Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Seniors
5.) Djwany Mera
4.) Quentin Gause
3.) Darius Hamilton
2.) Keith Lumpkin
1.) Leonte Carroo
Bobby's Crystal Ball
Rutgers will land at least three commitments in the month of April
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Isaiah Wright - Kingswood Oxford (Conn.)
A recent visitor to Rutgers, the Connecticut receiver has named a top three in no order of Rutgers, Ohio State and Boston College. Wright is looking to make a decision no later the beginning of summer football camp. His next visit will be to Ohio State.
Boston College has signed multiple players from his school most recently class of 2015 LB Shareef Grice. Rutgers made a strong impression during Wright's most recent unofficial visit to Piscataway as current OC Ben McDaniels is handling his recruitment. Wright told Scarlet Nation that he could potentially attend camps at his top school as well.
ATH Chase Claypool - Abbotsford (BC, Canada)
The British Columbian athlete recently received his second offer from Rutgers. Claypool was hoping to make the trip east to visit this weekend but that doesn't look likely. With the spring evaluation period approaching, expect more Pac 12 schools closer to home to get involved with 6-foot-5, 190-pound athlete. Rutgers has been quietly recruiting Claypool which bodes well even if his recruitment really takes off. The biggest hurdle for RU looks to be overcoming the distance factor.
ATH Jovani Haskins - Bergenfield
Coming off a Cinderella season on the hardwood where he led his Bergenfield team to the New Jersey Group 3 state championship, Haskins is ready to focus on football once again as the recruiting process is starting to heat back up.
"Virginia Tech and Pitt are heavy on me; Rutgers, West Virginia, North Carolina and Syracuse are also," said Haskins. "Penn State and Alabama once in a while. I have no clear cut favorites but I like West Virginia, UNC and Virginia Tech. I want to visit them all. Rutgers will always be in the mix."
Haskins has not finalized any visit dates but is working to see all of schools mentioned above. In the meantime, he is setting his sights on proving that he is one of the top tight end prospects in America during the camping season. With his cousin, QB target Dwayne Haskins, expected back on the Rutgers campus for spring practice, it is likely that Jovani may accompany him on the same day.
QB Steven Duncan - Ashley Ridge (S.C.)
As Jarrett Guarantano nears a decision in less than a month and with Dwayne Haskins and Anthony Russo on the radar, Rutgers has been talking to the South Carolina quarterback prospect, who is set to visit Piscataway on April 4th.
"I spoke with Coach McDaniels on the phone last night for a while and I think that's the date we are visiting," Duncan told Scarlet Nation on Thursday. "They have been great. Coach McDaniels has told me he is very interested in me and that he loves my film and is coming down during to spring."
LB Kaiwan Lewis - South Carolina
Lewis is focused on completing his studies at South Carolina while training for his final season at Rutgers. Although distance prevents Lewis from easily getting on campus for spring practice, he'll be mentally prepared for his arrival this summer.
"They're in the process of sending my iPad (to watch practice film)" said Lewis. "Right now, I'm studying play book and formation terminology."
Lewis is hoping to make it to the Rutgers campus April 24th for the Friday Knight Lights Spring Game.
WR Tino Ellis - DeMatha (Md.)
One of the top targets at the wide receiver position, Ellis was unable to get to campus for Junior Day earlier this month but told Scarlet Nation that he still has plans to visit campus at some point this spring.
Most of Ellis' recent contact with the Scarlet Knights has been through offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels who has told the Maryland prospect that he could line up as either an outside or inside receiver at Rutgers. Ellis' current top six schools consist of Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, North Carolina and Kentucky. He'll spend his off season catching passes from Dwayne Haskins on the Perfect Performance 7-on-7 team.
QB Jarrett Guarantano - Bergen Catholic
Last night, four-star quarterback announced via Twitter that he will make his final decision on April 15th at 3 p.m. inside Bergen Catholic High School. Guarantano will decide between finalists Rutgers, Ohio State and Tennessee. He called Tennessee his slight leader after visiting on Monday and plans to visit Ohio State sometime during the first week of April. As of now, there is not another visit planned to Rutgers, but Guarantano has made impromptu trips to Piscataway in the past.
WR Dontay Mayfield - Guilliver Prep (Fla.)
