Quotables
Mike Rice on Austin Johnson’s recent good play:
“I just think he’s more comfortable coming off the bench. He’s more comfortable maybe not having some pressure put on him by his wack-a-doodle coach. He’s doing a very good job of explaining the system and talking to our freshman bigs. For some reason, it’s clicking.”
Mike Rice on Jerome Seagears becoming more under control:
“It’s a process with all the freshmen. There was a lot of conversations, a lot of film, a lot of explaining, that this is how point guards operate. This is how the great ones are. And still, not taking away his best attributes and that’s to go and to create. It’s been slowly but surely and we have a lot of work to do. It’s by all means not a finished product, but he’s definitely made great progress with that, his control.”
Dane Miller on the team gaining rhythm:
"It comes from practice: basically watching a lot of film together and talking to each other off the court.We're getting to a point where everything is a steady flow. Guys know where certain guys are going to be, how to pass the ball to certain guys, what plays to make and when to go. Now we're balanced, we're a more balanced team at both ends of the floor."
Fat Cat Top 5
Top 5 RU true freshmen in the last five years
5.) Joe Lefeged (2007)
4.) Steve Beauharnais (2009)
3.) Anthony Davis (2007)
2.) Tom Savage (2009)
1.) Mohamed Sanu (2009)
The Numbers Game
10.2 points per game average for Myles Mack
9th national ranking for Scott Winston according to InterMat
8 RU commits visiting this weekend
7 Scarlet Knights in the NFL playoffs this weekend
6 Big East games played so far for RU hoops
5 days until Ryan Brodie’s announcement ceremony
4 more home games for Rutgers basketball in the next six weeks
3 RU players invited to the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine
2 RU players appearing in Saturday’s East West Shrine Game
1 p.m. start time for RU wrestling at the RAC on Sunday against Navy
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
At least two weekend visitors will commit to Rutgers before Signing Day
Recruiting tidbits
Uncommitted Weekend Visitors
Darius Hamilton (Don Bosco)
This weekend is the all-important official visit to Rutgers for Hamilton. Members of the Scarlet Knight staff, along with Florida and Miami, met with Hamilton and his family this week, and despite a constant stream of interest from the Gators and a late push from the Hurricanes, RU remains in the lead for the defensive lineman’s services.
Hamilton is scheduled to announce his decision on Jan. 31. His mom was rumored to be visiting Florida this weekend while her son is in Piscataway, but a source close to the Don Bosco program said late Thursday night that he was unaware if such a visit was still taking place.
Devin Fuller (Old Tappan)
Notre Dame and UCLA may have dropped off the radar with recent QB commits while Baylor and Arizona are still fighting it out for his final official visit. Fuller is strongly considering RU and a top-notch visit could push Rutgers into the lead.
Ryan Brodie (Long Branch)
The much-anticipated Brodie decision will come next week as he is down to Rutgers and UConn. Brodie cancelled his planned trip to Miami on the 27th and things look very good for RU right now.
J.J. Denman (Pennsbury, Pa.)
Denman will make an official visit to Rutgers this weekend and the more big names that commit to Rutgers, the better chance Rutgers has with the Pennsylvania O-lineman, according to a source close to Denman. Pitt has made a strong push of late, but this weekend will be big as Denman will be around a host of big-time recruits.
Menelik Watson (Saddleback Junior College, Cal.)
The offensive tackle would likely come in and start right away and if transfer R.J. Dill works out at right tackle, Kaleb Johnson would slide down to a guard position. However, the chances of receiving a commitment at this point are slim. A source close to Watson claims Florida State is the team to beat.
Tashon Whitehurst (Gainsville, Fla.)
Right now, Whitehurst is not the highest ranked recruit on RU’s board and some other dominoes would have to fall for Whitehurst to wind up at RU. With a numbers crunch affecting how this class finishes it out, Whitehurst could fall out of the running but is still strongly considering flipping from his current 'soft' Syarcuse commitment.
Yuri Wright
It has been a rough month for Wright having been dropped by Michigan and Georgia and now he is no longer enrolled in Don Bosco. As of late Thursday night, Rutgers had not decided whether or not Wright would be part of the weekend visitor contingent as was previously planned. If RU does back off, it looks as though Wright will land at Colorado presuming the Buffalo coaching staff does not back off as well. Stay logged on to The Round Table for the latest developments.
Committed weekend visitors
Leonte Carroo (Don Bosco)
Carroo has remained quiet in the public but sources verified he has been lobbying hard on RU’s behalf to uncommitted prospects Hamilton and Fuller.
Michael Giacone (St. Peter’s Prep)
The tight end is anxious to get on campus this weekend and is looking forward to building a bond with his future teammates.
"I want to experience the Rutgers lifestyle and further my relationship with my future teammates and the other recruits," he said.
