Quotables
Chris Laviano on staying in through most of the second half against Michigan:
“I like the fact that I was left in the game. I love to play. I wouldn’t want to come out ever. The more snaps you take, the more learning experiences you have. I am glad we were able to move the ball a little bit. That gave us a little bit of confidence.”
Kyle Flood on Kiy Hester:
“I feel like Kiy is doing a lot of learning on the run. They're learning in practice; they're learning in game environments, and players at that stage of their career, a lot of times when they're seeing something, they're seeing it for the first time. So I'm pleased with how hard he's working at it, just like I am the rest of that secondary.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Toughest Hoops Opponents before the New Year
5.) @ George Washington 12/12
4.) UMass or Clemson 11/25 (Las Vegas)
3.) Wake Forest 11/30
2.) @ St. John’s 11/19
1.) Indiana 12/30
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Two RU players will get 2016 NFL Combine invites
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Bo Melton – Cedar Creek
The South Jersey class of 2017 athlete earned his RU offer during a recent trip to campus, in which he was accompanied by his parents, who are both RU graduates.
“I kind of saw the offer coming for a while, but when I got up there it was even better when I saw the campus,” Melton told Scarlet Nation. “My parents eyes lit up after they saw Livingston redecorated.”
Melton’s father also played at Rutgers and remarked on how different the campus was from when he went there. The younger Melton has other offers from Boston College and Old Dominion at this point.
DE John Kongbo – Arizona Western CC (Az.)
The Juco defensive end is having a big year out west after leaving the Wyoming program and has pulled in offers from around the country. He has already taken an official visit to Ole Miss and has another one scheduled to Tennessee in a couple of weeks. Rutgers has also gotten involved with Kongbo as defensive assistant Scott Vallone has been staying in contact quite a bit.
“Coach Vallone always kept it straight with me,” Kongbo said. “He told me straight up where I was at in the recruiting process. That is what I respected about the Rutgers approach. They were honest with me, they did not try to feed me all that recruiting hype.”
Kongbo is a native of British Columbia and mentioned that he is aware of Rutgers’ interest in Canadian prospects. The RU staff is currently trying to push for an official visit as Kongbo will soon have three left and plans to take all five visits before making his official decision.
CB Myles Wolfolk - Wise (Md.)
Wolfolk, a class of 2016 cornerback, is currently committed to Virginia Tech, signing a financial aid grant with intentions to enroll early. However, Frank Beamer’s recent retirement has led Wolfork to take a step back and see what other schools have to say. Maryland, North Carolina and Wisconsin all offered recently and he is open to other schools.
Rutgers was recruiting Wolfolk before his early commitment, and with the need for additional cornerbacks in this class, they’ve initiated contact with the 6-foot-1, 180 pounder.
Wolfolk told Scarlet Nation that his teammate and current Rutgers verbal Damon Hayes has been in his ear about taking a close look at Rutgers should the Scarlet Knights offer. Wolfork still intends to enroll early and Wise is expected to make a long run in the Maryland 4A playoffs so he’ll have limited time to visit other campuses.
WR Donald Stewart - Paramus Catholic
A tough schedule caught up to a Paramus Catholic team that went to 3 straight Non Public 4 title games, and they missed the playoffs. This newfound free time will allow Stewart to focus on the recruiting process.
“I’ll start this weekend,” Stewart told Scarlet Nation. “I just want to set up these five official visits so I can commit.”
Ole Miss is the newest school to offer Stewart and many schools, including Rutgers, are fighting for one of his three remaining official visits. Stewart told Scarlet Nation that he is still maintaining contact with Rutgers WR Coach Anthony Campanile.
DB Jahmir King - Collingswood
The senior has quietly seen his stock rise this season, leading his team back to the South NJ Group 2 playoffs. King has the huge task of lining up across Michigan commit Ahmir Mitchell in the first round. Another strong season by King has caught the eye of Rutgers Recruiting Coordinator EJ Barthel.
“He said he’s extremely interested,” said King. “He said he wants to look at my transcript and what I do outside of football.”
King has spilt carries at running back, rushing for 650 yards and 3 touchdowns while taking away one side of the field at cornerback. King could be a candidate for an offer if Rutgers misses on some of the remaining targets at the position.
