Quotables
Chris Ash on making use of the bye week:
“Our time in the off week has been really studying ourselves to see what is our best personnel, what gives us the best chance to move the ball and sustain drives and put points on the board?”
Johnathan Lewis on his playing weight:
“I have been going up and down, going down to 233 [pounds] and a couple of days later I will be back up to 240. It just depends on how much I sweat at practice.”
Robert Martin on what he is hoping to do on Saturday:
“I need to be more vocal. I just need to come in and compete like I have been doing. I need to give the offense a spark, keep them up on the sidelines, even if we are losing. And if we are winning, we still have to keep our foot on the pedal.”
Isaiah Wharton on losing to Illinois last season:
“We definitely missed an opportunity last year. That was definitely a winnable game for us. We have a chip on our shoulder.”
Jay Niemann on Rutgers’ linebacker play:
We have been a little more inconsistent than what I would have preferred. We’ve had some times where we’ve misfit a couple of plays and that costs us some rushing yards. I think as you look at people across the country, that happens in every defense. But we definitely have to be more precise in those fits and get a little bit more clean on them. A couple things in pass coverage, sometimes its matchups and in some cases, it is just not being in the right spot.
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Offensive Keys to victory over Illinois
5.) Keep penalties to a minimum
4.) Formidable QB play
3.) No turnovers
2.) Win the line of scrimmage
1.) Establish the run
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers' next commit will hail from a familiar program
The Numbers Game
10 touchbacks this season for kicker Justin Davidovicz
9 passing TDs against Rutgers this season
8 career return TDs for Janarion Grant (5 kickoff, 3 punt)
7 Players on the RU defense have started every game
6 tackles for freshman LB Tyshon Fogg in 2 game appearances
5 NJ commits in Rutgers’ class of 2018
4 QBs have taken snaps this season for Rutgers
3rd ranked punting average in Big Ten for Ryan Anderson
2 sacks for Darnell Davis (leads Rutgers)
1 rushing play over 30 yards this season for Rutgers (Raheem Blackshear)
Recruiting Tidbits
’18 TE Matt Alaimo (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)
Originally, RU secondary Coach Bill Busch was the point man for the Big North and all kids in that area. However, when it comes to Alaimo things have changed. Head coach Chris Ash has been the one reaching out the most to Alaimo recently, and he’s been talking with him almost on a daily basis. Ash also was at the recent Don Bosco vs. St. Joe’s game to see Alaimo and others play. Rutgers is still very much recruiting Alaimo despite his commitment to Pittsburgh. The staff is in the process of trying to convince him to take an official visit to Rutgers. This is something to keep an eye on.
’18 DE Kaymar Mimes (Long Branch - NJ)
A person close to Mimes told Scarlet Nation he isn’t holding his breath waiting for Michigan State, Penn State or other programs who have showed interest in the past. Mimes still isn’t 100% sure if he will take an official visit to Rutger, due to him already being very familiar with the program. Things are trending well for Mimes as he likes Rutgers a lot at the moment. We will have more clarity on this one after he takes his official visit to Wake Forest on Oct 28th.
’18 ATH Taymon Cooke (Graham - VA)
We haven’t heard a whole lot about Cooke recently as it seemed his focus was on other schools. However, the Rutgers staff has been reaching out in hopes to get Cooke to come up north for an official visit. Cooke is currently ranked a three-star and expected to play wide receiver at the college level. This would be a replacement for recent wide receiver decommit EJ Turner. Cooke has accumulated six FBS offers and a host of FCS ones as well. As of now, West Virginia looks like the team to beat as he is expected to be in Morgantown this weekend. If he comes out of there without committing, expect things to pick up with Rutgers.
’18 WR Austin Alexander (St. Thomas More – CT)
Things are really picking up between Rutgers and Alexander as Chris Ash is staying in frequent contact through the week. Alexander is expected to be on the RU campus Sunday as he’s suddenly moved up quite a bit on the RU board. The 6-foot-5 Alexander would fill the vacancy left by Turner at wide receiver and he is also very interested in Rutgers.
18 RB Jermar Jefferson (Narbonne - CA)
The Scarlet Knights currently have two running back commits secured in the class of 2018. However, that hasn’t stopped the staff from maintaining talks with Jefferson, who is a teammate of RU quarterback commit Jalen Chatman. The staff still reaches out once in a while to see what’s going on with Jefferson. It might be something, it might be nothing. Either way it’s something to keep an eye on.
Recruiting shakeup
Al series of unfortunate events have shaken things up at Paramus Catholic High School and Penn State commit Dorian Hardy was in the midst of that turmoil. He has since transferred to Elizabeth High School and there are rumors that Penn State could try to part ways with him. If that happens, it could open the door for Penn State to get back into things with Don Bosco defensive linemen Tyler Friday and Marcellus Earlington. That would provide more competition in the race for that duo, although the Scarlet Knights continue to do well with each of those prospects.