Steve Longa (Saddle Brook)
Longa has been one of the fastest risers of this recruiting season and he is doing his part to encourage fellow top 10 NJ players like Hamilton and Fuller to join him at Rutgers.
“I talk to them. I really hope they do stay home," Longa said. "…I try to recruit them as much as I can, because they're going to be a big help to what we have at Rutgers."
Chris Muller (Boyertown, Pa.)
Schiano stopped by Muller’s home yesterday as he made the rounds through Pennsylvania. A close friend of Denman’s, Muller continues to be in his ear about Rutgers.
Ruhann Peele (Linden)
Peele got things going in the class of 2012 as he was the Scarlet Knights’ first commit. Almost a year later, he will take his official visit.
“He's really excited," Linden head coach Deon Candia said. "He's been back and forth to Rutgers, he's been at practices. He's just excited to be able to connect with the players and the recruits."
Desmon Peoples and Brandon Arcidiacono (Archbishop Wood, Pa.)
Peoples was the second commit to the class of 2012 while Arcidiacono verballed a few months later. Both are eager to get on campus this weekend.
"Me and Arch talk about this visit every day," Peoples said. "We're excited. We can't wait to get out there and see how everything is and interact with our future teammates."
Julian Pinnix-Odrick (Montclair)
The big defensive end has been playing the part of a recruiter as of late and that looks as though it will continue through the weekend.
“I might try and say something to them, tell them that Rutgers is the place to be,” Pinnix-Odrick said of the uncommitted visitors. “We got a good thing going on here.”
Blake Rankin (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Rankin is recovering from a broken ankle and Wednesday was a big day as he was able to get back to walking with a boot on. His recovery is currently ahead of schedule.
2012 Recruits on the RU Radar
Evan Schwan (Central Dauphin, Pa.)
The defensive end received an in-home visit yesterday from RU head coach Greg Schiano and received a Rutgers offer. Schwan will have another Penn State visit and if he receives an offer, he would likely commit on the spot. RU would have to back door in on this one presuming PSU takes a pass.
Ian Thomas (Franklin, Md.)
Thomas will visit Iowa this weekend and UNC on the 27th and RU continues to remain on shakier ground, much shakier than it was a few weeks ago when things were a bit more solid between the two parties.
William Parks (Germantown, Pa.)
A Pitt commit, Parks has been on Rutgers’ radar as a possible late addition to this year’s recruiting class. He stands a rangy 6-foot-2 and weighs 180 pounds and he just completed his official visit to Pitt last weekend, where he met the new coaching staff.
“The visit was fantastic. I just don’t know how the coaches really feel about me,” Parks said. “It was great though.”
While he’s still committed to the Panthers, Parks admits he is “looking around.” He is also hearing from Arizona, Penn State and Rutgers, all of whom dropped in for visits this week. Arizona will get his final official next weekend, with Penn State and Rutgers in line for possible unofficial trips.
“All those schools are great,” Parks said. “They all seem really interested and are really good schools. They have good APR’s and everything like that.”
Frank Failace (Don Bosco)
Failace has already tripped to New Haven, with Stonehill in line for this weekend. A TE/H-back type, he profiles as an unselfish blocker with the ability to catch passes as well. Albany, Sacred Heart and Georgetown are all showing interest, along with Rutgers.
Jeff Hafley is Failace’s recruiter, and he has remained in contact. Failace, a 3.8 student, is close friends with Darius Hamilton.
Walk-on watch
Taj Hammery (Asbury Park)
Hammery was offered a preferred walk-on spot at Rutgers, but is leaning towards prepping this year at Hargrave Military Academy in Hargrave, Va.
Andrew Peterson (Charter School of Wilmington, Del)
Peterson will be taking an official visit next weekend as a walk-on candidate. Peterson, a 6-foot-4 200 pound wide receiver, is taking an official visit to Delaware this weekend and only has an offer from Grambling. A lot of teams in the CAA conference including Old Dominion, Towson, William & Mary and Villanova have also been recruiting him.
Conner Lyons (Hunterdon Central)
Lyons was recently approached by the RU staff for a preferred walk on spot at Rutgers. Lyons is a 6-foot-3, 220 linebacker, a position RU is desperately trying to deepen.
Aubrey Lewis (Montclair)
The oft-injured running back will visit RU next weekend and his decision will come down to Rutgers or a lower level school as he has fell off the recruiting radar with 1a schools.
Dane Dudick (New Hampton, NH)
The prep school defensive tackle will take an official visit to Rutgers on the 27th and is hopeful to get a scholarship offer. However, it looks as though the extent of his invitation to RU will be as a walk on as there are just too many players ahead of him on the RU board.