RB Trey Sneed - Fleming Island (Fla.)
Sneed, who just finished his senior season with a 239 yard, 3-touchdown performance in a win over Orange Park gave him over 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns. Sneed told Scarlet Nation that he is all set to make his official visit to Rutgers the weekend of December 11th. Everything is still set for him to enroll early this January as he hasn’t signed his grant in aid papers but he intends to do so in the near future.
DT Jarrod Hewitt - Venice (Fla.)
The one-time Rutgers commitment told Scarlet Nation that he’ll take his official visit to Rutgers the weekend of January 22nd which is traditionally the biggest visit weekend and that will include another defensive line target, Amir Watts of Chicago, along with most of the 2016 commits.
Hewitt told Scarlet Nation that the retirement of Hokies head coach Frank Beamer does not affect how he feels about Virginia Tech, where he’ll visit on January 29th. He also plans to take all five of his official visits before making a decision. Hewitt had close to 20 offers at the time of his commitment and expects more schools to renew their interest once the college season ends.
DL Ryan Thaxton - St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School (Va.)
The junior defensive end has been trying to get up to Rutgers for a while and will finally make the trip this weekend when RU faces Nebraska.
“I just plan on taking it all in and enjoying the experience. It’ll be a good game,” Thaxton said.
Thaxton who transferred from T.C Williams this off season holds an offer from Cincinnati and besides Rutgers, he has also has interest from Virginia Tech, Northwestern and Purdue. Thaxton has been building a relationship with defensive line coach Jim Panagos.
“He seems like a great guy,” said Thaxton. “We talk about a little bit of everything, being a good person with character and dealing with adversity in football.”
Expected Visitors for Nebraska game
(Additional Names will be added)
2016 commits
WR Ahmed Bah Grand Street Campus NYC
WR Taysir Mack Grand Street Campus NYC
LB Solomon Manning Colonia
CB Damon Hayes Wise (MD)
Others
2016 DL Corey Brown Suitland (MD)
2017 DL offer Romello Martin Lincoln NYC
2017 DL Ryan Thaxton St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School (VA)
2017 DL Saleem Lockett Ridley (PA)
2017 DL/OL Desmond Holmes Cardinal O’Hara (PA)
Shawn’s Rutgers Commits Awards
Now that the regular season is over for most high school team, it’s time to present some awards for the Rutgers 2016 recruiting class.
Offensive MVP: QB Anthony Russo (Archbishop Wood)
Trey Snead, Taysir Mack and Isaiah Wright all got serious consideration here but Russo was expected to carry the load for his Archbishop Wood squad and he has done just that, proving to be a very efficient passer for the Vikings. He has also shown the ability to make plays in the vertical passing game and leading Wood to another undefeated regular season. Russo is playing with much more confidence this season, feeling validated after a strong Elite 11 performance.
Defensive MVP: CB Patrice Rene (Episcopal)
This was a tough one, could have also went to Poly Prep’s LB Elias Reynolds but Patrice was the leader of secondary at the Northern Virginia school which broke the stranglehold that Dwayne Haskins’ Bullis team had on the IAC league, with a 34-12 victory highlighting a 6-1 season.
Most Improved Player: WR Mo Jabbie (South Brunswick)
Jabbie heard the whispers in the off season of only getting an offer from Rutgers because of his uncle Mo Sanu, but he worked hard to add some bulk and most impressively improved his straight line speed. Jabbie has scored touchdowns four different ways for South Brunswick.
The Swiss Army Knife-Most Versatile: Phil Campbell (South Brunswick)
Campbell is a legitimate Power 5 prospect on either side of the football. Campbell is a powerful runner between the tackles who has the speed to go the distance and packs a wallop when he comes downhill at safety. Campbell has improved his range at safety and he’s been the heart and soul of a very good defense at South Brunswick. LB Rashawn Battle would be the runner up for this award, after running for over 1,000 yards this fall.
The “Get Your Popcorn Ready” Player: Isaiah Wright (Kingswood Oxford)
This one was between Wright and his fellow receiver commit Taysir Mack as both players are the type that generates excitement when the football comes their way because it could always go for 6. Wright gets the nod because he has the better ball skills. Wright makes defenders miss, making 5-yard screens go for 50 yards with regularity. Mack does have the better straight line speed, most likely to hurt you vertically.
