Quotables
Chris Ash on whether cornerback Blessuan Austin will start this weekend:
“Bless was a game time decision last week. Bless is ready to play. Damon Hayes has practiced like he always has. Nothing’s different there.”
Ash on Gio Rescigno’s injury status:
“He’s fine. He’s had a really good week of practice. There shouldn’t be any limitations going into the game on Saturday.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Potential RU wide receivers next season
5.) Dacoven Bailey
4.) Bo Melton
3.) Jawuan Harris
2.) Ahmir Mitchell
1.) Janarion Grant
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will soon make a push for another in-state prospect in the class of 2017
Recruiting Tidbits
’17 RB Devin Darrington (Bullis School – MD)
Darrington is starting to receive more and more interest from some bigger programs. Look for some other B1G and possibly even some SEC schools to start showing some interest in the 2017 Bullis School running back as he has been garnering a lot of interest.
’17 RB Joshua Samuel (Central Gwinnet - GA)
Rutgers RB Coach Zak Kuhr called Samuellast Sunday. Samuel said that Coach Kuhr reached out and said “He was just checking in on me and asking what my plans are this offseason.”
Samuel recently committed to Western Kentucky back on November 10th.
’17 TE Sal Cannella (Scottsdale CC - AZ)
Now that his season is over Cannella is going to start taking visits in the near future. Right now he has one scheduled for Maryland on December 2nd and is planning to check out Rutgers sometime in December. He is also beginning to hear from the likes of Auburn who reached out to him the other day.
’17 DE Stone Edwards (Orange - NC)
Another possible DE target, Edwards has been maintaining contact with RU recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt recently. Edwards told Scarlet Nation that Hewitt said that he’s trying to get Edwards an offer and also praised his film. Keep an eye on Edwards as he is another possible D-Line target for the Scarlet Knights.
’17 DE Tijuan Mason *Purdue commit* (Trezevant - TN)
While Mason is still committed to Purdue, Rutgers has not been shy about reaching out and extending an offer.
"Coach Burnham called me on the phone on Thursday and was just talking a little bit about recruiting,” Mason said. “Then he told me they wanted me real bad and he offered me on the spot. It felt really good to finally get the offer. I don't know much about the school other than that Ray Rice graduated from there and I'll probably use one of my official visits and get up there in December."
Mason is a two-star prospect who also held previous offers from NC State, BYU, Western Michigan, Toledo, among a few others.
’17 ATH Noah Curtis (American Heritage - FL)
Scarlet Nation caught up with Curtis for a little bit on Wednesday night to talk about his recruitment. Curtis is currently wide open and could be a D-Line target for Rutgers in the near future. He had to this to say about the Scarlet Knights.
“Rutgers University would be pretty high on my list because my good friend Jarius Adams goes there and he’s doing pretty well so far.”
Curtis is a three-star prospect with 18 offers, highlighted by ones from Arkansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, UNC, Maryland, Pitt and Minnesota.
Saturday Visitors
Here is a list of the confirmed visitors who are expected to be on hand when Rutgers takes on Penn State Saturday night in the final home game of the season.