The Miami wide receiver holds a Rutgers offer and just picked up three more in the last week from UCF, Syracuse and Illinois. However, he has been hearing less from Rutgers and being as though the staff is doing so well with many local receivers, it does not look like Mayfield is a priority as of now. He did tell Scarlet Nation there is still an interest in RU should they decide to come back into the picture.
April 4th Weekend Visitors
Following up on this weekend's visits highlighted by Boston College commit Danny Dalton and OL target Liam Smith, the numbers increase with the start of Rutgers' spring practice next week. On the weekend of April 4th, Rutgers will welcome a host of prospects.
One of the first commitments of the class of 2016 is expected to be out in full force next weekend with Jon Pollock making the trip up north along with RB target Trey Sneed.
As mentioned already in this Fat Cat, South Carolina QB Steven Duncan is seeing increased interest from the Rutgers staff and is targeting April 4th as his visit date.
The whole Next Level Greats 7-on-7 program out of South Jersey is expected on campus next Saturday highlighted by the following prospects:
2016 WR offer Kelvin Harmon, 2016 WR offer Brad Hawkins, 2016 ATH Lonnie Moore, 2017 DB Elvis Hines, 2017 WR Everett Wormley, 2016 ATH Tyree Rodgers, 2017 LB Jon'avin Freeman
Also coming from South Jersey are Timber Creek WR Noah Ellison and LB Tyreek Willams. Neither Creek prospect has a Rutgers offers at this point but that could change later this spring.
If the RU staff can't get him on campus for his own personal visit, Philadelphia DL target Karamo Dioubate will likely make the trip during the weekend of April 4th. He has named Rutgers one of his top schools as the staff issued Dioubate his first offer, which came last year during his junior season.
Hoops Tidbits
Rutgers is expected to host North Carolina product SG Charles Minlend and Florida wing Jon Laurent this weekend. Both prospects hold offers from the Scarlet Knights and seem to have a high interest in joining Eddie Jordan's program. Even though the team struggled this year, both Minlend and Laurent see potential in the program.
This post was edited on 3/27 3:48 AM by Bobby Deren
Top Five RU Seniors
5.) Djwany Mera
4.) Quentin Gause
3.) Darius Hamilton
2.) Keith Lumpkin
1.) Leonte Carroo
Bobby's Crystal Ball
Rutgers will land at least three commitments in the month of April
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Isaiah Wright - Kingswood Oxford (Conn.)
A recent visitor to Rutgers, the Connecticut receiver has named a top three in no order of Rutgers, Ohio State and Boston College. Wright is looking to make a decision no later the beginning of summer football camp. His next visit will be to Ohio State.
Boston College has signed multiple players from his school most recently class of 2015 LB Shareef Grice. Rutgers made a strong impression during Wright's most recent unofficial visit to Piscataway as current OC Ben McDaniels is handling his recruitment. Wright told Scarlet Nation that he could potentially attend camps at his top school as well.
ATH Chase Claypool - Abbotsford (BC, Canada)
The British Columbian athlete recently received his second offer from Rutgers. Claypool was hoping to make the trip east to visit this weekend but that doesn't look likely. With the spring evaluation period approaching, expect more Pac 12 schools closer to home to get involved with 6-foot-5, 190-pound athlete. Rutgers has been quietly recruiting Claypool which bodes well even if his recruitment really takes off. The biggest hurdle for RU looks to be overcoming the distance factor.
ATH Jovani Haskins - Bergenfield
Coming off a Cinderella season on the hardwood where he led his Bergenfield team to the New Jersey Group 3 state championship, Haskins is ready to focus on football once again as the recruiting process is starting to heat back up.
"Virginia Tech and Pitt are heavy on me; Rutgers, West Virginia, North Carolina and Syracuse are also," said Haskins. "Penn State and Alabama once in a while. I have no clear cut favorites but I like West Virginia, UNC and Virginia Tech. I want to visit them all. Rutgers will always be in the mix."
Haskins has not finalized any visit dates but is working to see all of schools mentioned above. In the meantime, he is setting his sights on proving that he is one of the top tight end prospects in America during the camping season. With his cousin, QB target Dwayne Haskins, expected back on the Rutgers campus for spring practice, it is likely that Jovani may accompany him on the same day.
