Fat Cat Top Five
Top RU Captain Candidates
5.) Chris Laviano
4.) Quanzell Lambert
3.) Chris Muller
2.) Julian Pinnix-Odrick
1.) Darius Hamilton
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Two new Rutgers offers will go out over the weekend
Recruiting Tidbits
DE Mike Tverdov – Union
Virginia Tech became offer No.7 for Tverdov while a Syracuse offer is likely to become No.8 this weekend. Meanwhile, the Rutgers staff is focusing a lot of attention on Tverdov.
“I am talking to them on a daily basis and getting tons of mail,” Tverdov said.
Tverdov is also in contact with more than one RU coach as he’s been hearing from defensive line coach Shane Burnham, offensive line coach A.J. Blazek, graduate assistant Scott Vallone, recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt and head coach Chris Ash.
TE Braden Atkinson – Boys Latin (Md.)
The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder will be on the Rutgers campus today for a personal visit as the staff has been maintaining contact with the Maryland product.
“I've been talking with coach Drew [Mehringer] and he's a great guy,” Atkinson said. “I think the offense they run would be perfect for me as the tight end I am.”
Thus far, Rutgers has only offered two tight ends in the class of 2017, Metuchen’s Devin Miller and Alex Marshall of Andover, New Hampshire.
QB Jon Lewis – St. Peter’s Prep
Recruiting has not been too crazy for Lewis, whose offer list now stands at six. However, that has not deterred Rutgers from making a strong push for his services.
“They talk to me almost every day,” Lewis said of the RU staff.
Mehringer has been the point man in Lewis’ recruitment, maintaining the most contact. Lewis also said he plans to get back to Rutgers for at least one spring practice.
ATH Justin Shorter – South Brunswick
The class of 2018 continues to be a priority as Shorter continues to be contacted by Rutgers. It also appears as though Ash has made a strong early impression on him.
“I definitely had that vibe in my mind when Coach Ash first started talking about what the program was going to be like,” Shorter said.
This spring, Shorter will be playing for the ASG 7-on-7 squad focus on that instead of running track.
TE Devin Miller - Metuchen
Rutgers continues its pursuit of Miller as one of only two tight ends to be offered thus far. The Rutgers staff continues to message Miller via Twitter and contact through phone calls almost daily. Miller's recruitment is finally starting to take flight as he recently picked up a Wisconsin offer and will visit Houston on his spring break. Michigan State has also started showing interest and begun contacting him.
OL Billy Ross - Huntington (WV)
Ross is a part of what is considered by many as the strongest year for talent in West Virginia in a long time. He told ScarletNation.com that he is in contact with Coach Blazek and they are in the process of trying to build a relationship after receiving an offer last night.
“He’s a great guy,” Ross said of Blazek.
Ross is working out his current visit schedule as he is approaching the 20-offer mark. Schools like Florida State, Michigan and Miami (FL) have offered the 6-foot-5, 295-pound tackle. Ross has visited Louisville and UNC and has Florida State and Tennessee next on the schedule.
ATH Bo Melton - Cedar Creek
Melton was on campus yesterday and ScarletNation.com has learned that the visit was a productive one. Melton is now up to 18 offers as Rutgers is making a strong push to keep Melton in state. Expect Melton to go out and see more schools though as he really has not delved deeply into the unofficial visit process just yet.
ATH Russ Yeast - Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove
Yeast, who has been committed to Kentucky since July 2015, has seen his recruitment take off recently with Rutgers right in the thick of the hunt.
“Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers all offered me this week. Syracuse Vanderbilt and Duke are all new schools that have reached out to me in the past 2-3 days,” said Yeast.
RU special teams coach Vince Okruch delivered the offer to Yeast last night.
“I’ll have to do my homework, I don’t know much about Rutgers,” said Yeast. “(Okruch) said I can do special things there and I need to come visit to see what the program has to offer.”
Rutgers offered Yeast as an athlete who can played either cornerback or wide receiver.
While there are a lot of schools interested in Yeast, it could be tough to pull him away from his Kentucky commitment. Russ’ father, Craig, was the top receiving target for former NFL #1 overall pick QB Tim Couch for the Wildcats in the 1990's, graduating with all of the school receiving records before moving to the NFL. The Yeast family recently moved to Indiana from Ohio as Craig accepted a new coaching job.
QB Tommy Devito - Don Bosco
Devito is pushing for the crown of top QB in NJ for the class of 2017 and has seen his recruitment start to get rolling with offers from Maryland and Syracuse in recent weeks. Devito was on campus for the recent NJ Rutgers Junior Day and is looking to get a deeper look at the school today.
“Definitely building a better relationship and talking more with the coaches and seeing more of the campus and academics,” said Devito when asked what we he was looking forward to on the visit.
Devito has been in contact with his area recruiter Bill Busch and OC Drew Mehringer. Devito came away very high on Rutgers after the junior day visit last month.
“I was really impressed with Rutgers. Coach Ash is clearly in charge and I love what he is going to do with Rutgers,” said Devito. “They haven't offered me but if they did, I do not have a reason why I would not go there.”
RB Jon Lovett - Cherokee
Lovett was featured in a Wednesday article as he will make a personal visit to Rutgers on Saturday. There is a very good chance Lovett comes away with an offer as his recruiting is just starting to get going. He already has three offers to his credit and is a big back who can move fluidly for his size. As the spring moves on, Lovett is likely to gain a lot more notoriety on the recruiting circuit.