The Big Ugly award: DL Tymir Oliver (West Catholic)
While Oliver didn’t have a ton of tackles for loss this season (0.5 sacks, 5 TFL) Oliver was extremely disruptive whether he lined up as a DE or on the interior, typically drawing multiple blockers. Oliver plays with a great motor, tracking down plays on the back side as teams tried to run away from him.
Eye on Rutgers
Players to watch on Saturday against Nebraska
Leonte Carroo – The fact that Carroo has been upgraded from questionable to probable is one of the more positive pieces of news to come out over the last few weeks. But the question remains, how effective will he be? Nebraska’s secondary has been suspect this season so it could be a prime opportunity for the RU passing game to get on track. Carroo would figure to be a big part of that.
Quanzell Lambert – With so many lopsided loses in the Big Ten this year, a lot of talk has focused on Rutgers’ defensive struggles. In spite of those struggles, junior defensive end Quanzell Lambert is steadily putting together one of the best seasons of any RU defender. He is constantly finding his way into the backfield and even thwarting a lot of double teams. Look for Lambert’s solid play to continue.
Najee Clayton – One of the up and coming freshmen on this team, Clayton is working in as a backup strong safety. With Davon Jacobs out, that could mean more time for Clayton in a backup role behind starter Kiy Hester. Clayton is a player to watch out for in the future and could wind up seeing some significant playing time through the final few games of the season at the strong safety spot as Hester has had his share of struggles.
The tight ends – It has been a tale of two seasons for the RU tight end contingent. The group was targeted early and often through the first part of the season. The trio of Matt Flanagan, Charles Scarff and Nick Arcidiacono combined for 29 catches through the first six games. In the last three contests, that contingent has just one catch among them.
Darnell Davis – The walk-on has been playing better and better all season and last weekend, he registered two TFLs against Michigan. Davis’ progression has been steady since he arrived at Rutgers and he is becoming a reliable part of the rotation at the defensive end position.
Chris Laviano on staying in through most of the second half against Michigan:
“I like the fact that I was left in the game. I love to play. I wouldn’t want to come out ever. The more snaps you take, the more learning experiences you have. I am glad we were able to move the ball a little bit. That gave us a little bit of confidence.”
Kyle Flood on Kiy Hester:
“I feel like Kiy is doing a lot of learning on the run. They're learning in practice; they're learning in game environments, and players at that stage of their career, a lot of times when they're seeing something, they're seeing it for the first time. So I'm pleased with how hard he's working at it, just like I am the rest of that secondary.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Toughest Hoops Opponents before the New Year
5.) @ George Washington 12/12
4.) UMass or Clemson 11/25 (Las Vegas)
3.) Wake Forest 11/30
2.) @ St. John’s 11/19
1.) Indiana 12/30
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Two RU players will get 2016 NFL Combine invites
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Bo Melton – Cedar Creek
The South Jersey class of 2017 athlete earned his RU offer during a recent trip to campus, in which he was accompanied by his parents, who are both RU graduates.
“I kind of saw the offer coming for a while, but when I got up there it was even better when I saw the campus,” Melton told Scarlet Nation. “My parents eyes lit up after they saw Livingston redecorated.”
Melton’s father also played at Rutgers and remarked on how different the campus was from when he went there. The younger Melton has other offers from Boston College and Old Dominion at this point.
DE John Kongbo – Arizona Western CC (Az.)
The Juco defensive end is having a big year out west after leaving the Wyoming program and has pulled in offers from around the country. He has already taken an official visit to Ole Miss and has another one scheduled to Tennessee in a couple of weeks. Rutgers has also gotten involved with Kongbo as defensive assistant Scott Vallone has been staying in contact quite a bit.
“Coach Vallone always kept it straight with me,” Kongbo said. “He told me straight up where I was at in the recruiting process. That is what I respected about the Rutgers approach. They were honest with me, they did not try to feed me all that recruiting hype.”
Kongbo is a native of British Columbia and mentioned that he is aware of Rutgers’ interest in Canadian prospects. The RU staff is currently trying to push for an official visit as Kongbo will soon have three left and plans to take all five visits before making his official decision.