This post was edited on 1/20 1:25 AM by Bobby Deren
Mike Rice on Austin Johnson’s recent good play:
“I just think he’s more comfortable coming off the bench. He’s more comfortable maybe not having some pressure put on him by his wack-a-doodle coach. He’s doing a very good job of explaining the system and talking to our freshman bigs. For some reason, it’s clicking.”
Mike Rice on Jerome Seagears becoming more under control:
“It’s a process with all the freshmen. There was a lot of conversations, a lot of film, a lot of explaining, that this is how point guards operate. This is how the great ones are. And still, not taking away his best attributes and that’s to go and to create. It’s been slowly but surely and we have a lot of work to do. It’s by all means not a finished product, but he’s definitely made great progress with that, his control.”
Dane Miller on the team gaining rhythm:
"It comes from practice: basically watching a lot of film together and talking to each other off the court.We're getting to a point where everything is a steady flow. Guys know where certain guys are going to be, how to pass the ball to certain guys, what plays to make and when to go. Now we're balanced, we're a more balanced team at both ends of the floor."
Fat Cat Top 5
Top 5 RU true freshmen in the last five years
5.) Joe Lefeged (2007)
4.) Steve Beauharnais (2009)
3.) Anthony Davis (2007)
2.) Tom Savage (2009)
1.) Mohamed Sanu (2009)
The Numbers Game
10.2 points per game average for Myles Mack
9th national ranking for Scott Winston according to InterMat
8 RU commits visiting this weekend
7 Scarlet Knights in the NFL playoffs this weekend
6 Big East games played so far for RU hoops
5 days until Ryan Brodie’s announcement ceremony
4 more home games for Rutgers basketball in the next six weeks
3 RU players invited to the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine
2 RU players appearing in Saturday’s East West Shrine Game
1 p.m. start time for RU wrestling at the RAC on Sunday against Navy
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
At least two weekend visitors will commit to Rutgers before Signing Day
Recruiting tidbits
Uncommitted Weekend Visitors
Darius Hamilton (Don Bosco)
This weekend is the all-important official visit to Rutgers for Hamilton. Members of the Scarlet Knight staff, along with Florida and Miami, met with Hamilton and his family this week, and despite a constant stream of interest from the Gators and a late push from the Hurricanes, RU remains in the lead for the defensive lineman’s services.
Hamilton is scheduled to announce his decision on Jan. 31. His mom was rumored to be visiting Florida this weekend while her son is in Piscataway, but a source close to the Don Bosco program said late Thursday night that he was unaware if such a visit was still taking place.
Devin Fuller (Old Tappan)
Notre Dame and UCLA may have dropped off the radar with recent QB commits while Baylor and Arizona are still fighting it out for his final official visit. Fuller is strongly considering RU and a top-notch visit could push Rutgers into the lead.
Ryan Brodie (Long Branch)
The much-anticipated Brodie decision will come next week as he is down to Rutgers and UConn. Brodie cancelled his planned trip to Miami on the 27th and things look very good for RU right now.
J.J. Denman (Pennsbury, Pa.)
Denman will make an official visit to Rutgers this weekend and the more big names that commit to Rutgers, the better chance Rutgers has with the Pennsylvania O-lineman, according to a source close to Denman. Pitt has made a strong push of late, but this weekend will be big as Denman will be around a host of big-time recruits.
Menelik Watson (Saddleback Junior College, Cal.)
The offensive tackle would likely come in and start right away and if transfer R.J. Dill works out at right tackle, Kaleb Johnson would slide down to a guard position. However, the chances of receiving a commitment at this point are slim. A source close to Watson claims Florida State is the team to beat.
Tashon Whitehurst (Gainsville, Fla.)
Right now, Whitehurst is not the highest ranked recruit on RU’s board and some other dominoes would have to fall for Whitehurst to wind up at RU. With a numbers crunch affecting how this class finishes it out, Whitehurst could fall out of the running but is still strongly considering flipping from his current 'soft' Syarcuse commitment.
Yuri Wright
It has been a rough month for Wright having been dropped by Michigan and Georgia and now he is no longer enrolled in Don Bosco. As of late Thursday night, Rutgers had not decided whether or not Wright would be part of the weekend visitor contingent as was previously planned. If RU does back off, it looks as though Wright will land at Colorado presuming the Buffalo coaching staff does not back off as well. Stay logged on to The Round Table for the latest developments.
Committed weekend visitors
Leonte Carroo (Don Bosco)
Carroo has remained quiet in the public but sources verified he has been lobbying hard on RU’s behalf to uncommitted prospects Hamilton and Fuller.
Michael Giacone (St. Peter’s Prep)
The tight end is anxious to get on campus this weekend and is looking forward to building a bond with his future teammates.
"I want to experience the Rutgers lifestyle and further my relationship with my future teammates and the other recruits," he said.
