Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Keys to Success in 2015
5.) Solidifying the secondary
4.) Staying healthy
3.) Establishing a consistent pass rush
2.) Quarterback performance
1.) Offensive Line Play
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers next commit will line up in the secondary
Recruiting Tidbits
Freshmen News
S Najee Clayton
Clayton is currently not with his fellow incoming freshmen at Rutgers, but is instead trying to square away his academic situation. He told Scarlet Nation last night that he is ‘hopeful’ of qualifying by the time the start of the fall semester rolls around. Clayton came a long way in the classroom during his senior year at Paramus Catholic, but still needed to make up some ground. Nothing is yet final in this one and Scarlet Nation will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds.
S Al-Kadair Ports
The one-time commit from Weequahic High School will try to square away his academic situation at Nassau Community College this year. As an alternative to a one-year prep school like Milford Academy, it looks as though Ports will have to finish out two years at Nassau before he could move on to an FBS program where he would have three years to play two.
Class of 2016
DE Chinedu Udeogu – Georgetown Prep (Md.)
Udeogu was set to make an early August decision, although a California offer that was extended this past week has caused him to push back his decision. He told Scarlet Nation that he wants to visit Cal before deciding. Udegou has California ties as his brother, Oge, plays offensive line for San Francisco City College. Rutgers, Yale and East Carolina are still his top schools and RU has intensified its pursuit this past week.
“For the past week, I have been talking to d-line coach [Jim] Panagos a lot. We have been talking on the phone or by DM (Direct Message),” Udeogu said last night. “The contact has been heavy. I talk to them a lot. Rutgers is still one of my top choices.”
DE Karamo Dioubate – Prep Charter (Pa.)
Thus far, Dioubate has only visited Temple, Rutgers, Penn State and Ohio State. He is also planning to take two more unofficial visits to Alabama and Auburn. Any visits after that are likely to be official visits. Rutgers continue to pursue the four-star, who is Rivals.com’s 144th ranked player in the national class of 2016.
“I have a great relationship with Rutgers. I talk to coach Panagos a lot, I talk to the d-coordinator and all of those coaches over there,” Dioubate said on Thursday.
Dioubate also said that he has no favorites as of now and no specific timeline for a commitment, but will do so when he “feels like he is ready.”
Class of 2017
DE Luiji Vilain – Episcopal Academy (Va.)
A close friend of Patrice Rene, Vilain is joining his fellow Canadian at Episcopal Academy in Alexandria, Va. Vilain actually made the trip down to Virginia yesterday and also joined Rene at Ohio State’s Friday Night Lights camp last week. The Ohio State staff was supposed to call Vilain this week about a potential offer, although he has yet to hear from any of them. Vilain also said that Rutgers is one of the schools recruiting him the hardest.
“They really like me,” Vilain said of Rutgers. “They have been on me since I was in the ninth grade. They were the first school to offer me and they made it clear that they really like me and they want me to be part of their program.”
Vilain is Rivals.com’s 150th-ranked prospect in the class of 2017, although he surprisingly has offers from just five schools: Rutgers, Penn State, Minnesota, USF and Syracuse. He said not many coaches made the trip to see him up in Canada, although that is expected to change at Episcopal this season. It should be only a matter of time before he lands 30-plus offers. Vilain also confirmed that he has talked about playing at the same school as Rene and said “It has come up before but I am going to do what is best for me.”
Look for a full article with Vilain later on Scarlet Nation.
OL Ben Petrula – St. Peter’s Prep
The soon-to-be junior now holds six offers, including one from Rutgers. His most recent offer came from Boston College, which is the only school he camped at this summer. As his offer list continues to grow, Rutgers remains the school that was first in line. Petrula commented on how things are going with the Scarlet Knights.
“It is a good relationship. It is a school I am definitely looking into. My family is close and they were the first school to recruit me pretty heavily, which is also a big thing. I really like coach Flood. He is a good guy and I think would be a great head coach for me one day.”
Scarlet Nation on Location
Scarlet Nation Recruiting Analyst Shawn Brown will be on location in Stamford, CT on Saturday for the inaugural New York vs. New England 7-on-7 All-Star game. We will provide live updates and here is a look at some of the players we will be keeping an eye on.
Team New York
WR Ahmed Bah – Grand Street (Rutgers commit)
WR Taysir Mack – Grand Street (Rutgers commit)
Grand Street Campus’s dynamic duo will get one last tune-up before they start camp and attempt to take the next step towards the PSAL City Championship game.
