Quotables
Razohnn Gross on his RU wrestling teammates:
“These are a great group of guys and I am so happy they accepted me into the program; the coaches and players. I can’t say enough about them.”
Steve Pikiell on RU losing by 12 in 2nd half to Northwestern after leading by 3 at the break:
“You have to make some shots. I think that's part of it and offensive rebounds really hurt us tonight. I thought they kept a lot of balls alive. You need a couple of breaks, too. You need a couple of shot to go in and a couple of whistles to go our way. Those things would have helped us, but again, we played a good team, a very good passing team with a lot of weapons and I thought we had a good game plan. I thought we played extremely hard throughout the game. D [DeShawn Freeman] did a good job of leading us and has done a very good job with that the last two games. I think Corey [Sanders] and the other guys are fighting, which I like.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Freshman Impacts in 2017
5.) Johnathan Lewis
4.) Olakunle Fatukasi
3.) Tyshonn Fogg
2.) Bo Melton
1.) Micah Clark
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will get at least three commits on its Jan 20th official visit weekend
Recruiting Tidbits
’17 WR Everett Wormley (Burlington Twp - NJ)
Wormley confirmed with Scarlet Nation that Coach Kill will be coming over his house on Saturday for an in-home visit. This will mark the first time Kill has been on an in-home visit since joining the Scarlet Knights.
’17 DE Brendan Bordner (Hilliard Bradley – OH)
It will not be long before Bordner is on campus as he is enrolling for the spring semester which begins next week. He also has some early plans for this coming season.
“I'm not usually a big goal guy, but I'd like of course play and definitely have a good game against Ohio State. Not necessarily a grudge against Ohio State, but it'd be great to have a good game against the team I grew up rooting for. If I end up redshirting though I just want to get in the weight room as much as possible.”
’17 DT Axel Nyembwe (The Avalon Scool - MD)
After talking a little bit with Nyembwe, he confirmed with Scarlet Nation that while he is still committed to Duke at the moment he is hearing more from the Rutgers coaches. That could play a part in his final decision as the RU staff has been showing no signs of letting up and cannot be faulted for a lack of effort in this recruitment.
’18 QB Johnny Langan (Bergen Catholic - NJ)
After talking a little bit back and forth with Langan, he confirmed that new Rutgers OC Jerry Kill is going to be at Bergen Catholic on Friday to come talk to him and introduce himself.
“I think the new OC will offer me pretty soon,” Langan said.
This could mean that the RU staff could be pursuing a new QB target in Langan as he has the potential to move up on the RU board for the class of 2018.
'18 Lucas Nunez (Cardinal Hayes - NY)
Nunez has a skilllset very similar to former RU wide receiver Tim Brown, who was not the biggest receiver, but one that made plays. Rutgers is the first to get in on Nunez with an offer and Cardinal Hayes assistant coach George Lanese commented on the junior wide receiver.
"Lucas is a very explosive player that can score any time he touches the ball. He is an exceptional and humble athlete willing to learn and put in the work to be great."
RU has a 2017 commit from Cardinal Hayes in Shameen Jones and this could be the beginning of an ongoing pipeline as the Bronx school is filled with a lot of young talent.
’18 QB Devin Leary (Timber Creek - NJ)
The South Jersey signal-caller is coming off a stellar season and continues to be a priority recruit for the Scarlet Knights.
“I usually talk with coaches Ash and Hewitt the most. They really like me a ton and believe I can fit into their offense and help start the future of Rutgers football,” Leary said. “Ash usually explains everything he has planned for the future and everything he is putting into Rutgers as well as my ability to just fit the system he runs. I will attending Rutgers junior day at the end of this month."
’18 LB Robert Snead (Queen of Peace - NJ)
The local linebacker has not shied away from showing his high opinion of his home state school and the RU staff has also taken notice of Snead. He is expecting a visit from the staff sometime in the next week.
“I’m not sure yet what exact day, but Coach Busch said he is going to come out to my school and talk to me,” Snead said. “The staff is giving me time to get my grades back because I missed six weeks of school from foot fracture."
’18 LB Vinny DePalma (DePaul Catholic - NJ)
Rutgers has already identified the North Jersey linebacker as a target in the class of 2018 and he offered an update on the latest in his recruitment.