Class of 2017:
QB Zach Gilbert (Whitehall - PA)
QB Cole Murphy (Coffeyville CC - KS)
QB Johnathan Lewis (St. Peter’s Prep - NJ)***RU commit***
RB Jon Lovett (Cherokee - NJ)*
RB Keshon Farmer (Peddie School - NJ)
WR Javon Turner (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
TE Devin Miller (Metuchen - NJ)*
TE Jahsim Floyd (Sayreville - NJ)
TE Corey Thomas (Chantilly - VA)
OL Owen Bowles (Cedar Creek - NJ)***RU commit***
OL Micah Clark (St. John Vianney - NJ)***RU commit***
OL Jamaal Beatty (St. John Vianney - NJ)***RU commit***
OL Robert Martin (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)***PSU commit***
DE Kofi Wardlow (St. John’s College - DC)*
DE Brendan Bordner (Hilliard Bradley - OH)*
DE Damion Barber (Harrisburg - PA)***PSU commit***
DE Hozey Haji-Badri (Virginia Prep Sports Academy - VA)
DT Nadir Pineda (Hackensack - NJ)
LB CJ Onyechi (West Orange - NJ) ***RU commit***
LB Giovanni Denard (South Shore - NY)
LB Damion Abrams (St. Peter’s Prep - NJ)
LB Drew Singleton (Paramus Catholic - NJ)*
DB Mike Bowers (Cherokee - NJ) ***Monmouth commit***
DB Isaiah Gordon (Barringer - NJ)
DB Ihmir Marsette (Weequahic - NJ)*
ATH Tyler Hayek (Wayne Hills - NJ) ***RU commit***
ATH Bryce Watts (Toms River North - NJ)***RU commit***
ATH Jordan Scott (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)
P Jonah Wieland (Hudson - OH)
Class of 2018:
QB Zamar Wise (Barringer - NJ)
QB Devin Leary (Timber Creek - NJ)*
QB Artur Sitkowski (Old Bridge - NJ)*
QB George Pearson (Mater Dei - NJ)
QB Joshua Zamot (St. Augustine - NJ)
RB O’Shaan Allison (Malvern Prep - PA)
RB Jonathan Clark (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
RB Shaquon Anderson-Butts (Harrisburg - PA)*
WR Taj Harris (Palmyra - NJ)
WR Dez Boykin (Whitehall - PA)
WR Jasiah Provillon (Irvington - NJ)
WR Jackson Parham (Hillsborough - NJ)
WR Donathan McCants (Roman Catholic - PA)
DE Dorian Hardy (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)
DE Micah Parsons (Central Dauphin - PA)***PSU commit***
LB Jake Brown (Pope John XXIII - NJ)
LB Rovny Dasilva (West Catholic - PA)
LB Robert Snead (Queen of Peace - NJ)
LB Chance Campbell (Calvert Hall - MD)
LB Bartek Rybka (Paramus Catholic - NJ)*
DB Jarrett Paul (Christ The King - NY)
ATH Amad Anderson (Curtis - NY)*
AT Shamere Collins (St. Augustine - NJ)
ATH George Garrison (Dwight Morrow - NJ)
ATH Iverson Clement (Rancocas Valley - NJ)*
ATH Quanzie Lumsden ((Dwight Morrow - NJ)
Transfers:
Freshman LB James Mania (Colgate University)
TE/DE Trey Dunkelberger (Syracuse Grad Transfer)
RB Sean Samuels (Former ’16 Naval Academy commit) RU walk-on
*Denotes RU Offer
Team Tidbits
Rutgers will be looking to play the part of a spoiler on Saturday night against Penn State inside High Point Solutions Stadium. While the odds looked to be stacked against Rutgers, fans should expect to see the Scarlet Knights come out and play with a lot of emotion.
“I don’t really don’t care much for them, pretty much like I don’t care for any opponent,” RU defensive end Julian Pinnix-Odrick said of Penn State. “It’s a certain aura. That’s all I will say. I am coming different Saturday.”
And what would a win over Penn State mean to JPO?
“It would be huge. It would be our best win yet. It represents more than just a game. It represents our respect as a university. We have not got a conference win yet. It represents who we are and what we want to be for this university and what we are going to be way after I am gone. A win is going to be huge, especially when you know what you can do as a team. The only thing that has stopped us a lot of the time is the inconsistency within ourselves.”
Hoops Tidbits
The Scarlet Knights took home their third straight win of the season last night in a 66-59 victory over DePaul. The game was not as close as that final score indicated as Rutgers led by as much as 20 points down the stretch.
"We are a much improved defensive team, we are a good rebounding team,” head coach Steve Pikiell said after last night’s win. “So those are two good traits. If we can bring those on the road, it bodes well.”
Corey Sanders led Rutgers in scoring with 15 points, although it really was a team effort, with contributions coming from a host of players.
“Every game, there has been somebody different stepping up,” Pikiell said. “I thought Mike Williams was outstanding today too coming off the bench. Nigel [Johnson] and Corey do a lot for us. They are good defenders. And if they keep buying into that defensive end of the floor, we have a chance to be pretty good. [It is a] team effort, everyone chips in here.”
Williams finished with 14 points and nine rebounds while Deshawn Freeman contributed nine points and nine rebounds.
Rutgers will be back at it again inside The RAC on Sunday with a noon tip-off against Niagara, who is 0-3 on the season.