WR CJ Turner – Eastridge (Class of 2017)
Turner is a small but dynamic prospect who received his first offer recently from Old Dominion. Rutgers is also keeping a close eye on Turner.
Team New England
QB CJ Lewis – Cheshire Academy (Conn.), Class of 2017
Lewis threw in front of the Rutgers staff during the first Skills Camp, which was the stronger of the two camps at the QB position. A classmate of WR offeree Tarik Black, Lewis has an offer from UConn already and has impressed the Scarlet Nation staff in other events this summer. He trains with renowned NJ QB coach Madei Williams, who also has Brandon Wimbush and Mike Dare as pupils.
QB Austin Burton – Newton South (Mass.), Class of 2017
Scarlet Nation saw Burton have a strong outing at the Pylon 7 on 7 with the Mass Elite All Stars this spring and he also threw the ball well at Michigan’s camp this summer. UMass has already offered but we could see Burton jump onto RU offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels’ radar this fall after throwing for over 3,900 yards last season.
RB CJ Holmes – Cheshire Academy (Conn.), Class of 2017
Holmes appears on the cusp of an offer from the Scarlet Knights after a strong Skills Camp, where he worked at both running back and cornerback.
WR Noah Gray – Leominster (Mass.), Class of 2017
He split QB duties with Burton at the Pylon event, but is a good enough athlete to project to multiple positions.
LB Blake Gallagher – St. Sebastian's (Mass.), Class of 2017
Gallagher figures to be one of the top LB recruits on the east coast in his respective class.
Eye on Rutgers
A lot is talked about recruiting hits and misses, but what about the recruits who nearly chose Rutgers? How have their respective careers panned out? Here is a look at how the recruiting misses in the classes of 2011 and 2012 have fared with the respective teams they chose over Rutgers.
(Note: This list includes only players who had RU among their finalists and in serious consideration)
Class of 2012
Old Tappan athlete Devin Fuller looked as though he was going to commit Rutgers prior to the Greg Schiano departure a week before signing day. Fuller wound up opting to attend UCLA, where he has thrived over the last three years and is likely to find a place in the NFL beyond this season.
Pennsylvania running back Greg Garmon was on high up on Rutgers’ board for a while, although he opted for Iowa instead. He lasted less than a year at Iowa and was arrested for his part in an armed home invasion in 2014.
Rutgers decided to pass on one-time RU lean Brandon Napoleon (St. Peter’s Prep), who committed to West Virginia and has since transferred out to FCS Northern Iowa. Franklin’s (N.J.) Kye Morgan tried to commit mid-summer, but RU had no spot left for him in what was a smaller class. However, RU tried to land him as a signing day commit after Kyle Flood pushed the issue in his first few days as head coach. Morgan said 'no thanks' and after pulling third and fourth string duties at Virginia, he is now playing backup safety at Stony Brook.
Pennsylvania linebacker Nyeem Wartman of Valley View High School was a prime target for RU even after he committed to Penn State. In that class, RU took another linebacker in Steve Longa, who has accumulated more than 100 tackles each of the last two seasons. Wartman has registered a combined 107 in the last two seasons. RU's other linebacker in that class was Quanzell Lambert.
Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) defensive back Wayne Morgan was a longtime target, but it seemed as though RU may have eased off a bit in the end. Morgan committed to Syracuse and played a backup role for his first two seasons while a knee injury limited him to just three games last year.
Rutgers extended quite a few offers out to prospects in Maryland and landed a commit in Franklin wide receiver Ian Thomas. DeMatha linebacker Sam Lebbie actually attempted to commit, although Rutgers eased off as there were some academic concerns. Lebbie found a home at Troy University after having to prep for a year and won the starting middle linebacker spot at Troy last season.
The only commit who did not remain after the Schiano to Flood transition was St. Peter’s Prep tight end Mike Giacone, who chose Boston College instead. Giacone has eight career starts in three years of playing but has yet to catch a pass.
RU was also close to a commitment from in-state linebacker Dan Mastromatteo of Holy Spirit. He wound up at UNC but has been limited to a reserve role in his time there.
Class of 2011
The two biggest near gets in this class were in-state products. Offensive lineman Josue Matias of Union City actually committed to Rutgers before de-committing and joining Florida State where he would go on to be a starter on the FSU 2014 national championship squad. Rutgers was even trying to flip Matias right up until signing day.
Rutgers was also in the hunt for Middletown North defensive end Shilique Calhoun who has emerged into one of the top pass rushers in the nation. Michigan State won his commitment as RU had to settle for second, although Calhoun was only the 21st-ranked NJ player in that class. When all is said and done, Calhoun is likely to be the best of that Garden State group.