“Right now I’m not doing much, just getting fired up for the dead period to be over and for spring ball coming up. I’m hearing from Duke, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Wake Forest and Navy at the moment. I’m also talking a lot with Coach Busch from Rutgers and he just tells me they are excited for me to get down to there for the teams junior day."4
’17 Samuel Vretman (Cheshire Academy - CT)
The early enrollee will be at Rutgers in Sunday and is set to begin his career as a Scarlet Knight. he mentioned what he is looking forward to most.
“I’m looking forward to just starting with my weight lifting program and taking some classes. I want to figure out my schedule as fast as possible so I can get into my daily routines as soon as possible.”
Grad Transfer Update
Grad transfer Khaliel Rodgers, who is leaving USC, is still considering Rutgers, although the Scarlet Knights still need to move past some other schools. The Delaware native likes the proximity to Rutgers, but there is no rush to make a decision since Rodgers still has to finish out the spring semester at USC. Expect the RU coaching staff to continue to push for Rodgers as this one may last well beyond signing day.
Junior Day Visitors
Rutgers’ Junior Day will take place a lot earlier this year and here is a list of the confirmed visitors for the Jan 29th date in Piscataway.
QB Devin Leary (Timber Creek - NJ)
QB George Pearson (Mater Dei Prep - NJ)
WR Taj Harris (Palmyra - NJ)
WR Lucas Nunez (Cardinal Hayes - NY)
WR Jackson Parham (Hillsborough - NJ)
WR Jasiah Provillon (Irvington - NJ)
TE Henry Pearson (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
TE Elijah McAllister (Rumson Fair Haven - NJ)
OL Evan Lovell (Peddie School - NJ)
OL Qadir White (Cardinal Hayes - NY)
OL Chris Bleich (Wyoming Valley - PA)
DE Tyler Friday (Don Bosco - NJ)
LB Vinny DePalma (DePaul Catholic - NJ)
LB Robert Snead (Queen of Peace - NJ)
LB Nick DeNucci (Pope John XXIII - NJ)
LB Jahan Worth (Parkland - PA)
DB Isaih Pacheo (Vineland - NJ)
DB Shayne Simon (St. Peter’s Prep - NJ)
Razohnn Gross on his RU wrestling teammates:
“These are a great group of guys and I am so happy they accepted me into the program; the coaches and players. I can’t say enough about them.”
Steve Pikiell on RU losing by 12 in 2nd half to Northwestern after leading by 3 at the break:
“You have to make some shots. I think that's part of it and offensive rebounds really hurt us tonight. I thought they kept a lot of balls alive. You need a couple of breaks, too. You need a couple of shot to go in and a couple of whistles to go our way. Those things would have helped us, but again, we played a good team, a very good passing team with a lot of weapons and I thought we had a good game plan. I thought we played extremely hard throughout the game. D [DeShawn Freeman] did a good job of leading us and has done a very good job with that the last two games. I think Corey [Sanders] and the other guys are fighting, which I like.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Freshman Impacts in 2017
5.) Johnathan Lewis
4.) Olakunle Fatukasi
3.) Tyshonn Fogg
2.) Bo Melton
1.) Micah Clark
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will get at least three commits on its Jan 20th official visit weekend
Recruiting Tidbits
’17 WR Everett Wormley (Burlington Twp - NJ)
Wormley confirmed with Scarlet Nation that Coach Kill will be coming over his house on Saturday for an in-home visit. This will mark the first time Kill has been on an in-home visit since joining the Scarlet Knights.
’17 DE Brendan Bordner (Hilliard Bradley – OH)
It will not be long before Bordner is on campus as he is enrolling for the spring semester which begins next week. He also has some early plans for this coming season.
“I'm not usually a big goal guy, but I'd like of course play and definitely have a good game against Ohio State. Not necessarily a grudge against Ohio State, but it'd be great to have a good game against the team I grew up rooting for. If I end up redshirting though I just want to get in the weight room as much as possible.”
’17 DT Axel Nyembwe (The Avalon Scool - MD)
After talking a little bit with Nyembwe, he confirmed with Scarlet Nation that while he is still committed to Duke at the moment he is hearing more from the Rutgers coaches. That could play a part in his final decision as the RU staff has been showing no signs of letting up and cannot be faulted for a lack of effort in this recruitment.