Chris Ash on whether cornerback Blessuan Austin will start this weekend:
“Bless was a game time decision last week. Bless is ready to play. Damon Hayes has practiced like he always has. Nothing’s different there.”
Ash on Gio Rescigno’s injury status:
“He’s fine. He’s had a really good week of practice. There shouldn’t be any limitations going into the game on Saturday.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five Potential RU wide receivers next season
5.) Dacoven Bailey
4.) Bo Melton
3.) Jawuan Harris
2.) Ahmir Mitchell
1.) Janarion Grant
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will soon make a push for another in-state prospect in the class of 2017
Recruiting Tidbits
’17 RB Devin Darrington (Bullis School – MD)
Darrington is starting to receive more and more interest from some bigger programs. Look for some other B1G and possibly even some SEC schools to start showing some interest in the 2017 Bullis School running back as he has been garnering a lot of interest.
’17 RB Joshua Samuel (Central Gwinnet - GA)
Rutgers RB Coach Zak Kuhr called Samuellast Sunday. Samuel said that Coach Kuhr reached out and said “He was just checking in on me and asking what my plans are this offseason.”
Samuel recently committed to Western Kentucky back on November 10th.
’17 TE Sal Cannella (Scottsdale CC - AZ)
Now that his season is over Cannella is going to start taking visits in the near future. Right now he has one scheduled for Maryland on December 2nd and is planning to check out Rutgers sometime in December. He is also beginning to hear from the likes of Auburn who reached out to him the other day.
’17 DE Stone Edwards (Orange - NC)
Another possible DE target, Edwards has been maintaining contact with RU recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt recently. Edwards told Scarlet Nation that Hewitt said that he’s trying to get Edwards an offer and also praised his film. Keep an eye on Edwards as he is another possible D-Line target for the Scarlet Knights.
’17 DE Tijuan Mason *Purdue commit* (Trezevant - TN)
While Mason is still committed to Purdue, Rutgers has not been shy about reaching out and extending an offer.
"Coach Burnham called me on the phone on Thursday and was just talking a little bit about recruiting,” Mason said. “Then he told me they wanted me real bad and he offered me on the spot. It felt really good to finally get the offer. I don't know much about the school other than that Ray Rice graduated from there and I'll probably use one of my official visits and get up there in December."
Mason is a two-star prospect who also held previous offers from NC State, BYU, Western Michigan, Toledo, among a few others.
’17 ATH Noah Curtis (American Heritage - FL)
Scarlet Nation caught up with Curtis for a little bit on Wednesday night to talk about his recruitment. Curtis is currently wide open and could be a D-Line target for Rutgers in the near future. He had to this to say about the Scarlet Knights.
“Rutgers University would be pretty high on my list because my good friend Jarius Adams goes there and he’s doing pretty well so far.”
Curtis is a three-star prospect with 18 offers, highlighted by ones from Arkansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, UNC, Maryland, Pitt and Minnesota.
Saturday Visitors
Here is a list of the confirmed visitors who are expected to be on hand when Rutgers takes on Penn State Saturday night in the final home game of the season.