Chris Ash on making use of the bye week:
“Our time in the off week has been really studying ourselves to see what is our best personnel, what gives us the best chance to move the ball and sustain drives and put points on the board?”
Johnathan Lewis on his playing weight:
“I have been going up and down, going down to 233 [pounds] and a couple of days later I will be back up to 240. It just depends on how much I sweat at practice.”
Robert Martin on what he is hoping to do on Saturday:
“I need to be more vocal. I just need to come in and compete like I have been doing. I need to give the offense a spark, keep them up on the sidelines, even if we are losing. And if we are winning, we still have to keep our foot on the pedal.”
Isaiah Wharton on losing to Illinois last season:
“We definitely missed an opportunity last year. That was definitely a winnable game for us. We have a chip on our shoulder.”
Jay Niemann on Rutgers’ linebacker play:
We have been a little more inconsistent than what I would have preferred. We’ve had some times where we’ve misfit a couple of plays and that costs us some rushing yards. I think as you look at people across the country, that happens in every defense. But we definitely have to be more precise in those fits and get a little bit more clean on them. A couple things in pass coverage, sometimes its matchups and in some cases, it is just not being in the right spot.
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Offensive Keys to victory over Illinois
5.) Keep penalties to a minimum
4.) Formidable QB play
3.) No turnovers
2.) Win the line of scrimmage
1.) Establish the run
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers' next commit will hail from a familiar program
The Numbers Game
10 touchbacks this season for kicker Justin Davidovicz
9 passing TDs against Rutgers this season
8 career return TDs for Janarion Grant (5 kickoff, 3 punt)
7 Players on the RU defense have started every game
6 tackles for freshman LB Tyshon Fogg in 2 game appearances
5 NJ commits in Rutgers’ class of 2018
4 QBs have taken snaps this season for Rutgers
3rd ranked punting average in Big Ten for Ryan Anderson
2 sacks for Darnell Davis (leads Rutgers)
1 rushing play over 30 yards this season for Rutgers (Raheem Blackshear)
Recruiting Tidbits
’18 TE Matt Alaimo (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)
Originally, RU secondary Coach Bill Busch was the point man for the Big North and all kids in that area. However, when it comes to Alaimo things have changed. Head coach Chris Ash has been the one reaching out the most to Alaimo recently, and he’s been talking with him almost on a daily basis. Ash also was at the recent Don Bosco vs. St. Joe’s game to see Alaimo and others play. Rutgers is still very much recruiting Alaimo despite his commitment to Pittsburgh. The staff is in the process of trying to convince him to take an official visit to Rutgers. This is something to keep an eye on.
’18 DE Kaymar Mimes (Long Branch - NJ)
A person close to Mimes told Scarlet Nation he isn’t holding his breath waiting for Michigan State, Penn State or other programs who have showed interest in the past. Mimes still isn’t 100% sure if he will take an official visit to Rutger, due to him already being very familiar with the program. Things are trending well for Mimes as he likes Rutgers a lot at the moment. We will have more clarity on this one after he takes his official visit to Wake Forest on Oct 28th.
’18 ATH Taymon Cooke (Graham - VA)
We haven’t heard a whole lot about Cooke recently as it seemed his focus was on other schools. However, the Rutgers staff has been reaching out in hopes to get Cooke to come up north for an official visit. Cooke is currently ranked a three-star and expected to play wide receiver at the college level. This would be a replacement for recent wide receiver decommit EJ Turner. Cooke has accumulated six FBS offers and a host of FCS ones as well. As of now, West Virginia looks like the team to beat as he is expected to be in Morgantown this weekend. If he comes out of there without committing, expect things to pick up with Rutgers.
’18 WR Austin Alexander (St. Thomas More – CT)
Things are really picking up between Rutgers and Alexander as Chris Ash is staying in frequent contact through the week. Alexander is expected to be on the RU campus Sunday as he’s suddenly moved up quite a bit on the RU board. The 6-foot-5 Alexander would fill the vacancy left by Turner at wide receiver and he is also very interested in Rutgers.
18 RB Jermar Jefferson (Narbonne - CA)
The Scarlet Knights currently have two running back commits secured in the class of 2018. However, that hasn’t stopped the staff from maintaining talks with Jefferson, who is a teammate of RU quarterback commit Jalen Chatman. The staff still reaches out once in a while to see what’s going on with Jefferson. It might be something, it might be nothing. Either way it’s something to keep an eye on.
Recruiting shakeup
Al series of unfortunate events have shaken things up at Paramus Catholic High School and Penn State commit Dorian Hardy was in the midst of that turmoil. He has since transferred to Elizabeth High School and there are rumors that Penn State could try to part ways with him. If that happens, it could open the door for Penn State to get back into things with Don Bosco defensive linemen Tyler Friday and Marcellus Earlington. That would provide more competition in the race for that duo, although the Scarlet Knights continue to do well with each of those prospects.