Steve Longa (Saddle Brook)
Longa has been one of the fastest risers of this recruiting season and he is doing his part to encourage fellow top 10 NJ players like Hamilton and Fuller to join him at Rutgers.
“I talk to them. I really hope they do stay home," Longa said. "…I try to recruit them as much as I can, because they're going to be a big help to what we have at Rutgers."
Chris Muller (Boyertown, Pa.)
Schiano stopped by Muller’s home yesterday as he made the rounds through Pennsylvania. A close friend of Denman’s, Muller continues to be in his ear about Rutgers.
Ruhann Peele (Linden)
Peele got things going in the class of 2012 as he was the Scarlet Knights’ first commit. Almost a year later, he will take his official visit.
“He's really excited," Linden head coach Deon Candia said. "He's been back and forth to Rutgers, he's been at practices. He's just excited to be able to connect with the players and the recruits."
Desmon Peoples and Brandon Arcidiacono (Archbishop Wood, Pa.)
Peoples was the second commit to the class of 2012 while Arcidiacono verballed a few months later. Both are eager to get on campus this weekend.
"Me and Arch talk about this visit every day," Peoples said. "We're excited. We can't wait to get out there and see how everything is and interact with our future teammates."
Julian Pinnix-Odrick (Montclair)
The big defensive end has been playing the part of a recruiter as of late and that looks as though it will continue through the weekend.
“I might try and say something to them, tell them that Rutgers is the place to be,” Pinnix-Odrick said of the uncommitted visitors. “We got a good thing going on here.”
Blake Rankin (Bloomsburg, Pa.)
Rankin is recovering from a broken ankle and Wednesday was a big day as he was able to get back to walking with a boot on. His recovery is currently ahead of schedule.
2012 Recruits on the RU Radar
Evan Schwan (Central Dauphin, Pa.)
The defensive end received an in-home visit yesterday from RU head coach Greg Schiano and received a Rutgers offer. Schwan will have another Penn State visit and if he receives an offer, he would likely commit on the spot. RU would have to back door in on this one presuming PSU takes a pass.
Ian Thomas (Franklin, Md.)
Thomas will visit Iowa this weekend and UNC on the 27th and RU continues to remain on shakier ground, much shakier than it was a few weeks ago when things were a bit more solid between the two parties.
William Parks (Germantown, Pa.)
A Pitt commit, Parks has been on Rutgers’ radar as a possible late addition to this year’s recruiting class. He stands a rangy 6-foot-2 and weighs 180 pounds and he just completed his official visit to Pitt last weekend, where he met the new coaching staff.
“The visit was fantastic. I just don’t know how the coaches really feel about me,” Parks said. “It was great though.”
While he’s still committed to the Panthers, Parks admits he is “looking around.” He is also hearing from Arizona, Penn State and Rutgers, all of whom dropped in for visits this week. Arizona will get his final official next weekend, with Penn State and Rutgers in line for possible unofficial trips.
“All those schools are great,” Parks said. “They all seem really interested and are really good schools. They have good APR’s and everything like that.”
Frank Failace (Don Bosco)
Failace has already tripped to New Haven, with Stonehill in line for this weekend. A TE/H-back type, he profiles as an unselfish blocker with the ability to catch passes as well. Albany, Sacred Heart and Georgetown are all showing interest, along with Rutgers.
Jeff Hafley is Failace’s recruiter, and he has remained in contact. Failace, a 3.8 student, is close friends with Darius Hamilton.
Walk-on watch
Taj Hammery (Asbury Park)
Hammery was offered a preferred walk-on spot at Rutgers, but is leaning towards prepping this year at Hargrave Military Academy in Hargrave, Va.
Andrew Peterson (Charter School of Wilmington, Del)
Peterson will be taking an official visit next weekend as a walk-on candidate. Peterson, a 6-foot-4 200 pound wide receiver, is taking an official visit to Delaware this weekend and only has an offer from Grambling. A lot of teams in the CAA conference including Old Dominion, Towson, William & Mary and Villanova have also been recruiting him.
Conner Lyons (Hunterdon Central)
Lyons was recently approached by the RU staff for a preferred walk on spot at Rutgers. Lyons is a 6-foot-3, 220 linebacker, a position RU is desperately trying to deepen.
Aubrey Lewis (Montclair)
The oft-injured running back will visit RU next weekend and his decision will come down to Rutgers or a lower level school as he has fell off the recruiting radar with 1a schools.
Dane Dudick (New Hampton, NH)
The prep school defensive tackle will take an official visit to Rutgers on the 27th and is hopeful to get a scholarship offer. However, it looks as though the extent of his invitation to RU will be as a walk on as there are just too many players ahead of him on the RU board.
This post was edited on 1/20 1:25 AM by Bobby Deren
