Quotables
Keith Lumpkin on starting 37 straight games:
“I wake up every day feeling it. It catches up to you. I think about it all the time. It is a lot of hard work to maintain your body that way.”
Kyle Flood on comparing Lumpkin and redshirt freshman Zack Heeman:
“What's the comparison? Well, talking about two guys that are both 6-foot-7, both guys with 1,000-point scores in basketball, and both guys started to transform their bodes as they got closer senior in high school to really start to look like football players. We got to see, whether it was watching the end of Keith's career here at Rutgers - but I don't think the end of his career - and we're watching the beginning of Zack Heeman's.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Underclassmen O-linemen
5.) Tie – Zach Venesky, Jonah Jackson
4.) Tariq Cole
3.) Zack Heeman
2.) Marcus Applefield
1.) Dorian Miller
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will defeat Maryland on Saturday
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Patrice Rene – Episcopal (Va.)
The four-star athlete officially visited Wisconsin last week, but remains committed to Rutgers. He shared the latest in his recruitment and relationship with the Rutgers coaching staff.
“The relationships are still strong. I’m committed to Rutgers for a reason. I have much respect for the coaching staff but at the same time, with everything going on and the uncertainty [of the coaching staff’s future], it’s stuff that you can’t not acknowledge. It is definitely something I have to pay attention. My parents pay attention to it and where the staff stands and what is going to happen next year and stuff. At the same time, I would love to see that staff stay, I committed to them for a reason. That’s where I wanted to go but I have to be smart with my decision and have some options in case anything were to go bad. I think they understand that and I am not hiding anything from them. With the level of respect I have for them, I let them know I was going to take the Wisconsin visit.”
Rene spent the Thanksgiving holiday at his grandmother’s home in New York, which will enable him to get down to Rutgers for the Maryland game on Saturday.
“It is definitely going to be exciting," Rene said. "I think when I get there, it is going to be a reassuring moment that I made the right decision. I definitely chose Rutgers for a reason and I am excited to get there and see the coaches and players and talk to them and have a good time with the commits.”
Rene said the biggest concern with Rutgers is whether or not the coaching staff will remain after the season. Look for an article on Rene later in the day on Scarlet Nation.
LB Rashawn Battle – Wallenpaupack (Pa.)
The RU commit led his league in rushing yards this season and played outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme for Wallenpaupack.
“I was more physical this year, I was standing my ground more this year. A lot of guys couldn’t block me this year,” Battle said.
Battle also confirmed that he is still committed to Rutgers and the last time he made it to campus for the Michigan State contest.
“I am just focused on Rutgers right now. When a school calls my high school, like Pitt or California or Syracuse, my coach just tries to keep me focused on Rutgers. The school lets me know when other schools request my transcripts.”
Battle also revealedthat RU linebackers coach Bob Fraser is scheduled to visit Wallenpaupack High on Tuesday. Battle has no official visit date set yet and would not consider taking any other official visits unless something happened with the RU coaching staff.
“If anything ever comes up, I would consider it as a backup, but right now I am just focused on Rutgers,” Battle said.
Maryland Game Visitors
Class of 2016 commits
DB Patrice Rene - Episcopal School (Va.)
Class of 2017 commits
DB Naijee Jones - Timber Creek
Class of 2017 targets
ATH CJ Holmes - Cheshire Academy (Conn.) [Boston College, Mississippi State offers]
OL Stanley Hubbard - St John’s DC (Camped at Rutgers this summer
DE Mike Tverdov - Union (has RU offer)
Scarlet Nation on Location
Saturday 4pm Philadelphia City AAA Championship game
Imhotep Charter vs Archbishop Wood
This is a game that’s been circled since right after their matchup last year when Archbishop Wood held on for a 42-34 win en route to a second consecutive state championship. Rutgers QB commit Anthony Russo and 2017 offeree WR Mark Webb lead the Vikings against Imhotep senior OL offerees Yasir Durant and Johncarlo Valentin in this battle for supremacy in the City of Brotherly Love.
The state of 2016 recruiting
Even with all of the turmoil surrounding the Rutgers program throughout the course of the 2015 football season, recruiting efforts led by Director of Recruiting EJ Barthel have left the 2016 class intact for the most part. The only defection thus far Venice (Fla.) DT Jerrod Hewitt is still seriously considering the Scarlet Knights with plans to visit for the main recruiting weekend on January 22nd.
Compared to the class of 2014 breakdown, Rutgers is recruiting much smarter this time around. They have been much more active on social media, with mailings and also having multiple members of the staff maintaining relationships with commitments.
When it comes to a prospect giving a verbal commitment many consider it a way of letting the other schools know who their competition is. As noted over the past couple of weeks and highlighted by DB Patrice Rene’s recent official visit to Wisconsin, programs are doing their best to go after some of the Rutgers commitments. One school in particular that has been very aggressive is Pittsburgh. Head coach Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers have been heavily recruiting half of the Rutgers class, visiting most of those programs during their bye week earlier this season and working on hosting guys like Rene, Justin Morgan and Elijah Johnson for official visits. Scarlet Nation has learned that Morgan, Johnson and Elias Reynolds are visiting Pitt today for their game against Miami.
