Quotables
RU DB coach Henry Baker on the battle for the No.4 cornerback position:
"Kobe [Marfo] is coming along well, Zane [Campbell] was coming on early in the spring. But those guys got a lot of work to do. But they are climbing. I think those guys will be able to contribute. I think they will find roles, but they have some work to do before they can help us out on the defensive field.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU projected reception leaders
5.) Dacoven Bailey
4.) Bo Melton
3.) Jawuan Harris
2.) Damon Mitchell
1.) Janarion Grant
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers’ first commit will be a defensive player
Recruiting Tidbits
’18 QB Anthony Paoletti (Marple Newtown - PA)
The junior has been hearing from quite a bit of schools recently including Purdue, Rutgers, and Temple. One particular quote really stood out when Paoletti was talking to Scarlet Nation about Rutgers.
"To be honest, I like the fact that they have struggled recently and hopefully I get to receive the opportunity to help build that program up once again.”
Paoletti is listed as a pro-style quarterback and is hoping to make the trip over to Rutgers soon. He currently holds offers from Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio).
’18 QB Da’Vion Kidd-Jackson (West Catholic - PA)
Jackson is another quarterback who is starting to hear more from the Scarlet Knights as the search for a QB in the class of 2018 continues. He’s been talking back and forth a lot recently with recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt. As soon as Kidd-Jackson finds a date that doesn’t interfere with his track season, he will be making the trip over to RU.
’18 RB Kyle Dobbins (St. Augustine Prep - NJ)
Dobbins informed Scarlet Nation that he is currently hearing quite a bit from the Scarlet Knights. The staff has been telling him that he has to get up to Rutgers as much as possible and Dobbins also said that “they have been showing him a lot of love recently.” Dobbins was back on campus yesterday and said he enjoyed the trip while he also has plans to get back to Rutgers for the upcoming spring game.
’18 DB Jermaine Waller (Avalon School - MD)
Waller visited Rutgers last week and told Scarlet Nation he really enjoyed his trip. He spoke with some of the coaches and said it was a good trip to get to know more about Rutgers. The staff didn’t push too hard for a commitment from the three-star target, but do want him to come back up soon with his family.
’18 ATH Amad Anderson (Curtis - NY)
The New York product took the trip to campus on Thursday and said that he enjoyed his latest RU visit. However, it appears that Anderson is favoring Maryland right now, but the trip definitely helped Rutgers in that race.
Recruiting Slant
One of the biggest differences in recruiting the class of 2017 and 2018 for Rutgers has been felt early on in southern New Jersey. Yesterday’s commitment of Vineland linebacker Nihym Anderson to Maryland could be the first of a few in-state defections. Four-star running back Iverson Clement of Rancocas Valley is also looking to go outside New Jersey and Vineland's Isiah Pacheco could wind up following his teammate Anderson to Maryland. Pacheco does not want to stray far from home, which still puts Rutgers right in the race.
Meanwhile, St. Augustine running back Kyle Dobbins visited yesterday and while he is high on Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights are still lumped in with a few other schools as his current favorites.
The Rutgers staff has been unable to find an assistant to replace Aaron Henry when it comes to recruiting South Jersey. There are still some targets on the board in Shawnee athlete Daevon Robinson, Pacheco, Dobbins, Millville running back Clayton Scott, wide receiver Taj Harris of Palmyra and athlete Travon King of Camden. Some of those prospects could find that their lists getting adjusted in the coming months as more prospects begin committing. Spots that were once open for them at certain schools may quickly dry up. Suddenly, prospects with seven offers may find themselves with only a few committable ones come June.
This could work into Rutgers’ benefit as the staff has positioned itself in the top group of favorites for quite a few prospects. Once commitments start coming around the country through the month of May, the RU staff will have a little more leverage when it comes to pushing prospects for a commitment.
Head coach Chris Ash was asked about the lack of commitments following Thursday’s practice and here is what he had to say.
“I'm not concerned about that one bit. You look back last year and we probably had one kid [Naijee Jones] who was committed. He was committed before we ever got here. I'm worried about commitments on the first Wednesday in February. Why hasn't anyone committed? Because no one's committed. Simple as that, But I am not concerned one bit about commitments in April. I am concerned about them in February.”
Coincidentally, last year’s second commit came on this very weekend when four-star Bo Melton announced his plans to join the Scarlet Knights in mid April of last year. Four days later, four-star Micah Clark also jumped on board. They joined Naijee Jones, who Ash referenced, and Bryce Watts, who wound up decommitting late in the recruiting season after committing to Rutgers on Easter, which fell on March 27th last year.