Rutgers was also a finalist for Roxbury’s Angelo Mangiro and Sheldon Royster of St. Peter’s Prep. Mangiro has gone on to prove serviceable as a versatile starter at Penn State while Royster transferred to RU out of South Carolina and later left the Scarlet Knights without ever playing a down of college football.
Rutgers was in the race pretty late for Bergen Catholic quarterback Tanner McEvoy in what was a bit of an unusual recruitment. McEvoy had stints at South Carolina and Wisconsin but never really lived up to his lofty billing as a high school prospect with upwards of 20 offers.
The staff sent out some NY offers, nabbed two commits (Al Page, Quentin Gause) from the Empire State, and made decent ground with Flushing wide receiver Devon Cajuste, who committed rather early to Stanford, where he has hauled in 63 career receptions with one year left to play.
Henrietta (N.Y.) product Ashton Broyld experienced a bit of confusion as RU was on him for a while and he believed to have an offer late in the process. But academic concerns steered RU away and he wound up committing to Syracuse where he caught 74 passes before being dismissed from the program this past week for a violation of team policy.
Rutgers also attempted to go the JuCo route that season and was close to landing a commitment from California native Fou Fonati. The Scarlet Knights were edged out by Michigan State and Fonati made good at the college level, going on to become a two-year starter for the Spartans.
Rutgers was also in the running right up until Signing Day for Woodland Hills (Pa.) cornerback Lafayette Pitts, who had committed to RU for a short spell. However, Pitt also offered Pitts’ cousin and that package deal appeared to be too good to pass up. Pitts has since gone on to have an excellent career at Pitt, starting the last 39 consecutive games.
There was also a time when running back Chevelle Buie of Florida was one of RU’s top commits. Things went south and Buie wound up committing to East Carolina but never made it there. He played some JuCo ball but never made it to the Division 1 level.
Florida native Marquis Lucas was also a one-time RU commit and actually gave Scarlet Nation the exclusive news of his commitment around 2 a.m. one weekday morning. Lucas’ recruitment was a bit out of the ordinary as he re-opened things and later changed his pledge to West Virginia where he started all 13 games last season as a redshirt junior.
Top Five RU Keys to Success in 2015
5.) Solidifying the secondary
4.) Staying healthy
3.) Establishing a consistent pass rush
2.) Quarterback performance
1.) Offensive Line Play
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers next commit will line up in the secondary
Recruiting Tidbits
Freshmen News
S Najee Clayton
Clayton is currently not with his fellow incoming freshmen at Rutgers, but is instead trying to square away his academic situation. He told Scarlet Nation last night that he is ‘hopeful’ of qualifying by the time the start of the fall semester rolls around. Clayton came a long way in the classroom during his senior year at Paramus Catholic, but still needed to make up some ground. Nothing is yet final in this one and Scarlet Nation will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds.
S Al-Kadair Ports
The one-time commit from Weequahic High School will try to square away his academic situation at Nassau Community College this year. As an alternative to a one-year prep school like Milford Academy, it looks as though Ports will have to finish out two years at Nassau before he could move on to an FBS program where he would have three years to play two.
Class of 2016
DE Chinedu Udeogu – Georgetown Prep (Md.)
Udeogu was set to make an early August decision, although a California offer that was extended this past week has caused him to push back his decision. He told Scarlet Nation that he wants to visit Cal before deciding. Udegou has California ties as his brother, Oge, plays offensive line for San Francisco City College. Rutgers, Yale and East Carolina are still his top schools and RU has intensified its pursuit this past week.
“For the past week, I have been talking to d-line coach [Jim] Panagos a lot. We have been talking on the phone or by DM (Direct Message),” Udeogu said last night. “The contact has been heavy. I talk to them a lot. Rutgers is still one of my top choices.”
DE Karamo Dioubate – Prep Charter (Pa.)
Thus far, Dioubate has only visited Temple, Rutgers, Penn State and Ohio State. He is also planning to take two more unofficial visits to Alabama and Auburn. Any visits after that are likely to be official visits. Rutgers continue to pursue the four-star, who is Rivals.com’s 144th ranked player in the national class of 2016.
“I have a great relationship with Rutgers. I talk to coach Panagos a lot, I talk to the d-coordinator and all of those coaches over there,” Dioubate said on Thursday.
Dioubate also said that he has no favorites as of now and no specific timeline for a commitment, but will do so when he “feels like he is ready.”