Top RU Captain Candidates
5.) Chris Laviano
4.) Quanzell Lambert
3.) Chris Muller
2.) Julian Pinnix-Odrick
1.) Darius Hamilton
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Two new Rutgers offers will go out over the weekend
Recruiting Tidbits
DE Mike Tverdov – Union
Virginia Tech became offer No.7 for Tverdov while a Syracuse offer is likely to become No.8 this weekend. Meanwhile, the Rutgers staff is focusing a lot of attention on Tverdov.
“I am talking to them on a daily basis and getting tons of mail,” Tverdov said.
Tverdov is also in contact with more than one RU coach as he’s been hearing from defensive line coach Shane Burnham, offensive line coach A.J. Blazek, graduate assistant Scott Vallone, recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt and head coach Chris Ash.
TE Braden Atkinson – Boys Latin (Md.)
The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder will be on the Rutgers campus today for a personal visit as the staff has been maintaining contact with the Maryland product.
“I've been talking with coach Drew [Mehringer] and he's a great guy,” Atkinson said. “I think the offense they run would be perfect for me as the tight end I am.”
Thus far, Rutgers has only offered two tight ends in the class of 2017, Metuchen’s Devin Miller and Alex Marshall of Andover, New Hampshire.
QB Jon Lewis – St. Peter’s Prep
Recruiting has not been too crazy for Lewis, whose offer list now stands at six. However, that has not deterred Rutgers from making a strong push for his services.
“They talk to me almost every day,” Lewis said of the RU staff.
Mehringer has been the point man in Lewis’ recruitment, maintaining the most contact. Lewis also said he plans to get back to Rutgers for at least one spring practice.
ATH Justin Shorter – South Brunswick
The class of 2018 continues to be a priority as Shorter continues to be contacted by Rutgers. It also appears as though Ash has made a strong early impression on him.
“I definitely had that vibe in my mind when Coach Ash first started talking about what the program was going to be like,” Shorter said.
This spring, Shorter will be playing for the ASG 7-on-7 squad focus on that instead of running track.
TE Devin Miller - Metuchen
Rutgers continues its pursuit of Miller as one of only two tight ends to be offered thus far. The Rutgers staff continues to message Miller via Twitter and contact through phone calls almost daily. Miller's recruitment is finally starting to take flight as he recently picked up a Wisconsin offer and will visit Houston on his spring break. Michigan State has also started showing interest and begun contacting him.
OL Billy Ross - Huntington (WV)
Ross is a part of what is considered by many as the strongest year for talent in West Virginia in a long time. He told ScarletNation.com that he is in contact with Coach Blazek and they are in the process of trying to build a relationship after receiving an offer last night.
“He’s a great guy,” Ross said of Blazek.
Ross is working out his current visit schedule as he is approaching the 20-offer mark. Schools like Florida State, Michigan and Miami (FL) have offered the 6-foot-5, 295-pound tackle. Ross has visited Louisville and UNC and has Florida State and Tennessee next on the schedule.
ATH Bo Melton - Cedar Creek
Melton was on campus yesterday and ScarletNation.com has learned that the visit was a productive one. Melton is now up to 18 offers as Rutgers is making a strong push to keep Melton in state. Expect Melton to go out and see more schools though as he really has not delved deeply into the unofficial visit process just yet.
ATH Russ Yeast - Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove
Yeast, who has been committed to Kentucky since July 2015, has seen his recruitment take off recently with Rutgers right in the thick of the hunt.
“Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers all offered me this week. Syracuse Vanderbilt and Duke are all new schools that have reached out to me in the past 2-3 days,” said Yeast.
RU special teams coach Vince Okruch delivered the offer to Yeast last night.
“I’ll have to do my homework, I don’t know much about Rutgers,” said Yeast. “(Okruch) said I can do special things there and I need to come visit to see what the program has to offer.”
Rutgers offered Yeast as an athlete who can played either cornerback or wide receiver.
While there are a lot of schools interested in Yeast, it could be tough to pull him away from his Kentucky commitment. Russ’ father, Craig, was the top receiving target for former NFL #1 overall pick QB Tim Couch for the Wildcats in the 1990's, graduating with all of the school receiving records before moving to the NFL. The Yeast family recently moved to Indiana from Ohio as Craig accepted a new coaching job.
QB Tommy Devito - Don Bosco
Devito is pushing for the crown of top QB in NJ for the class of 2017 and has seen his recruitment start to get rolling with offers from Maryland and Syracuse in recent weeks. Devito was on campus for the recent NJ Rutgers Junior Day and is looking to get a deeper look at the school today.
“Definitely building a better relationship and talking more with the coaches and seeing more of the campus and academics,” said Devito when asked what we he was looking forward to on the visit.
Devito has been in contact with his area recruiter Bill Busch and OC Drew Mehringer. Devito came away very high on Rutgers after the junior day visit last month.
“I was really impressed with Rutgers. Coach Ash is clearly in charge and I love what he is going to do with Rutgers,” said Devito. “They haven't offered me but if they did, I do not have a reason why I would not go there.”
RB Jon Lovett - Cherokee
Lovett was featured in a Wednesday article as he will make a personal visit to Rutgers on Saturday. There is a very good chance Lovett comes away with an offer as his recruiting is just starting to get going. He already has three offers to his credit and is a big back who can move fluidly for his size. As the spring moves on, Lovett is likely to gain a lot more notoriety on the recruiting circuit.