For the most part the commitments are taking a wait and see approach on what happens with the RU coaching staff in the coming weeks. Some have always intended to take other visits no matter what. Right now, the commitments are expecting visits from their respective area RU recruiters when the regular season ends next week and while some are open to listening to other options, it is more of a backup plan in the event there is a coaching change.
The recent issues have been a deterrent for some uncommitted prospects such as Ohio DB Tony Butler who told Scarlet Nation that his coaches and parents were concerned about what was going on at Rutgers and why he decided to focus on WVU and Arizona State as his final two schools.
There are others who aren’t too bothered like Chicago DT Amir Watts. Scarlet Nation has learned that Watts moved his official visit date to the weekend of January 29th which is the last weekend before signing day. That will likely be a smaller visit weekend and it will allow the staff to spend more time devoted to toward Watts, an athletic DL with size that is needed to compete in the Big Ten.
Grand Street Campus commitment evaluations
Scarlet Nation was on hand to see Grand Street Campus wide receiver commitments Ahmed Bah and Taysir Mack in action vs Wagner of Staten Island in the PSAL City Quarterfinals.
Bah had the bigger game with 3 catches for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns, highlighted by a 56-yard score on a post route. Bah will be the first to admit that he needs to get faster to become an impact player on the college level but you can’t teach his size at 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds. His big hands allow him to comfortably haul in passes. He is fast enough right now to get over the top of high school defenses. His last catch, a 15-yarder, came on a dig route in the middle of the defense where he showed no fear going over the middle taking a hit while holding onto the football. His size is also an asset in the running and quick screen game and Bah takes pleasure in blocking.
Mack, who caught 60 passes for over 1,000 yards with 15 scores during the regular season, didn’t have his best game, only catching 3 passes for 42 yards. With Mack, he is such aggressive runner after the catch and the additional 15-20 pounds he has added since last season allows him to be a much more physical receiver. His final catch of the day, a 23-yarder was on a bubble screen where he broke multiple tackles as the Wagner defense had the play schemed properly but Mack’s effort made the play successful. At times, Mack needs to focus on catching the football before getting up field. He dropped one screen where he was guaranteed big yards because he was already looking up field. Another drop he had was on a contested jump ball in the end zone. It was a difficult play to make but Mack could have increased the probability of making the catch by reaching for the football at its highest point. If he can refine those little nuances, Mack is a strong candidate to play as a true freshman along with Isaiah Wright.
Keith Lumpkin on starting 37 straight games:
“I wake up every day feeling it. It catches up to you. I think about it all the time. It is a lot of hard work to maintain your body that way.”
Kyle Flood on comparing Lumpkin and redshirt freshman Zack Heeman:
“What's the comparison? Well, talking about two guys that are both 6-foot-7, both guys with 1,000-point scores in basketball, and both guys started to transform their bodes as they got closer senior in high school to really start to look like football players. We got to see, whether it was watching the end of Keith's career here at Rutgers - but I don't think the end of his career - and we're watching the beginning of Zack Heeman's.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Underclassmen O-linemen
5.) Tie – Zach Venesky, Jonah Jackson
4.) Tariq Cole
3.) Zack Heeman
2.) Marcus Applefield
1.) Dorian Miller
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will defeat Maryland on Saturday
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Patrice Rene – Episcopal (Va.)
The four-star athlete officially visited Wisconsin last week, but remains committed to Rutgers. He shared the latest in his recruitment and relationship with the Rutgers coaching staff.
“The relationships are still strong. I’m committed to Rutgers for a reason. I have much respect for the coaching staff but at the same time, with everything going on and the uncertainty [of the coaching staff’s future], it’s stuff that you can’t not acknowledge. It is definitely something I have to pay attention. My parents pay attention to it and where the staff stands and what is going to happen next year and stuff. At the same time, I would love to see that staff stay, I committed to them for a reason. That’s where I wanted to go but I have to be smart with my decision and have some options in case anything were to go bad. I think they understand that and I am not hiding anything from them. With the level of respect I have for them, I let them know I was going to take the Wisconsin visit.”
Rene spent the Thanksgiving holiday at his grandmother’s home in New York, which will enable him to get down to Rutgers for the Maryland game on Saturday.
“It is definitely going to be exciting," Rene said. "I think when I get there, it is going to be a reassuring moment that I made the right decision. I definitely chose Rutgers for a reason and I am excited to get there and see the coaches and players and talk to them and have a good time with the commits.”
Rene said the biggest concern with Rutgers is whether or not the coaching staff will remain after the season. Look for an article on Rene later in the day on Scarlet Nation.
LB Rashawn Battle – Wallenpaupack (Pa.)
The RU commit led his league in rushing yards this season and played outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme for Wallenpaupack.
“I was more physical this year, I was standing my ground more this year. A lot of guys couldn’t block me this year,” Battle said.
Battle also confirmed that he is still committed to Rutgers and the last time he made it to campus for the Michigan State contest.