Class of 2017
DE Luiji Vilain – Episcopal Academy (Va.)
A close friend of Patrice Rene, Vilain is joining his fellow Canadian at Episcopal Academy in Alexandria, Va. Vilain actually made the trip down to Virginia yesterday and also joined Rene at Ohio State’s Friday Night Lights camp last week. The Ohio State staff was supposed to call Vilain this week about a potential offer, although he has yet to hear from any of them. Vilain also said that Rutgers is one of the schools recruiting him the hardest.
“They really like me,” Vilain said of Rutgers. “They have been on me since I was in the ninth grade. They were the first school to offer me and they made it clear that they really like me and they want me to be part of their program.”
Vilain is Rivals.com’s 150th-ranked prospect in the class of 2017, although he surprisingly has offers from just five schools: Rutgers, Penn State, Minnesota, USF and Syracuse. He said not many coaches made the trip to see him up in Canada, although that is expected to change at Episcopal this season. It should be only a matter of time before he lands 30-plus offers. Vilain also confirmed that he has talked about playing at the same school as Rene and said “It has come up before but I am going to do what is best for me.”
Look for a full article with Vilain later on Scarlet Nation.
OL Ben Petrula – St. Peter’s Prep
The soon-to-be junior now holds six offers, including one from Rutgers. His most recent offer came from Boston College, which is the only school he camped at this summer. As his offer list continues to grow, Rutgers remains the school that was first in line. Petrula commented on how things are going with the Scarlet Knights.
“It is a good relationship. It is a school I am definitely looking into. My family is close and they were the first school to recruit me pretty heavily, which is also a big thing. I really like coach Flood. He is a good guy and I think would be a great head coach for me one day.”
Scarlet Nation on Location
Scarlet Nation Recruiting Analyst Shawn Brown will be on location in Stamford, CT on Saturday for the inaugural New York vs. New England 7-on-7 All-Star game. We will provide live updates and here is a look at some of the players we will be keeping an eye on.
Team New York
WR Ahmed Bah – Grand Street (Rutgers commit)
WR Taysir Mack – Grand Street (Rutgers commit)
Grand Street Campus’s dynamic duo will get one last tune-up before they start camp and attempt to take the next step towards the PSAL City Championship game.
WR CJ Turner – Eastridge (Class of 2017)
Turner is a small but dynamic prospect who received his first offer recently from Old Dominion. Rutgers is also keeping a close eye on Turner.
Team New England
QB CJ Lewis – Cheshire Academy (Conn.), Class of 2017
Lewis threw in front of the Rutgers staff during the first Skills Camp, which was the stronger of the two camps at the QB position. A classmate of WR offeree Tarik Black, Lewis has an offer from UConn already and has impressed the Scarlet Nation staff in other events this summer. He trains with renowned NJ QB coach Madei Williams, who also has Brandon Wimbush and Mike Dare as pupils.
QB Austin Burton – Newton South (Mass.), Class of 2017
Scarlet Nation saw Burton have a strong outing at the Pylon 7 on 7 with the Mass Elite All Stars this spring and he also threw the ball well at Michigan’s camp this summer. UMass has already offered but we could see Burton jump onto RU offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels’ radar this fall after throwing for over 3,900 yards last season.
RB CJ Holmes – Cheshire Academy (Conn.), Class of 2017
Holmes appears on the cusp of an offer from the Scarlet Knights after a strong Skills Camp, where he worked at both running back and cornerback.
WR Noah Gray – Leominster (Mass.), Class of 2017
He split QB duties with Burton at the Pylon event, but is a good enough athlete to project to multiple positions.
LB Blake Gallagher – St. Sebastian's (Mass.), Class of 2017
Gallagher figures to be one of the top LB recruits on the east coast in his respective class.
Eye on Rutgers
A lot is talked about recruiting hits and misses, but what about the recruits who nearly chose Rutgers? How have their respective careers panned out? Here is a look at how the recruiting misses in the classes of 2011 and 2012 have fared with the respective teams they chose over Rutgers.
(Note: This list includes only players who had RU among their finalists and in serious consideration)
Class of 2012
Old Tappan athlete Devin Fuller looked as though he was going to commit Rutgers prior to the Greg Schiano departure a week before signing day. Fuller wound up opting to attend UCLA, where he has thrived over the last three years and is likely to find a place in the NFL beyond this season.
Pennsylvania running back Greg Garmon was on high up on Rutgers’ board for a while, although he opted for Iowa instead. He lasted less than a year at Iowa and was arrested for his part in an armed home invasion in 2014.
