Quotables
Jerry Kill on turning the offense around:
“We’ve got our work cut out for us to do the things that I feel like we need to do to be successful.”
Lester Erb on his relationship with Rutgers O-Line coach AJ Blazek:
“AJ and I have known each other a long time because he played with us at Iowa and then he was a GA for us there. He is just a great human being and his family and my family have kind of been there for each other for the past 15 years. I think we are pretty close and I am looking forward to working with him.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Recruiting Positions of Need
5.) Punter
4.) Defensive Tackle
3.) Tight End
2.) Kicker
1.) Running Back
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers hoops and wrestling get a clean home sweep this weekend
Team Tidbits
Yesterday, NJ.com revealed that fifth-year senior Myles Nash will be moved from defensive end to tight end. Scarlet Nation has learned more details into that move, which may or may not be a permanent one. There will be an immediate need for tight ends during spring practice due to the fact that Miami transfer Jerome Washington and fourth-year junior George Behr are expected to miss the entire spring because of injury. That would leave Nakia Griffin-Stewart as the lone tight end, signaling an immediate need for more depth. Of those three tight ends mentioned, Griffin-Stewart is the only one to have played at Rutgers. That came last season in a lone appearance against Michigan State in which he played on special teams.
Nash has the ability to switch to offense and was actually recruited by a few schools to play offense coming out of Timber Creek High School. Once spring practice concludes, a determination will be made as to whether or not Nash will remain at tight end or switch back to defensive end. Last season, Nash played in every game and finished with six tackles, although he was very active coming off the bench as the first reserve defensive end in the rotation.
Recruiting Tidbits
’17 TE Mitch Lewis (Naperville North - IL)
After talking with Lewis, he told Scarlet Nation that Rutgers is waiting to receive his transcript before setting an official visit. He expects Rutgers to receive those transcripts soon as he just sent them out the other day. Lewis is hopeful of scheduling an official visit to Rutgers on the weekend of Jan 27th. His top FBS offers are from Buffalo, Bowling Green, Hawaii and Wyoming. With Jerry Kill now as the new OC, the staff is looking to recruit tall tight ends capable of playing upwards of 250 pounds.
’17 DE Ifeanyi Maijeh (Poly Prep - NY)
Rutgers has been quietly recruiting the Poly Prep senior and visited him for an in-home visit this past week as defensive backs coach Bill Busch stopped by to chat. The two discussed the possibility of a grayshirt option at Rutgers, but Maijeh told Scarlet Nation that he informed Busch that’s not something he’s interested at the moment. He did, however, say the visit still went pretty well. Currently, Maijeh is committed to New Hampshire.
’17 DT Corey Bolds (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
Rutgers is faring well with Bolds, who will make an official visit to Rutgers this weekend. One of the main competitors for Bolds has been Penn State, although there may not be a spot for Bolds at PSU, which bodes well for Rutgers. He may still take an official visit the following week to Ole Miss, although Rutgers is in a good spot here. With a good official visit weekend, Rutgers stands a very good chance of landing Bolds before signing day.
Alabama Visitors
In what has been an interesting and eventful recruitment, Alabama athlete Syhiem Simmons (Carver High) was set to visit Rutgers this coming weekend, but that looks to be on hold for another week. Rutgers visited Carver High School yesterday and also expressed interest in linebacker Tadarrius Patterson, who is told Scarlet Nation he is planning to visit Rutgers next weekend as well. That visit could come as a package.
“Syhiem Simmons tells me a lot about [Rutgers]. It would be fun playing in college with him," Patterson said yesterday.
Rutgers would likely secure a Simmons’ commitment if it pushed for one as he has been high on RU for some time.
“Coach Busch is my favorite coach on the staff. Him and I talk on the regular day basis usually about school and football,” Simmons said.
Next weekend’s scheduled visit for Simmons and Patterson could have a lot of moving parts, depending how this weekend shakes out. This one could wind up being an almost daily saga.
’17 DE Boye Mafe (Hopkins - MN)
Mafe was all set to visit Rutgers, but things changed later into the week as Minnesota has been turning up their pursuit. Mafe is now looking to visit Minnesota this weekend and is still looking to visit Rutgers on the 27th. There are a lot of factors that could affect that visit on both the Rutgers and Minnesota ends. If Rutgers starts loading up on commits, Mafe is likely to drop down as a priority and if his visit goes really well at Minnesota, he could choose to eliminate the RU visit. Mafe told Scarlet Nation that he hopes to decide next weekend, but this one could change at any moment.
