watching his future team add talented players recently and Russo will do his part on Saturday to add to the Scarlet Knight 2016 recruiting class with one specific target in mind.
“I'm working real hard on Chase Claypool, he's been my main target recently I'll see him Saturday when I'm up watching the passing camp,” said Russo. “And the o-linemen that have committed, I'm stoked about. To have guys like them to protect me I know I'll be safe no matter who we play.”
QB Jack Coan – Sayville (N.Y.)
The four-star class of 2017 quarterback is really seeing his recruitment take off and he made a return trip to Rutgers on Wednesday where he met with head coach Kyle Flood and offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels, who is Coan’s main recruiter.
“I mostly spoke with coach [Ben] McDaniels and coach [Kyle] Flood. He showed us a little bit of film on how they read coverages and run plays and different formations. He just talked to me about their offense and how it would fit me. He was excited about the whole recruiting process.”
At this time, Coan currently holds six offers.
DE Mike Tverdov – Union City
The promising class of 2017 defensive end was back on campus yesterday with his brother and former Scarlet Knight Pete Tverdov. The visit came less than a week after Tverdov received a Rutgers offer.
“Coach Panagos told me to come down last week at camp so we can study some d-line film and critique my own film. We just went over a lot of stuff,” Tverdov said. “Mostly simple stuff that I don't even realize that can make me a much better pass rusher. Afterward, we checked out some new parts of the Hale Center.”
DE Antonio Alfano – Bergen Catholic
The soon to be freshman received a Rutgers offer before his high school career has even begun. He did so on the strength of his camp performance last Friday night at the RU Big Man Academy.
“My freshman coach saw me perform and you could say he saw some of my athleticism,” Alfano said. “So when I got the offer, my coaches were not too surprised. They said they never thought they would come up to an incoming freshman and say ‘congrats on the offer.’”
Kicking Situation
One of the remaining scholarships in this year’s class will go to a kicker and this week’s specialists’ camp shed some light on who that might be. The top performer among kickers was Georgia native Alex Barbir, who will be visiting campus again today. Scarlet Nation has learned that Rutgers is Barbir’s No.1 choice as location is playing a big role being as though Barbir’s kicking coach is based out of New Jersey. He hopes to make a decision within the next week, although his choice could come sooner than that.
The No.2 performer at the camp was Hammonton product Jon Ryker, who was also hoping to obtain an RU offer. Should things fall through with Barbir, Ryker would remain a viable backup plan.
Passing Camp Saturday
Rutgers annual Passing Camp will take place this Saturday and the Scarlet Nation staff will once again be on hand keeping an eye on all the action. Here is a look at all the teams who will be participating:
Absegami High School
ADFC
Air Raid Academy (2016 offer Athlete Chase Claypool)
Asbury Park High School
ASG (2018 QB offers Allan Walters of Paramus Catholic, Artur Sitkowski of Old Bridge, 2017 LB Ricky Tate Bridgewater Raritan)
Atlantic City
Barnegat High School
Barringer High School
Bergen Catholic (Jarrett Guarantano, Gene Coleman, 2016 TE Korab Idrizi, 2016 DB Manny Appiah, 2017 DB Jameel Johnson, 2019’s Josh Mckensie, Antonio Alfano)
Berkeley Heights PAL
Bernards High School
Bishop McNamara (Maryland) Brandon Coleman’s alma mater 2016 ATH Ramel Johnson
Bound Brook High School
Boys' Latin of Philadelphia
Brick Twp High School (2017 ATH Ja’sir Taylor
Caldwell High School