Rutgers decided to pass on one-time RU lean Brandon Napoleon (St. Peter’s Prep), who committed to West Virginia and has since transferred out to FCS Northern Iowa. Franklin’s (N.J.) Kye Morgan tried to commit mid-summer, but RU had no spot left for him in what was a smaller class. However, RU tried to land him as a signing day commit after Kyle Flood pushed the issue in his first few days as head coach. Morgan said 'no thanks' and after pulling third and fourth string duties at Virginia, he is now playing backup safety at Stony Brook.
Pennsylvania linebacker Nyeem Wartman of Valley View High School was a prime target for RU even after he committed to Penn State. In that class, RU took another linebacker in Steve Longa, who has accumulated more than 100 tackles each of the last two seasons. Wartman has registered a combined 107 in the last two seasons. RU's other linebacker in that class was Quanzell Lambert.
Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.) defensive back Wayne Morgan was a longtime target, but it seemed as though RU may have eased off a bit in the end. Morgan committed to Syracuse and played a backup role for his first two seasons while a knee injury limited him to just three games last year.
Rutgers extended quite a few offers out to prospects in Maryland and landed a commit in Franklin wide receiver Ian Thomas. DeMatha linebacker Sam Lebbie actually attempted to commit, although Rutgers eased off as there were some academic concerns. Lebbie found a home at Troy University after having to prep for a year and won the starting middle linebacker spot at Troy last season.
The only commit who did not remain after the Schiano to Flood transition was St. Peter’s Prep tight end Mike Giacone, who chose Boston College instead. Giacone has eight career starts in three years of playing but has yet to catch a pass.
RU was also close to a commitment from in-state linebacker Dan Mastromatteo of Holy Spirit. He wound up at UNC but has been limited to a reserve role in his time there.
Class of 2011
The two biggest near gets in this class were in-state products. Offensive lineman Josue Matias of Union City actually committed to Rutgers before de-committing and joining Florida State where he would go on to be a starter on the FSU 2014 national championship squad. Rutgers was even trying to flip Matias right up until signing day.
Rutgers was also in the hunt for Middletown North defensive end Shilique Calhoun who has emerged into one of the top pass rushers in the nation. Michigan State won his commitment as RU had to settle for second, although Calhoun was only the 21st-ranked NJ player in that class. When all is said and done, Calhoun is likely to be the best of that Garden State group.
Rutgers was also a finalist for Roxbury’s Angelo Mangiro and Sheldon Royster of St. Peter’s Prep. Mangiro has gone on to prove serviceable as a versatile starter at Penn State while Royster transferred to RU out of South Carolina and later left the Scarlet Knights without ever playing a down of college football.
Rutgers was in the race pretty late for Bergen Catholic quarterback Tanner McEvoy in what was a bit of an unusual recruitment. McEvoy had stints at South Carolina and Wisconsin but never really lived up to his lofty billing as a high school prospect with upwards of 20 offers.
The staff sent out some NY offers, nabbed two commits (Al Page, Quentin Gause) from the Empire State, and made decent ground with Flushing wide receiver Devon Cajuste, who committed rather early to Stanford, where he has hauled in 63 career receptions with one year left to play.
Henrietta (N.Y.) product Ashton Broyld experienced a bit of confusion as RU was on him for a while and he believed to have an offer late in the process. But academic concerns steered RU away and he wound up committing to Syracuse where he caught 74 passes before being dismissed from the program this past week for a violation of team policy.
Rutgers also attempted to go the JuCo route that season and was close to landing a commitment from California native Fou Fonati. The Scarlet Knights were edged out by Michigan State and Fonati made good at the college level, going on to become a two-year starter for the Spartans.
Rutgers was also in the running right up until Signing Day for Woodland Hills (Pa.) cornerback Lafayette Pitts, who had committed to RU for a short spell. However, Pitt also offered Pitts’ cousin and that package deal appeared to be too good to pass up. Pitts has since gone on to have an excellent career at Pitt, starting the last 39 consecutive games.
There was also a time when running back Chevelle Buie of Florida was one of RU’s top commits. Things went south and Buie wound up committing to East Carolina but never made it there. He played some JuCo ball but never made it to the Division 1 level.
Florida native Marquis Lucas was also a one-time RU commit and actually gave Scarlet Nation the exclusive news of his commitment around 2 a.m. one weekday morning. Lucas’ recruitment was a bit out of the ordinary as he re-opened things and later changed his pledge to West Virginia where he started all 13 games last season as a redshirt junior.