’17 DB Ihmir Marsette (Weequahic - NJ)
Marsette is set to take his visit to Iowa this weekend, the only other visit he has scheduled. He informed Scarlet Nation that Coach Ash is planning on visiting him within days after he returns from his visit to Iowa.
'17 K/P Matt Ference (Lafayette - MO)
Since Rutgers has lost out on top putting target Tucker Day, the staff has been searching for another punter to join their class. Recently, they have been in contact with Ference, who is ranked the No.10 punter in the national 2017 class per Kohl’s kicking. The two are just in the beginning stages of talking at the moment.
Commits Recruiting
The Rutgers commits have been busy recruiting other prospects and that is showing no signs of stopping. Burlington Township wide receiver Everett Wormley already took his official visit, although he is planning to stop by campus this weekend for a bit to help out with some recruiting. Wormley continues to be active in trying to bring other prospects to Rutgers and expect that to continue through the weekend. Wormely is tight with Eddie Lewis, who is visiting this weekend and strongly considering Rutgers.
Union High commit Mike Tverdov has taken on the same approach and has been working on a couple of specific targets as well.
“I’m working on Axel [Nyembwe] from Maryland and I'm also recruiting Bryce [Watts] to come back too,” Tverdov told Scarlet Nation.
There is a chance that Nyembwe could stop by sometime this weekend as the staff and recruits’ efforts to make a push for him seem to be working. In regards to Watts, not much has changed since Scarlet Nation first reported that there’s a high chance of him committing to Virginia Tech over the weekend.
Weekend Official Visitor List
Here is a look at the list of official visitors, who will be on campus this weekend at Rutgers:
WR Eddie Lewis
TE Travis Vokolek
DE Tijuan Mason
DT Corey Bolds
DT George Ellis III
DT Terrence Harris (JUCO)
ATH Terence Dunlap
Jerry Kill on turning the offense around:
“We’ve got our work cut out for us to do the things that I feel like we need to do to be successful.”
Lester Erb on his relationship with Rutgers O-Line coach AJ Blazek:
“AJ and I have known each other a long time because he played with us at Iowa and then he was a GA for us there. He is just a great human being and his family and my family have kind of been there for each other for the past 15 years. I think we are pretty close and I am looking forward to working with him.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Recruiting Positions of Need
5.) Punter
4.) Defensive Tackle
3.) Tight End
2.) Kicker
1.) Running Back
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers hoops and wrestling get a clean home sweep this weekend
Team Tidbits
Yesterday, NJ.com revealed that fifth-year senior Myles Nash will be moved from defensive end to tight end. Scarlet Nation has learned more details into that move, which may or may not be a permanent one. There will be an immediate need for tight ends during spring practice due to the fact that Miami transfer Jerome Washington and fourth-year junior George Behr are expected to miss the entire spring because of injury. That would leave Nakia Griffin-Stewart as the lone tight end, signaling an immediate need for more depth. Of those three tight ends mentioned, Griffin-Stewart is the only one to have played at Rutgers. That came last season in a lone appearance against Michigan State in which he played on special teams.
Nash has the ability to switch to offense and was actually recruited by a few schools to play offense coming out of Timber Creek High School. Once spring practice concludes, a determination will be made as to whether or not Nash will remain at tight end or switch back to defensive end. Last season, Nash played in every game and finished with six tackles, although he was very active coming off the bench as the first reserve defensive end in the rotation.
Recruiting Tidbits
’17 TE Mitch Lewis (Naperville North - IL)
After talking with Lewis, he told Scarlet Nation that Rutgers is waiting to receive his transcript before setting an official visit. He expects Rutgers to receive those transcripts soon as he just sent them out the other day. Lewis is hopeful of scheduling an official visit to Rutgers on the weekend of Jan 27th. His top FBS offers are from Buffalo, Bowling Green, Hawaii and Wyoming. With Jerry Kill now as the new OC, the staff is looking to recruit tall tight ends capable of playing upwards of 250 pounds.