“I am just focused on Rutgers right now. When a school calls my high school, like Pitt or California or Syracuse, my coach just tries to keep me focused on Rutgers. The school lets me know when other schools request my transcripts.”
Battle also revealedthat RU linebackers coach Bob Fraser is scheduled to visit Wallenpaupack High on Tuesday. Battle has no official visit date set yet and would not consider taking any other official visits unless something happened with the RU coaching staff.
“If anything ever comes up, I would consider it as a backup, but right now I am just focused on Rutgers,” Battle said.
Maryland Game Visitors
Class of 2016 commits
DB Patrice Rene - Episcopal School (Va.)
Class of 2017 commits
DB Naijee Jones - Timber Creek
Class of 2017 targets
ATH CJ Holmes - Cheshire Academy (Conn.) [Boston College, Mississippi State offers]
OL Stanley Hubbard - St John’s DC (Camped at Rutgers this summer
DE Mike Tverdov - Union (has RU offer)
Scarlet Nation on Location
Saturday 4pm Philadelphia City AAA Championship game
Imhotep Charter vs Archbishop Wood
This is a game that’s been circled since right after their matchup last year when Archbishop Wood held on for a 42-34 win en route to a second consecutive state championship. Rutgers QB commit Anthony Russo and 2017 offeree WR Mark Webb lead the Vikings against Imhotep senior OL offerees Yasir Durant and Johncarlo Valentin in this battle for supremacy in the City of Brotherly Love.
The state of 2016 recruiting
Even with all of the turmoil surrounding the Rutgers program throughout the course of the 2015 football season, recruiting efforts led by Director of Recruiting EJ Barthel have left the 2016 class intact for the most part. The only defection thus far Venice (Fla.) DT Jerrod Hewitt is still seriously considering the Scarlet Knights with plans to visit for the main recruiting weekend on January 22nd.
Compared to the class of 2014 breakdown, Rutgers is recruiting much smarter this time around. They have been much more active on social media, with mailings and also having multiple members of the staff maintaining relationships with commitments.
When it comes to a prospect giving a verbal commitment many consider it a way of letting the other schools know who their competition is. As noted over the past couple of weeks and highlighted by DB Patrice Rene’s recent official visit to Wisconsin, programs are doing their best to go after some of the Rutgers commitments. One school in particular that has been very aggressive is Pittsburgh. Head coach Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers have been heavily recruiting half of the Rutgers class, visiting most of those programs during their bye week earlier this season and working on hosting guys like Rene, Justin Morgan and Elijah Johnson for official visits. Scarlet Nation has learned that Morgan, Johnson and Elias Reynolds are visiting Pitt today for their game against Miami.
For the most part the commitments are taking a wait and see approach on what happens with the RU coaching staff in the coming weeks. Some have always intended to take other visits no matter what. Right now, the commitments are expecting visits from their respective area RU recruiters when the regular season ends next week and while some are open to listening to other options, it is more of a backup plan in the event there is a coaching change.
The recent issues have been a deterrent for some uncommitted prospects such as Ohio DB Tony Butler who told Scarlet Nation that his coaches and parents were concerned about what was going on at Rutgers and why he decided to focus on WVU and Arizona State as his final two schools.
There are others who aren’t too bothered like Chicago DT Amir Watts. Scarlet Nation has learned that Watts moved his official visit date to the weekend of January 29th which is the last weekend before signing day. That will likely be a smaller visit weekend and it will allow the staff to spend more time devoted to toward Watts, an athletic DL with size that is needed to compete in the Big Ten.
Grand Street Campus commitment evaluations
Scarlet Nation was on hand to see Grand Street Campus wide receiver commitments Ahmed Bah and Taysir Mack in action vs Wagner of Staten Island in the PSAL City Quarterfinals.
Bah had the bigger game with 3 catches for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns, highlighted by a 56-yard score on a post route. Bah will be the first to admit that he needs to get faster to become an impact player on the college level but you can’t teach his size at 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds. His big hands allow him to comfortably haul in passes. He is fast enough right now to get over the top of high school defenses. His last catch, a 15-yarder, came on a dig route in the middle of the defense where he showed no fear going over the middle taking a hit while holding onto the football. His size is also an asset in the running and quick screen game and Bah takes pleasure in blocking.
Mack, who caught 60 passes for over 1,000 yards with 15 scores during the regular season, didn’t have his best game, only catching 3 passes for 42 yards. With Mack, he is such aggressive runner after the catch and the additional 15-20 pounds he has added since last season allows him to be a much more physical receiver. His final catch of the day, a 23-yarder was on a bubble screen where he broke multiple tackles as the Wagner defense had the play schemed properly but Mack’s effort made the play successful. At times, Mack needs to focus on catching the football before getting up field. He dropped one screen where he was guaranteed big yards because he was already looking up field. Another drop he had was on a contested jump ball in the end zone. It was a difficult play to make but Mack could have increased the probability of making the catch by reaching for the football at its highest point. If he can refine those little nuances, Mack is a strong candidate to play as a true freshman along with Isaiah Wright.