However, each recruiting season takes on its own form and while Ash was busy selling recruits on his rebuilding plan last year, some of this year’s early targets have not bought in so early. That does not mean that the next few months will not land a fair amount of commitments.
This year’s class also does not look like it will have the same NJ representation. However, the 2018 class if not as strong or deep as the 2017 class was in the state of New Jersey. That has prompted the staff to engage more efforts recruiting outside the state of New Jersey. Those relationships take a little more time to cultivate. The bottom line is that this year’s recruiting haul is going to take a different trajectory and while it may seem to be getting off to a slow start, it won’t be long before Rutgers claims its first commit.
Team Tidbits
The rebuilding process at Rutgers was never going to be an overnight fix. Some of that rebuild has been evident in the spring as there more depth is steadily starting to accumulate at some positions, but still has a ways to go. Ash does not want to threaten that depth with any unnecessary risks, which explains why he is expected to limit contact in the spring game.
“We are still debating on whether it is going to be live or not, because we don’t have the depth and we cannot afford to have somebody hurt,” Ash said of the spring game. “Right now, we are at the point where we’ve had some good, productive live scrimmages here in the spring. We will not go live again at all in the spring until we get into potentially the spring game. Then, we have to make a decision here as we continue to go on what type of spring game we are going to have.”
More depth will be on the way in the summer with a host of talented freshmen coming in, along with a pair of grad transfers (Ryan Anderson, Gus Edwards) who are both expected to contribute this season.
Some minor bumps and bruises sustained this week to various players may also influence Ash’s decision to forgo any live contact during the spring game, which looks to be a very smart business decision.
There will also be no spring awards for the players, the same as it was last year under Ash.
“We have our Champions Club that is where we honor guys for doing the right thing; their attitude, their effort, their performance both athletically as well as academically,” Ash said. “That is our opportunity to do that. We have a Champions Club before spring practice for quarter one. We will have another one after spring ball is over and that’s quarter No.2. That is not about most improved and all of that stuff. It is about ‘hey, you’ve e got the right attitude, right effort and you have gone out and laid it on the line in practice.'”
RU DB coach Henry Baker on the battle for the No.4 cornerback position:
"Kobe [Marfo] is coming along well, Zane [Campbell] was coming on early in the spring. But those guys got a lot of work to do. But they are climbing. I think those guys will be able to contribute. I think they will find roles, but they have some work to do before they can help us out on the defensive field.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU projected reception leaders
5.) Dacoven Bailey
4.) Bo Melton
3.) Jawuan Harris
2.) Damon Mitchell
1.) Janarion Grant
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers’ first commit will be a defensive player
Recruiting Tidbits
’18 QB Anthony Paoletti (Marple Newtown - PA)
The junior has been hearing from quite a bit of schools recently including Purdue, Rutgers, and Temple. One particular quote really stood out when Paoletti was talking to Scarlet Nation about Rutgers.
"To be honest, I like the fact that they have struggled recently and hopefully I get to receive the opportunity to help build that program up once again.”
Paoletti is listed as a pro-style quarterback and is hoping to make the trip over to Rutgers soon. He currently holds offers from Eastern Michigan and Miami (Ohio).
’18 QB Da’Vion Kidd-Jackson (West Catholic - PA)
Jackson is another quarterback who is starting to hear more from the Scarlet Knights as the search for a QB in the class of 2018 continues. He’s been talking back and forth a lot recently with recruiting assistant Matt Hewitt. As soon as Kidd-Jackson finds a date that doesn’t interfere with his track season, he will be making the trip over to RU.
’18 RB Kyle Dobbins (St. Augustine Prep - NJ)
Dobbins informed Scarlet Nation that he is currently hearing quite a bit from the Scarlet Knights. The staff has been telling him that he has to get up to Rutgers as much as possible and Dobbins also said that “they have been showing him a lot of love recently.” Dobbins was back on campus yesterday and said he enjoyed the trip while he also has plans to get back to Rutgers for the upcoming spring game.
’18 DB Jermaine Waller (Avalon School - MD)
Waller visited Rutgers last week and told Scarlet Nation he really enjoyed his trip. He spoke with some of the coaches and said it was a good trip to get to know more about Rutgers. The staff didn’t push too hard for a commitment from the three-star target, but do want him to come back up soon with his family.