Calvert Hall HS (2017 LB Tyshon Fogg)
Camden High School (2016’s Brad Hawkins, Dymelle Parker, Jamal Holloway)
Cardinal Hayes (2016 DB Tim Poindexter)
Cedar Creek High School (2016 target Ahmir Mitchell, 2017 ATH Bo Melton)
Cedar Grove High School (2017 WR Evidence Njoku)
Collingswood High School (2016 DB Jahmir King)
Colonia High School (2016 LB commit Solomon Manning)
Delaware Valley
Demarest
DePaul Catholic High School (2016’s Kareem Walker, Hasise Dubois, Terrell Vassell, Quay Alexander, ATH Shamir White
Don Bosco Prep (2016 DB Maryland commit Tyrone Hill, 2017 QB Tommy Devito, 2017 WR Elijah Singh, 2018 S Kevin Brennan)
Dumont High School
East Orange (2017 RB Isaiah Byrd)
Eastern Christian Academy (2017 QB Alex Barker, 2018 RB Leddie Brown, 2018 RB Jamir Washington)
Edison High School
Elmont Memorial High School
Watchung Hills
Fort Hamilton High School NYC (2017 RB Troy Booker)
Grand Street Campus (2016 Rutgers commits Ahmed Bah, Taysir Mack)
Harrisburg High School (2018 WR Quan Anderson)
Hillside High School
House of Sports
Immaculata High School
Indian Hills High School
JFK-- Iselin
John F. Kennedy - Patterson
John P. Stevens Edison
Lenape Valley High School
Liberty High School (2017 WR Darian Street)
Linden High School
Long Branch High School
Long Reach High School (Ron’Dell Carter’s alma mater)
MacArthur High School
Malvern Preparatory (Coached by Rutgers alum Aaron Brady)
Manalapan High School (2018 WR Symir Blacknall)
Manheim Twp High School
Martin Luther King Philly
Matawan High School (2018 QB George Pearson, 2016 DB Dejohn Rogers)
Memorial High School NJ
Middletown HS North (2017 QB Donald Glenn)
Montclair High School (2018 ATH Daniel Webb)
Mt. Pleasant HS Delaware
New Brunswick HS (Pitt commit ATH Maurice Ffrench)
Next Level Greats (2016 target Kelvin Harmon, 2017 target Everett Wormley, 2016 ATH Tyree Rodgers, 2016 South Carolina commit Brandon McIIwain)
Ocean Twp High School (2016 RB Tyler Thompson, 2017 QB Kenny Pickett)
Old Tappan (2016 target ATH Jordan Fuller)
Orange High School
Paramus High School
Patapsco HS & Center for the Arts Maryland
Pemberton Twp High School
Penns Grove HS (2017 LB Javar Garrett)
Potomac High School (2016 North Carolina commit DB Greg Ross, has Rutgers offer, 2017 RB Tayon Fleet Davis)
Ramapo High School
Roxbury High School
Sayreville War Memorial HS (2016 DB Linwood Crump)
Secaucus High School
Seton Hall Prep (new head coach Vito Campanile older brother of Rutgers WR coach Anthony)
Shenendehowa High School
South Brunswick High School (2016 Rutgers commit Mo Jabbie, 2016 target Phil Campbell, 2018 WR Justin Shorter)
South Windsor High School Connecticut
Spring Field Riffles NYC
St. Francis Prep (Coach Flood’s alma mater)
St. Joseph's Reg – Montvale (2017 ATH Jordan Scott, 2017 LB Louis Acceus, has Miami offer)
St. Joseph's Prep (2016 DB target Benny Walls, 2017 RB target D’Andre Swift, 2018 WR target Darryle Simmons)
St. Peter's Prep (2016 ATH target KJ Gray, 2017 QB offer Johnathan Lewis)
Susquehanna Twp High School
Union High School (2017 Target Mike Tverdov, 2016 WR Patrick Thomas)
Wallkill Senior High School
Wantagh High School
Warren Hills HS
Washington Twp HS
Weequahic High School (2016 S Shafi Harris, 2017 ATH Tymen Sampson)
West Chester East
West Essex High School
Whitehall High School
Woodbridge High School (2017 FS/WR Quaasim Glover)
What we will be watching for
Rutgers commits and targets in action
RU commits Mo Jabbie, Solomon Manning, Ahmed Bah and Taysir Mack will all be participating with their respective high schools teams and QB commit Anthony Russo will also be spending the day on campus. Expect them to find some of the targets and spend some time with prospects like Brad Hawkins, Kelvin Harmon, Ahmir Mitchell, Jordan Fuller and Philadelphia OL target John Carlo Valentin.