Class of 2017:
QB Zach Gilbert (Whitehall - PA)
QB Cole Murphy (Coffeyville CC - KS)
QB Johnathan Lewis (St. Peter’s Prep - NJ)***RU commit***
RB Jon Lovett (Cherokee - NJ)*
RB Keshon Farmer (Peddie School - NJ)
WR Javon Turner (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
TE Devin Miller (Metuchen - NJ)*
TE Jahsim Floyd (Sayreville - NJ)
TE Corey Thomas (Chantilly - VA)
OL Owen Bowles (Cedar Creek - NJ)***RU commit***
OL Micah Clark (St. John Vianney - NJ)***RU commit***
OL Jamaal Beatty (St. John Vianney - NJ)***RU commit***
OL Robert Martin (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)***PSU commit***
DE Kofi Wardlow (St. John’s College - DC)*
DE Brendan Bordner (Hilliard Bradley - OH)*
DE Damion Barber (Harrisburg - PA)***PSU commit***
DE Hozey Haji-Badri (Virginia Prep Sports Academy - VA)
DT Nadir Pineda (Hackensack - NJ)
LB CJ Onyechi (West Orange - NJ) ***RU commit***
LB Giovanni Denard (South Shore - NY)
LB Damion Abrams (St. Peter’s Prep - NJ)
LB Drew Singleton (Paramus Catholic - NJ)*
DB Mike Bowers (Cherokee - NJ) ***Monmouth commit***
DB Isaiah Gordon (Barringer - NJ)
DB Ihmir Marsette (Weequahic - NJ)*
ATH Tyler Hayek (Wayne Hills - NJ) ***RU commit***
ATH Bryce Watts (Toms River North - NJ)***RU commit***
ATH Jordan Scott (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)
P Jonah Wieland (Hudson - OH)
Class of 2018:
QB Zamar Wise (Barringer - NJ)
QB Devin Leary (Timber Creek - NJ)*
QB Artur Sitkowski (Old Bridge - NJ)*
QB George Pearson (Mater Dei - NJ)
QB Joshua Zamot (St. Augustine - NJ)
RB O’Shaan Allison (Malvern Prep - PA)
RB Jonathan Clark (Paramus Catholic - NJ)
RB Shaquon Anderson-Butts (Harrisburg - PA)*
WR Taj Harris (Palmyra - NJ)
WR Dez Boykin (Whitehall - PA)
WR Jasiah Provillon (Irvington - NJ)
WR Jackson Parham (Hillsborough - NJ)
WR Donathan McCants (Roman Catholic - PA)
DE Dorian Hardy (St. Joe’s Regional - NJ)
DE Micah Parsons (Central Dauphin - PA)***PSU commit***
LB Jake Brown (Pope John XXIII - NJ)
LB Rovny Dasilva (West Catholic - PA)
LB Robert Snead (Queen of Peace - NJ)
LB Chance Campbell (Calvert Hall - MD)
LB Bartek Rybka (Paramus Catholic - NJ)*
DB Jarrett Paul (Christ The King - NY)
ATH Amad Anderson (Curtis - NY)*
AT Shamere Collins (St. Augustine - NJ)
ATH George Garrison (Dwight Morrow - NJ)
ATH Iverson Clement (Rancocas Valley - NJ)*
ATH Quanzie Lumsden ((Dwight Morrow - NJ)
Transfers:
Freshman LB James Mania (Colgate University)
TE/DE Trey Dunkelberger (Syracuse Grad Transfer)
RB Sean Samuels (Former ’16 Naval Academy commit) RU walk-on
*Denotes RU Offer
Team Tidbits
Rutgers will be looking to play the part of a spoiler on Saturday night against Penn State inside High Point Solutions Stadium. While the odds looked to be stacked against Rutgers, fans should expect to see the Scarlet Knights come out and play with a lot of emotion.
“I don’t really don’t care much for them, pretty much like I don’t care for any opponent,” RU defensive end Julian Pinnix-Odrick said of Penn State. “It’s a certain aura. That’s all I will say. I am coming different Saturday.”
And what would a win over Penn State mean to JPO?
“It would be huge. It would be our best win yet. It represents more than just a game. It represents our respect as a university. We have not got a conference win yet. It represents who we are and what we want to be for this university and what we are going to be way after I am gone. A win is going to be huge, especially when you know what you can do as a team. The only thing that has stopped us a lot of the time is the inconsistency within ourselves.”
Hoops Tidbits
The Scarlet Knights took home their third straight win of the season last night in a 66-59 victory over DePaul. The game was not as close as that final score indicated as Rutgers led by as much as 20 points down the stretch.
"We are a much improved defensive team, we are a good rebounding team,” head coach Steve Pikiell said after last night’s win. “So those are two good traits. If we can bring those on the road, it bodes well.”
Corey Sanders led Rutgers in scoring with 15 points, although it really was a team effort, with contributions coming from a host of players.
“Every game, there has been somebody different stepping up,” Pikiell said. “I thought Mike Williams was outstanding today too coming off the bench. Nigel [Johnson] and Corey do a lot for us. They are good defenders. And if they keep buying into that defensive end of the floor, we have a chance to be pretty good. [It is a] team effort, everyone chips in here.”
Williams finished with 14 points and nine rebounds while Deshawn Freeman contributed nine points and nine rebounds.
Rutgers will be back at it again inside The RAC on Sunday with a noon tip-off against Niagara, who is 0-3 on the season.