QB Steven Duncan - Ashley Ridge (S.C.)
As Jarrett Guarantano nears a decision in less than a month and with Dwayne Haskins and Anthony Russo on the radar, Rutgers has been talking to the South Carolina quarterback prospect, who is set to visit Piscataway on April 4th.
"I spoke with Coach McDaniels on the phone last night for a while and I think that's the date we are visiting," Duncan told Scarlet Nation on Thursday. "They have been great. Coach McDaniels has told me he is very interested in me and that he loves my film and is coming down during to spring."
LB Kaiwan Lewis - South Carolina
Lewis is focused on completing his studies at South Carolina while training for his final season at Rutgers. Although distance prevents Lewis from easily getting on campus for spring practice, he'll be mentally prepared for his arrival this summer.
"They're in the process of sending my iPad (to watch practice film)" said Lewis. "Right now, I'm studying play book and formation terminology."
Lewis is hoping to make it to the Rutgers campus April 24th for the Friday Knight Lights Spring Game.
WR Tino Ellis - DeMatha (Md.)
One of the top targets at the wide receiver position, Ellis was unable to get to campus for Junior Day earlier this month but told Scarlet Nation that he still has plans to visit campus at some point this spring.
Most of Ellis' recent contact with the Scarlet Knights has been through offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels who has told the Maryland prospect that he could line up as either an outside or inside receiver at Rutgers. Ellis' current top six schools consist of Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, North Carolina and Kentucky. He'll spend his off season catching passes from Dwayne Haskins on the Perfect Performance 7-on-7 team.
QB Jarrett Guarantano - Bergen Catholic
Last night, four-star quarterback announced via Twitter that he will make his final decision on April 15th at 3 p.m. inside Bergen Catholic High School. Guarantano will decide between finalists Rutgers, Ohio State and Tennessee. He called Tennessee his slight leader after visiting on Monday and plans to visit Ohio State sometime during the first week of April. As of now, there is not another visit planned to Rutgers, but Guarantano has made impromptu trips to Piscataway in the past.
WR Dontay Mayfield - Guilliver Prep (Fla.)
The Miami wide receiver holds a Rutgers offer and just picked up three more in the last week from UCF, Syracuse and Illinois. However, he has been hearing less from Rutgers and being as though the staff is doing so well with many local receivers, it does not look like Mayfield is a priority as of now. He did tell Scarlet Nation there is still an interest in RU should they decide to come back into the picture.
April 4th Weekend Visitors
Following up on this weekend's visits highlighted by Boston College commit Danny Dalton and OL target Liam Smith, the numbers increase with the start of Rutgers' spring practice next week. On the weekend of April 4th, Rutgers will welcome a host of prospects.
One of the first commitments of the class of 2016 is expected to be out in full force next weekend with Jon Pollock making the trip up north along with RB target Trey Sneed.
As mentioned already in this Fat Cat, South Carolina QB Steven Duncan is seeing increased interest from the Rutgers staff and is targeting April 4th as his visit date.
The whole Next Level Greats 7-on-7 program out of South Jersey is expected on campus next Saturday highlighted by the following prospects:
2016 WR offer Kelvin Harmon, 2016 WR offer Brad Hawkins, 2016 ATH Lonnie Moore, 2017 DB Elvis Hines, 2017 WR Everett Wormley, 2016 ATH Tyree Rodgers, 2017 LB Jon'avin Freeman
Also coming from South Jersey are Timber Creek WR Noah Ellison and LB Tyreek Willams. Neither Creek prospect has a Rutgers offers at this point but that could change later this spring.
If the RU staff can't get him on campus for his own personal visit, Philadelphia DL target Karamo Dioubate will likely make the trip during the weekend of April 4th. He has named Rutgers one of his top schools as the staff issued Dioubate his first offer, which came last year during his junior season.
Hoops Tidbits
Rutgers is expected to host North Carolina product SG Charles Minlend and Florida wing Jon Laurent this weekend. Both prospects hold offers from the Scarlet Knights and seem to have a high interest in joining Eddie Jordan's program. Even though the team struggled this year, both Minlend and Laurent see potential in the program.
This post was edited on 3/27 3:48 AM by Bobby Deren