’18 QB Johnny Langan (Bergen Catholic - NJ)
After talking a little bit back and forth with Langan, he confirmed that new Rutgers OC Jerry Kill is going to be at Bergen Catholic on Friday to come talk to him and introduce himself.
“I think the new OC will offer me pretty soon,” Langan said.
This could mean that the RU staff could be pursuing a new QB target in Langan as he has the potential to move up on the RU board for the class of 2018.
'18 Lucas Nunez (Cardinal Hayes - NY)
Nunez has a skilllset very similar to former RU wide receiver Tim Brown, who was not the biggest receiver, but one that made plays. Rutgers is the first to get in on Nunez with an offer and Cardinal Hayes assistant coach George Lanese commented on the junior wide receiver.
"Lucas is a very explosive player that can score any time he touches the ball. He is an exceptional and humble athlete willing to learn and put in the work to be great."
RU has a 2017 commit from Cardinal Hayes in Shameen Jones and this could be the beginning of an ongoing pipeline as the Bronx school is filled with a lot of young talent.
’18 QB Devin Leary (Timber Creek - NJ)
The South Jersey signal-caller is coming off a stellar season and continues to be a priority recruit for the Scarlet Knights.
“I usually talk with coaches Ash and Hewitt the most. They really like me a ton and believe I can fit into their offense and help start the future of Rutgers football,” Leary said. “Ash usually explains everything he has planned for the future and everything he is putting into Rutgers as well as my ability to just fit the system he runs. I will attending Rutgers junior day at the end of this month."
’18 LB Robert Snead (Queen of Peace - NJ)
The local linebacker has not shied away from showing his high opinion of his home state school and the RU staff has also taken notice of Snead. He is expecting a visit from the staff sometime in the next week.
“I’m not sure yet what exact day, but Coach Busch said he is going to come out to my school and talk to me,” Snead said. “The staff is giving me time to get my grades back because I missed six weeks of school from foot fracture."
’18 LB Vinny DePalma (DePaul Catholic - NJ)
Rutgers has already identified the North Jersey linebacker as a target in the class of 2018 and he offered an update on the latest in his recruitment.
“Right now I’m not doing much, just getting fired up for the dead period to be over and for spring ball coming up. I’m hearing from Duke, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Wake Forest and Navy at the moment. I’m also talking a lot with Coach Busch from Rutgers and he just tells me they are excited for me to get down to there for the teams junior day."4
’17 Samuel Vretman (Cheshire Academy - CT)
The early enrollee will be at Rutgers in Sunday and is set to begin his career as a Scarlet Knight. he mentioned what he is looking forward to most.
“I’m looking forward to just starting with my weight lifting program and taking some classes. I want to figure out my schedule as fast as possible so I can get into my daily routines as soon as possible.”
Grad Transfer Update
Grad transfer Khaliel Rodgers, who is leaving USC, is still considering Rutgers, although the Scarlet Knights still need to move past some other schools. The Delaware native likes the proximity to Rutgers, but there is no rush to make a decision since Rodgers still has to finish out the spring semester at USC. Expect the RU coaching staff to continue to push for Rodgers as this one may last well beyond signing day.
Junior Day Visitors
Rutgers’ Junior Day will take place a lot earlier this year and here is a list of the confirmed visitors for the Jan 29th date in Piscataway.
QB Devin Leary (Timber Creek - NJ)
QB George Pearson (Mater Dei Prep - NJ)
WR Taj Harris (Palmyra - NJ)
WR Lucas Nunez (Cardinal Hayes - NY)
WR Jackson Parham (Hillsborough - NJ)
WR Jasiah Provillon (Irvington - NJ)
TE Henry Pearson (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
TE Elijah McAllister (Rumson Fair Haven - NJ)
OL Evan Lovell (Peddie School - NJ)
OL Qadir White (Cardinal Hayes - NY)
OL Chris Bleich (Wyoming Valley - PA)
DE Tyler Friday (Don Bosco - NJ)
LB Vinny DePalma (DePaul Catholic - NJ)
LB Robert Snead (Queen of Peace - NJ)
LB Nick DeNucci (Pope John XXIII - NJ)
LB Jahan Worth (Parkland - PA)
DB Isaih Pacheo (Vineland - NJ)
DB Shayne Simon (St. Peter’s Prep - NJ)