CB Myles Wolfolk - Wise (Md.)
Wolfolk, a class of 2016 cornerback, is currently committed to Virginia Tech, signing a financial aid grant with intentions to enroll early. However, Frank Beamer’s recent retirement has led Wolfork to take a step back and see what other schools have to say. Maryland, North Carolina and Wisconsin all offered recently and he is open to other schools.
Rutgers was recruiting Wolfolk before his early commitment, and with the need for additional cornerbacks in this class, they’ve initiated contact with the 6-foot-1, 180 pounder.
Wolfolk told Scarlet Nation that his teammate and current Rutgers verbal Damon Hayes has been in his ear about taking a close look at Rutgers should the Scarlet Knights offer. Wolfork still intends to enroll early and Wise is expected to make a long run in the Maryland 4A playoffs so he’ll have limited time to visit other campuses.
WR Donald Stewart - Paramus Catholic
A tough schedule caught up to a Paramus Catholic team that went to 3 straight Non Public 4 title games, and they missed the playoffs. This newfound free time will allow Stewart to focus on the recruiting process.
“I’ll start this weekend,” Stewart told Scarlet Nation. “I just want to set up these five official visits so I can commit.”
Ole Miss is the newest school to offer Stewart and many schools, including Rutgers, are fighting for one of his three remaining official visits. Stewart told Scarlet Nation that he is still maintaining contact with Rutgers WR Coach Anthony Campanile.
DB Jahmir King - Collingswood
The senior has quietly seen his stock rise this season, leading his team back to the South NJ Group 2 playoffs. King has the huge task of lining up across Michigan commit Ahmir Mitchell in the first round. Another strong season by King has caught the eye of Rutgers Recruiting Coordinator EJ Barthel.
“He said he’s extremely interested,” said King. “He said he wants to look at my transcript and what I do outside of football.”
King has spilt carries at running back, rushing for 650 yards and 3 touchdowns while taking away one side of the field at cornerback. King could be a candidate for an offer if Rutgers misses on some of the remaining targets at the position.
RB Trey Sneed - Fleming Island (Fla.)
Sneed, who just finished his senior season with a 239 yard, 3-touchdown performance in a win over Orange Park gave him over 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns. Sneed told Scarlet Nation that he is all set to make his official visit to Rutgers the weekend of December 11th. Everything is still set for him to enroll early this January as he hasn’t signed his grant in aid papers but he intends to do so in the near future.
DT Jarrod Hewitt - Venice (Fla.)
The one-time Rutgers commitment told Scarlet Nation that he’ll take his official visit to Rutgers the weekend of January 22nd which is traditionally the biggest visit weekend and that will include another defensive line target, Amir Watts of Chicago, along with most of the 2016 commits.
Hewitt told Scarlet Nation that the retirement of Hokies head coach Frank Beamer does not affect how he feels about Virginia Tech, where he’ll visit on January 29th. He also plans to take all five of his official visits before making a decision. Hewitt had close to 20 offers at the time of his commitment and expects more schools to renew their interest once the college season ends.
DL Ryan Thaxton - St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School (Va.)
The junior defensive end has been trying to get up to Rutgers for a while and will finally make the trip this weekend when RU faces Nebraska.
“I just plan on taking it all in and enjoying the experience. It’ll be a good game,” Thaxton said.
Thaxton who transferred from T.C Williams this off season holds an offer from Cincinnati and besides Rutgers, he has also has interest from Virginia Tech, Northwestern and Purdue. Thaxton has been building a relationship with defensive line coach Jim Panagos.
“He seems like a great guy,” said Thaxton. “We talk about a little bit of everything, being a good person with character and dealing with adversity in football.”
Expected Visitors for Nebraska game
(Additional Names will be added)
2016 commits
WR Ahmed Bah Grand Street Campus NYC
WR Taysir Mack Grand Street Campus NYC
LB Solomon Manning Colonia
CB Damon Hayes Wise (MD)
Others
2016 DL Corey Brown Suitland (MD)
2017 DL offer Romello Martin Lincoln NYC
2017 DL Ryan Thaxton St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School (VA)
2017 DL Saleem Lockett Ridley (PA)
2017 DL/OL Desmond Holmes Cardinal O’Hara (PA)
Shawn’s Rutgers Commits Awards
Now that the regular season is over for most high school team, it’s time to present some awards for the Rutgers 2016 recruiting class.