’17 DE Ifeanyi Maijeh (Poly Prep - NY)
Rutgers has been quietly recruiting the Poly Prep senior and visited him for an in-home visit this past week as defensive backs coach Bill Busch stopped by to chat. The two discussed the possibility of a grayshirt option at Rutgers, but Maijeh told Scarlet Nation that he informed Busch that’s not something he’s interested at the moment. He did, however, say the visit still went pretty well. Currently, Maijeh is committed to New Hampshire.
’17 DT Corey Bolds (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
Rutgers is faring well with Bolds, who will make an official visit to Rutgers this weekend. One of the main competitors for Bolds has been Penn State, although there may not be a spot for Bolds at PSU, which bodes well for Rutgers. He may still take an official visit the following week to Ole Miss, although Rutgers is in a good spot here. With a good official visit weekend, Rutgers stands a very good chance of landing Bolds before signing day.
Alabama Visitors
In what has been an interesting and eventful recruitment, Alabama athlete Syhiem Simmons (Carver High) was set to visit Rutgers this coming weekend, but that looks to be on hold for another week. Rutgers visited Carver High School yesterday and also expressed interest in linebacker Tadarrius Patterson, who is told Scarlet Nation he is planning to visit Rutgers next weekend as well. That visit could come as a package.
“Syhiem Simmons tells me a lot about [Rutgers]. It would be fun playing in college with him," Patterson said yesterday.
Rutgers would likely secure a Simmons’ commitment if it pushed for one as he has been high on RU for some time.
“Coach Busch is my favorite coach on the staff. Him and I talk on the regular day basis usually about school and football,” Simmons said.
Next weekend’s scheduled visit for Simmons and Patterson could have a lot of moving parts, depending how this weekend shakes out. This one could wind up being an almost daily saga.
’17 DE Boye Mafe (Hopkins - MN)
Mafe was all set to visit Rutgers, but things changed later into the week as Minnesota has been turning up their pursuit. Mafe is now looking to visit Minnesota this weekend and is still looking to visit Rutgers on the 27th. There are a lot of factors that could affect that visit on both the Rutgers and Minnesota ends. If Rutgers starts loading up on commits, Mafe is likely to drop down as a priority and if his visit goes really well at Minnesota, he could choose to eliminate the RU visit. Mafe told Scarlet Nation that he hopes to decide next weekend, but this one could change at any moment.
’17 DB Ihmir Marsette (Weequahic - NJ)
Marsette is set to take his visit to Iowa this weekend, the only other visit he has scheduled. He informed Scarlet Nation that Coach Ash is planning on visiting him within days after he returns from his visit to Iowa.
'17 K/P Matt Ference (Lafayette - MO)
Since Rutgers has lost out on top putting target Tucker Day, the staff has been searching for another punter to join their class. Recently, they have been in contact with Ference, who is ranked the No.10 punter in the national 2017 class per Kohl’s kicking. The two are just in the beginning stages of talking at the moment.
Commits Recruiting
The Rutgers commits have been busy recruiting other prospects and that is showing no signs of stopping. Burlington Township wide receiver Everett Wormley already took his official visit, although he is planning to stop by campus this weekend for a bit to help out with some recruiting. Wormley continues to be active in trying to bring other prospects to Rutgers and expect that to continue through the weekend. Wormely is tight with Eddie Lewis, who is visiting this weekend and strongly considering Rutgers.
Union High commit Mike Tverdov has taken on the same approach and has been working on a couple of specific targets as well.
“I’m working on Axel [Nyembwe] from Maryland and I'm also recruiting Bryce [Watts] to come back too,” Tverdov told Scarlet Nation.
There is a chance that Nyembwe could stop by sometime this weekend as the staff and recruits’ efforts to make a push for him seem to be working. In regards to Watts, not much has changed since Scarlet Nation first reported that there’s a high chance of him committing to Virginia Tech over the weekend.
Weekend Official Visitor List
Here is a look at the list of official visitors, who will be on campus this weekend at Rutgers:
WR Eddie Lewis
TE Travis Vokolek
DE Tijuan Mason
DT Corey Bolds
DT George Ellis III
DT Terrence Harris (JUCO)
ATH Terence Dunlap
