Quotables
Steve Longa on what RU fans can expect from him in the future:
“To be an inspiration on and off the field and win football games.”
Greg Schiano on how realistic it was for his program to have a top 5 APR finish when he took over in 2001:
"Well it's probably a good thing that we didn't know there was going to be an APR right? That could have been a little bit scary. You know, you've covered the team for a long time, you're aware of the troubles that we were experiencing academically when we arrived."
Saint Peter’s Prep sophomore Tre Bell on having seen his teammates go through the recruiting porcess:
“It’s great experience and those guys give great knowledge. They tell me to keep working, stay humble and make sure I focus on getting faster, bigger and stronger.”
RU director of football academic support Scott Walker on whether or not the APR score announcement gets overlooked because it's only one day of the year:
"I think it's better than last year when they announced the sanctions against USC the same day as they announced the APR. ...I think you hear all the negatives about college athletics and this is something that is a positive thing."
Carlton Agudosi’s message to teammate Kye Morgan:
"Kye Morgan come to Rutgers!"
Fat Cat Top 5
Top 5 RU Summer events before training camp
5. Hoops freshmen report
4. Football freshmen arrive on campus
3. Hoops summer league at the shore
2. RU Big Man Academy
1. RU summer camp
The Numbers Game
10 weeks until RU players report for training camp
9 WR's on the RU roster heading into June
8 Bosco and SPP juniors holding RU offers
7 offers for SPP QB Brandon Napoleon
6 ACC teams never played in a BCS bowl game (BC, UNC, Duke, Clemson, UVA, NC State)
5 commits to the Rutgers class of 2012
4 RU offers out to four-star cornerbacks
3 running backs listed as even on the spring depth chart (Deering, Williams, Jamison)
2 Big East teams never played in a BCS bowl game (RU and USF)
1 FBS school with a better APR score than Rutgers
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Central Florida will be the next school to join the Big East
Quentin Gause will begin the season on the Rutgers two-deep
Recruiting Tidbits
Eli Ankou (St. Peter, Ontario)
The defensive end will camp at Rutgers and now holds three total offers. He is hopeful of landing a Rutgers offer and has no favorites as of now.
“I wouldn’t rank anyone right now,” said Ankou. “I mean, I believe it’s deeper than that. The chemistry you have with the organization can’t be put on a scale.”
Carlton Agudosi (Franklin)
The RU commit is looking forward to next month’s trip to Dallas where he will compete with some of the state’s finest players.
“I'm going to Texas for Badger Sports 7-on-7 with the NJ Speed team with the Bosco skill guys: Devin Fuller, Sean Maguire, Eli Hughes, Tevin Shaw and a few others," said Agudosi/ "We have a very explosive team.”
Brandon Napoleon (St. Peter’s Prep)
NJVarsity’s 12th ranked junior picked up a couple of new offers to play quarterback this week from Buffalo and Temple, giving him a total of seven.
“It feels great because that’s what I want to play in college as my first option,” Napoleon said of his offers as a quarterback.
Elijah Hughes (Elizabeth)
With RU pulling in a running back commit in Desmon Peoples, it looks as though it will no longer be on the hunt for a smaller back which pretty much excludes Hughes from the mix. However, Hughes claimed that he picked up his first two offers from Syracuse and Kansas in the past week.
Frank Taylor (Archbishop Wood)
The highly-acclaimed offensive guard has placed RU up near the top of his list and confirmed on Thursday that the Scarlet Knights remain in his top five.
“Recruiting is good but I’m not too sure about any upcoming visits,” said Taylor.
As far as a set time for a decision, that could come sooner or later.
“Anytime before August 1st,” Taylor confirmed.
Jim Cashman (Haddonfield)
North Carolina entered the race for Cashman as the Tar Heels became the 25th school to offer the big offensive tackle on Thursday.
T.J. White (West Chester Henderson)
A teammate of RU commit Myles Jackson, the TE/DE has already picked up an early offer from Western Michigan. Plenty of schools have also been in to see the 6-foot-2, 225 pounder.
“I have had coaches from Penn State, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Rutgers, Boston College come into school to talk to me,” said White. “They told me that they are interested and want me to come to a 1-day camp.”