Offensive MVP: QB Anthony Russo (Archbishop Wood)
Trey Snead, Taysir Mack and Isaiah Wright all got serious consideration here but Russo was expected to carry the load for his Archbishop Wood squad and he has done just that, proving to be a very efficient passer for the Vikings. He has also shown the ability to make plays in the vertical passing game and leading Wood to another undefeated regular season. Russo is playing with much more confidence this season, feeling validated after a strong Elite 11 performance.
Defensive MVP: CB Patrice Rene (Episcopal)
This was a tough one, could have also went to Poly Prep’s LB Elias Reynolds but Patrice was the leader of secondary at the Northern Virginia school which broke the stranglehold that Dwayne Haskins’ Bullis team had on the IAC league, with a 34-12 victory highlighting a 6-1 season.
Most Improved Player: WR Mo Jabbie (South Brunswick)
Jabbie heard the whispers in the off season of only getting an offer from Rutgers because of his uncle Mo Sanu, but he worked hard to add some bulk and most impressively improved his straight line speed. Jabbie has scored touchdowns four different ways for South Brunswick.
The Swiss Army Knife-Most Versatile: Phil Campbell (South Brunswick)
Campbell is a legitimate Power 5 prospect on either side of the football. Campbell is a powerful runner between the tackles who has the speed to go the distance and packs a wallop when he comes downhill at safety. Campbell has improved his range at safety and he’s been the heart and soul of a very good defense at South Brunswick. LB Rashawn Battle would be the runner up for this award, after running for over 1,000 yards this fall.
The “Get Your Popcorn Ready” Player: Isaiah Wright (Kingswood Oxford)
This one was between Wright and his fellow receiver commit Taysir Mack as both players are the type that generates excitement when the football comes their way because it could always go for 6. Wright gets the nod because he has the better ball skills. Wright makes defenders miss, making 5-yard screens go for 50 yards with regularity. Mack does have the better straight line speed, most likely to hurt you vertically.
The Big Ugly award: DL Tymir Oliver (West Catholic)
While Oliver didn’t have a ton of tackles for loss this season (0.5 sacks, 5 TFL) Oliver was extremely disruptive whether he lined up as a DE or on the interior, typically drawing multiple blockers. Oliver plays with a great motor, tracking down plays on the back side as teams tried to run away from him.
Eye on Rutgers
Players to watch on Saturday against Nebraska
Leonte Carroo – The fact that Carroo has been upgraded from questionable to probable is one of the more positive pieces of news to come out over the last few weeks. But the question remains, how effective will he be? Nebraska’s secondary has been suspect this season so it could be a prime opportunity for the RU passing game to get on track. Carroo would figure to be a big part of that.
Quanzell Lambert – With so many lopsided loses in the Big Ten this year, a lot of talk has focused on Rutgers’ defensive struggles. In spite of those struggles, junior defensive end Quanzell Lambert is steadily putting together one of the best seasons of any RU defender. He is constantly finding his way into the backfield and even thwarting a lot of double teams. Look for Lambert’s solid play to continue.
Najee Clayton – One of the up and coming freshmen on this team, Clayton is working in as a backup strong safety. With Davon Jacobs out, that could mean more time for Clayton in a backup role behind starter Kiy Hester. Clayton is a player to watch out for in the future and could wind up seeing some significant playing time through the final few games of the season at the strong safety spot as Hester has had his share of struggles.
The tight ends – It has been a tale of two seasons for the RU tight end contingent. The group was targeted early and often through the first part of the season. The trio of Matt Flanagan, Charles Scarff and Nick Arcidiacono combined for 29 catches through the first six games. In the last three contests, that contingent has just one catch among them.
Darnell Davis – The walk-on has been playing better and better all season and last weekend, he registered two TFLs against Michigan. Davis’ progression has been steady since he arrived at Rutgers and he is becoming a reliable part of the rotation at the defensive end position.