Who is Chase Claypool?
Saturday will be our first look at the native of British Columbia who’s been tearing it up on the recruiting scene, earning great praise at every camp he’s attended. While his future position isn’t clear, this could be Rutgers only chance to impress the big athlete with Notre Dame, Michigan and Oregon among his suitors.
Who walks away with an offer?
Calvert Hall class of 2017 LB Tyshon Fogg has been turning heads recently and has seen his recruitment start to take off already. The same can be said for Potomac (MD) 2017 RB Tayon Fleet Davis. There are a very talented group of 2018 prospects who could walk away with an offer after strong performances, like Harrisburg’s WR Quan Anderson, Don Bosco’s Kevin Brennan, the 2018 RB’s from Eastern Christian Academy. Lastly, Daniel Webb of Montclair, a varsity starter last year has grown to a legit 5-10 but still maintained his speed.
Camp season winding down
It will be a busy weekend for the Rutgers staff as the coaches will participate in the Washington DC version of the Sound Mind Sound Body camp today (Friday). Rivals regional analyst Adam Friedman will be in attendance. Expect many of the DMV’s top prospects to make an appearance. The day will serve as a good evaluation tool for Rutgers to expand their relationships in the region and build further ties going forward.
Elijah Johnson on Rutgers’ location:
“I like the location because it’s more interactive than most campuses around the country.”
Jon Pollock on his relationship with DL coach Jim Panagos:
“We talk if not every day, every other day, just about what is going on. I always ask to see how his kid is doing, what camps he is going to. He and I are really close.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU sack leader candidates in 2015
5.) Djwany Mera
4.) Julian Pinnix-Odrick
3.) Darius Hamilton
2.) Steve Longa
1.) Kemoko Turay
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
At least three new offers will go out at the RU Passing Camp
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Chase Claypool – Abbotsford (British Columbia)
Claypool confirmed with Scarlet Nation last night that he will be competing in tomorrow’s 7-on-7 shootout at Rutgers as things continue to go well with the Scarlet Knights.
QB Anthony Russo - Archbishop Wood (Pa.)
Since earning the Elite 11 invite earlier this month, Rutgers’ QB commit has been keeping to himself preparing for the competition next month at the Nike Headquarters in Oregon during “The Opening” showcase.
“It's such a blessing. Being able to be recognized as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks is crazy to think about, knowing I wasn't even a starting high school quarterback a year ago," Russo told Scarlet Nation. “But the preparation is going well. I've been hounding the playbook, making sure I know that thing inside and out by the time I get out there.”
Russo has enjoyed watching his future team add talented players recently and Russo will do his part on Saturday to add to the Scarlet Knight 2016 recruiting class with one specific target in mind.
“I'm working real hard on Chase Claypool, he's been my main target recently I'll see him Saturday when I'm up watching the passing camp,” said Russo. “And the o-linemen that have committed, I'm stoked about. To have guys like them to protect me I know I'll be safe no matter who we play.”
QB Jack Coan – Sayville (N.Y.)
The four-star class of 2017 quarterback is really seeing his recruitment take off and he made a return trip to Rutgers on Wednesday where he met with head coach Kyle Flood and offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels, who is Coan’s main recruiter.
“I mostly spoke with coach [Ben] McDaniels and coach [Kyle] Flood. He showed us a little bit of film on how they read coverages and run plays and different formations. He just talked to me about their offense and how it would fit me. He was excited about the whole recruiting process.”
At this time, Coan currently holds six offers.
DE Mike Tverdov – Union City
The promising class of 2017 defensive end was back on campus yesterday with his brother and former Scarlet Knight Pete Tverdov. The visit came less than a week after Tverdov received a Rutgers offer.
“Coach Panagos told me to come down last week at camp so we can study some d-line film and critique my own film. We just went over a lot of stuff,” Tverdov said. “Mostly simple stuff that I don't even realize that can make me a much better pass rusher. Afterward, we checked out some new parts of the Hale Center.”