Adam DePietro (Lancaster Catholic, PA)
Rutgers remains in good with the offensive lineman, but will have to fend off a tough fight from Boston College and Northwestern.
“Recruiting is going pretty good, but I'm looking forward to bringing it to a close,” said DePietro. “I’m thinking about making a decision in early July. I’m going out and making all my visits at the beginning of summer.”
So is there a formal top 3 or 5 for DePietro?
“It’s hard to say, I still have a lot of places to see,” he said.
Zaire Williams (Cherokee) 2013
The running back will be camping at Rutgers and performed pretty well at the Under Armour Combine last weekend. He has 1A potential, very good size at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds. He could be in store for a big season as he becomes the feature back in a run heavy offense.
Michael Casimos (Don Bosco Prep)
Plenty of schools have passed through the halls of Bosco during the spring evaluation period and many have inquired about Casimos. Rutgers is among that group and has extended an invitation for him to perform in person in a few weeks.
“I wasn't [going to the RU camp] because of conflicting things," said Casimos. "But now i got a new invite to a big man camp that is different from the RU camp. But it’s still an RU camp.”
The Sleepers and the youngsters
Lewis Simpson (Camden)
The 6-foot-4, 290 pound junior offensive lineman is gradually creeping up on more college radars.
"He is a massive guy, four-year starter on varsity," said Camden head coach Durwin Pearson. "Temple, Rutgers, UConn and Iowa have shown interest. Iowa is very close to offering and they have a great track record with getting players from the city with Coach Darrell Wilson(Camden native) coaching there."
Simpson will attend RU's Big Man Academy along with 2014 defensive tackle Andrew Stevenson (6-foot-1, 290 pounds).
"He's very aggressive, started three games on varsity for us towards end of last season," Pearson said of Stevenson.
Greg Johnson (West Orange)
The junior WR/TE (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) had a strong showing last week at the Northeast Under Armour Combine.
"It was great, had a good experience," Johnson said of the combine. "I just wish I got the ball a little more but I didn’t complain about it. I just kept working hard. It was a good experience, I met a lot of good people."
Recently, Rutgers and Temple have been among the schools to visit West Orange High.
"Rutgers said they will be watching me closely this season and Temple wants me to camp June 18th and if I do well, I think they’ll offer," said Johnson who looks to be more of a tight end recruit.
Brad Henson (Monsignor Donovan) 2013
The 6-foot-4, 270 pound OL has the potential to be one of the top prospects in New Jersey for the class of 2013. Henson was very impressive this past weekend at the Under Armour Northeast Combine. Henson said he plans to camp at Rutgers as well as Georgia (where his father is from) Penn State, and Boston College. So far Henson has received some early interest from Notre Dame, Georgia, BC, Penn State and Rutgers.
Tajhier Hammary (Asbury Park)
The 2012 Athlete put on a show as a wide receiver at the Under Armour Combine, but some colleges have him projected as a cornerback.
"I was just trying to come here, work hard and make a name for myself," Hammary said of the combine. "I’ve been to five or six camps and I was trying to come here and work hard. I don’t have any offers yet so I am just trying to earn some."
Hammary just got back in contact with Rutgers as he has transferred back to Asbury Park. Hammary has received interest and in-school visits from Boston College, Maryland, Syracuse, UConn, South Florida, Monmouth, Temple, James Madison, North Carolina and Miami. As far as camps go, Hamary intends to be busy.
"I have a full schedule as I plan to camp at Wake Forest-June 12th, UNC-June 17th, Miami-June 18th and UConn-June 19th, and Rutgers-June 26th," he said. "Hopefully, I leave out with a scholarship from one of those."
Joe Scelzo (Tottenville, NY)
The big junior OL is scheduled to camp this summer at Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn and BC. Scelzo claims two offers but at this time did not want to reveal his suitors.
This post was edited on 5/27 1:36 AM by Bobby Deren
Steve Longa on what RU fans can expect from him in the future:
“To be an inspiration on and off the field and win football games.”