’18 ATH Amad Anderson (Curtis - NY)
The New York product took the trip to campus on Thursday and said that he enjoyed his latest RU visit. However, it appears that Anderson is favoring Maryland right now, but the trip definitely helped Rutgers in that race.
Recruiting Slant
One of the biggest differences in recruiting the class of 2017 and 2018 for Rutgers has been felt early on in southern New Jersey. Yesterday’s commitment of Vineland linebacker Nihym Anderson to Maryland could be the first of a few in-state defections. Four-star running back Iverson Clement of Rancocas Valley is also looking to go outside New Jersey and Vineland's Isiah Pacheco could wind up following his teammate Anderson to Maryland. Pacheco does not want to stray far from home, which still puts Rutgers right in the race.
Meanwhile, St. Augustine running back Kyle Dobbins visited yesterday and while he is high on Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights are still lumped in with a few other schools as his current favorites.
The Rutgers staff has been unable to find an assistant to replace Aaron Henry when it comes to recruiting South Jersey. There are still some targets on the board in Shawnee athlete Daevon Robinson, Pacheco, Dobbins, Millville running back Clayton Scott, wide receiver Taj Harris of Palmyra and athlete Travon King of Camden. Some of those prospects could find that their lists getting adjusted in the coming months as more prospects begin committing. Spots that were once open for them at certain schools may quickly dry up. Suddenly, prospects with seven offers may find themselves with only a few committable ones come June.
This could work into Rutgers’ benefit as the staff has positioned itself in the top group of favorites for quite a few prospects. Once commitments start coming around the country through the month of May, the RU staff will have a little more leverage when it comes to pushing prospects for a commitment.
Head coach Chris Ash was asked about the lack of commitments following Thursday’s practice and here is what he had to say.
“I'm not concerned about that one bit. You look back last year and we probably had one kid [Naijee Jones] who was committed. He was committed before we ever got here. I'm worried about commitments on the first Wednesday in February. Why hasn't anyone committed? Because no one's committed. Simple as that, But I am not concerned one bit about commitments in April. I am concerned about them in February.”
Coincidentally, last year’s second commit came on this very weekend when four-star Bo Melton announced his plans to join the Scarlet Knights in mid April of last year. Four days later, four-star Micah Clark also jumped on board. They joined Naijee Jones, who Ash referenced, and Bryce Watts, who wound up decommitting late in the recruiting season after committing to Rutgers on Easter, which fell on March 27th last year.
However, each recruiting season takes on its own form and while Ash was busy selling recruits on his rebuilding plan last year, some of this year’s early targets have not bought in so early. That does not mean that the next few months will not land a fair amount of commitments.
This year’s class also does not look like it will have the same NJ representation. However, the 2018 class if not as strong or deep as the 2017 class was in the state of New Jersey. That has prompted the staff to engage more efforts recruiting outside the state of New Jersey. Those relationships take a little more time to cultivate. The bottom line is that this year’s recruiting haul is going to take a different trajectory and while it may seem to be getting off to a slow start, it won’t be long before Rutgers claims its first commit.
Team Tidbits
The rebuilding process at Rutgers was never going to be an overnight fix. Some of that rebuild has been evident in the spring as there more depth is steadily starting to accumulate at some positions, but still has a ways to go. Ash does not want to threaten that depth with any unnecessary risks, which explains why he is expected to limit contact in the spring game.
“We are still debating on whether it is going to be live or not, because we don’t have the depth and we cannot afford to have somebody hurt,” Ash said of the spring game. “Right now, we are at the point where we’ve had some good, productive live scrimmages here in the spring. We will not go live again at all in the spring until we get into potentially the spring game. Then, we have to make a decision here as we continue to go on what type of spring game we are going to have.”
More depth will be on the way in the summer with a host of talented freshmen coming in, along with a pair of grad transfers (Ryan Anderson, Gus Edwards) who are both expected to contribute this season.
Some minor bumps and bruises sustained this week to various players may also influence Ash’s decision to forgo any live contact during the spring game, which looks to be a very smart business decision.
There will also be no spring awards for the players, the same as it was last year under Ash.
“We have our Champions Club that is where we honor guys for doing the right thing; their attitude, their effort, their performance both athletically as well as academically,” Ash said. “That is our opportunity to do that. We have a Champions Club before spring practice for quarter one. We will have another one after spring ball is over and that’s quarter No.2. That is not about most improved and all of that stuff. It is about ‘hey, you’ve e got the right attitude, right effort and you have gone out and laid it on the line in practice.'”