DE Antonio Alfano – Bergen Catholic
The soon to be freshman received a Rutgers offer before his high school career has even begun. He did so on the strength of his camp performance last Friday night at the RU Big Man Academy.
“My freshman coach saw me perform and you could say he saw some of my athleticism,” Alfano said. “So when I got the offer, my coaches were not too surprised. They said they never thought they would come up to an incoming freshman and say ‘congrats on the offer.’”
Kicking Situation
One of the remaining scholarships in this year’s class will go to a kicker and this week’s specialists’ camp shed some light on who that might be. The top performer among kickers was Georgia native Alex Barbir, who will be visiting campus again today. Scarlet Nation has learned that Rutgers is Barbir’s No.1 choice as location is playing a big role being as though Barbir’s kicking coach is based out of New Jersey. He hopes to make a decision within the next week, although his choice could come sooner than that.
The No.2 performer at the camp was Hammonton product Jon Ryker, who was also hoping to obtain an RU offer. Should things fall through with Barbir, Ryker would remain a viable backup plan.
Passing Camp Saturday
Rutgers annual Passing Camp will take place this Saturday and the Scarlet Nation staff will once again be on hand keeping an eye on all the action. Here is a look at all the teams who will be participating:
Absegami High School
ADFC
Air Raid Academy (2016 offer Athlete Chase Claypool)
Asbury Park High School
ASG (2018 QB offers Allan Walters of Paramus Catholic, Artur Sitkowski of Old Bridge, 2017 LB Ricky Tate Bridgewater Raritan)
Atlantic City
Barnegat High School
Barringer High School
Bergen Catholic (Jarrett Guarantano, Gene Coleman, 2016 TE Korab Idrizi, 2016 DB Manny Appiah, 2017 DB Jameel Johnson, 2019’s Josh Mckensie, Antonio Alfano)
Berkeley Heights PAL
Bernards High School
Bishop McNamara (Maryland) Brandon Coleman’s alma mater 2016 ATH Ramel Johnson
Bound Brook High School
Boys' Latin of Philadelphia
Brick Twp High School (2017 ATH Ja’sir Taylor
Caldwell High School
Calvert Hall HS (2017 LB Tyshon Fogg)
Camden High School (2016’s Brad Hawkins, Dymelle Parker, Jamal Holloway)
Cardinal Hayes (2016 DB Tim Poindexter)
Cedar Creek High School (2016 target Ahmir Mitchell, 2017 ATH Bo Melton)
Cedar Grove High School (2017 WR Evidence Njoku)
Collingswood High School (2016 DB Jahmir King)
Colonia High School (2016 LB commit Solomon Manning)
Delaware Valley
Demarest
DePaul Catholic High School (2016’s Kareem Walker, Hasise Dubois, Terrell Vassell, Quay Alexander, ATH Shamir White
Don Bosco Prep (2016 DB Maryland commit Tyrone Hill, 2017 QB Tommy Devito, 2017 WR Elijah Singh, 2018 S Kevin Brennan)
Dumont High School
East Orange (2017 RB Isaiah Byrd)
Eastern Christian Academy (2017 QB Alex Barker, 2018 RB Leddie Brown, 2018 RB Jamir Washington)
Edison High School
Elmont Memorial High School
Watchung Hills
Fort Hamilton High School NYC (2017 RB Troy Booker)
Grand Street Campus (2016 Rutgers commits Ahmed Bah, Taysir Mack)
Harrisburg High School (2018 WR Quan Anderson)
Hillside High School
House of Sports
Immaculata High School
Indian Hills High School
JFK-- Iselin
John F. Kennedy - Patterson
John P. Stevens Edison
Lenape Valley High School
Liberty High School (2017 WR Darian Street)
Linden High School
Long Branch High School
Long Reach High School (Ron’Dell Carter’s alma mater)
MacArthur High School
Malvern Preparatory (Coached by Rutgers alum Aaron Brady)
Manalapan High School (2018 WR Symir Blacknall)
Manheim Twp High School
Martin Luther King Philly
Matawan High School (2018 QB George Pearson, 2016 DB Dejohn Rogers)
Memorial High School NJ
Middletown HS North (2017 QB Donald Glenn)
Montclair High School (2018 ATH Daniel Webb)
Mt. Pleasant HS Delaware
New Brunswick HS (Pitt commit ATH Maurice Ffrench)
Next Level Greats (2016 target Kelvin Harmon, 2017 target Everett Wormley, 2016 ATH Tyree Rodgers, 2016 South Carolina commit Brandon McIIwain)
Ocean Twp High School (2016 RB Tyler Thompson, 2017 QB Kenny Pickett)
Old Tappan (2016 target ATH Jordan Fuller)
Orange High School
Paramus High School
Patapsco HS & Center for the Arts Maryland
Pemberton Twp High School
Penns Grove HS (2017 LB Javar Garrett)
Potomac High School (2016 North Carolina commit DB Greg Ross, has Rutgers offer, 2017 RB Tayon Fleet Davis)
Ramapo High School
Roxbury High School
Sayreville War Memorial HS (2016 DB Linwood Crump)
Secaucus High School
Seton Hall Prep (new head coach Vito Campanile older brother of Rutgers WR coach Anthony)
Shenendehowa High School
South Brunswick High School (2016 Rutgers commit Mo Jabbie, 2016 target Phil Campbell, 2018 WR Justin Shorter)
South Windsor High School Connecticut
Spring Field Riffles NYC
St. Francis Prep (Coach Flood’s alma mater)
St. Joseph's Reg – Montvale (2017 ATH Jordan Scott, 2017 LB Louis Acceus, has Miami offer)
St. Joseph's Prep (2016 DB target Benny Walls, 2017 RB target D’Andre Swift, 2018 WR target Darryle Simmons)
St. Peter's Prep (2016 ATH target KJ Gray, 2017 QB offer Johnathan Lewis)
Susquehanna Twp High School
Union High School (2017 Target Mike Tverdov, 2016 WR Patrick Thomas)
Wallkill Senior High School
Wantagh High School
Warren Hills HS
Washington Twp HS
Weequahic High School (2016 S Shafi Harris, 2017 ATH Tymen Sampson)
West Chester East
West Essex High School
Whitehall High School
Woodbridge High School (2017 FS/WR Quaasim Glover)
What we will be watching for
Rutgers commits and targets in action
RU commits Mo Jabbie, Solomon Manning, Ahmed Bah and Taysir Mack will all be participating with their respective high schools teams and QB commit Anthony Russo will also be spending the day on campus. Expect them to find some of the targets and spend some time with prospects like Brad Hawkins, Kelvin Harmon, Ahmir Mitchell, Jordan Fuller and Philadelphia OL target John Carlo Valentin.
Who is Chase Claypool?
Saturday will be our first look at the native of British Columbia who’s been tearing it up on the recruiting scene, earning great praise at every camp he’s attended. While his future position isn’t clear, this could be Rutgers only chance to impress the big athlete with Notre Dame, Michigan and Oregon among his suitors.
Who walks away with an offer?
Calvert Hall class of 2017 LB Tyshon Fogg has been turning heads recently and has seen his recruitment start to take off already. The same can be said for Potomac (MD) 2017 RB Tayon Fleet Davis. There are a very talented group of 2018 prospects who could walk away with an offer after strong performances, like Harrisburg’s WR Quan Anderson, Don Bosco’s Kevin Brennan, the 2018 RB’s from Eastern Christian Academy. Lastly, Daniel Webb of Montclair, a varsity starter last year has grown to a legit 5-10 but still maintained his speed.
Camp season winding down
It will be a busy weekend for the Rutgers staff as the coaches will participate in the Washington DC version of the Sound Mind Sound Body camp today (Friday). Rivals regional analyst Adam Friedman will be in attendance. Expect many of the DMV’s top prospects to make an appearance. The day will serve as a good evaluation tool for Rutgers to expand their relationships in the region and build further ties going forward.
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