Greg Schiano on how realistic it was for his program to have a top 5 APR finish when he took over in 2001:
"Well it's probably a good thing that we didn't know there was going to be an APR right? That could have been a little bit scary. You know, you've covered the team for a long time, you're aware of the troubles that we were experiencing academically when we arrived."
Saint Peter’s Prep sophomore Tre Bell on having seen his teammates go through the recruiting porcess:
“It’s great experience and those guys give great knowledge. They tell me to keep working, stay humble and make sure I focus on getting faster, bigger and stronger.”
RU director of football academic support Scott Walker on whether or not the APR score announcement gets overlooked because it's only one day of the year:
"I think it's better than last year when they announced the sanctions against USC the same day as they announced the APR. ...I think you hear all the negatives about college athletics and this is something that is a positive thing."
Carlton Agudosi’s message to teammate Kye Morgan:
"Kye Morgan come to Rutgers!"
Fat Cat Top 5
Top 5 RU Summer events before training camp
5. Hoops freshmen report
4. Football freshmen arrive on campus
3. Hoops summer league at the shore
2. RU Big Man Academy
1. RU summer camp
The Numbers Game
10 weeks until RU players report for training camp
9 WR's on the RU roster heading into June
8 Bosco and SPP juniors holding RU offers
7 offers for SPP QB Brandon Napoleon
6 ACC teams never played in a BCS bowl game (BC, UNC, Duke, Clemson, UVA, NC State)
5 commits to the Rutgers class of 2012
4 RU offers out to four-star cornerbacks
3 running backs listed as even on the spring depth chart (Deering, Williams, Jamison)
2 Big East teams never played in a BCS bowl game (RU and USF)
1 FBS school with a better APR score than Rutgers
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Central Florida will be the next school to join the Big East
Quentin Gause will begin the season on the Rutgers two-deep
Recruiting Tidbits
Eli Ankou (St. Peter, Ontario)
The defensive end will camp at Rutgers and now holds three total offers. He is hopeful of landing a Rutgers offer and has no favorites as of now.
“I wouldn’t rank anyone right now,” said Ankou. “I mean, I believe it’s deeper than that. The chemistry you have with the organization can’t be put on a scale.”
Carlton Agudosi (Franklin)
The RU commit is looking forward to next month’s trip to Dallas where he will compete with some of the state’s finest players.
“I'm going to Texas for Badger Sports 7-on-7 with the NJ Speed team with the Bosco skill guys: Devin Fuller, Sean Maguire, Eli Hughes, Tevin Shaw and a few others," said Agudosi/ "We have a very explosive team.”
Brandon Napoleon (St. Peter’s Prep)
NJVarsity’s 12th ranked junior picked up a couple of new offers to play quarterback this week from Buffalo and Temple, giving him a total of seven.
“It feels great because that’s what I want to play in college as my first option,” Napoleon said of his offers as a quarterback.
Elijah Hughes (Elizabeth)
With RU pulling in a running back commit in Desmon Peoples, it looks as though it will no longer be on the hunt for a smaller back which pretty much excludes Hughes from the mix. However, Hughes claimed that he picked up his first two offers from Syracuse and Kansas in the past week.
Frank Taylor (Archbishop Wood)
The highly-acclaimed offensive guard has placed RU up near the top of his list and confirmed on Thursday that the Scarlet Knights remain in his top five.
“Recruiting is good but I’m not too sure about any upcoming visits,” said Taylor.
As far as a set time for a decision, that could come sooner or later.
“Anytime before August 1st,” Taylor confirmed.
Jim Cashman (Haddonfield)
North Carolina entered the race for Cashman as the Tar Heels became the 25th school to offer the big offensive tackle on Thursday.
T.J. White (West Chester Henderson)
A teammate of RU commit Myles Jackson, the TE/DE has already picked up an early offer from Western Michigan. Plenty of schools have also been in to see the 6-foot-2, 225 pounder.
“I have had coaches from Penn State, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Rutgers, Boston College come into school to talk to me,” said White. “They told me that they are interested and want me to come to a 1-day camp.”
Adam DePietro (Lancaster Catholic, PA)
Rutgers remains in good with the offensive lineman, but will have to fend off a tough fight from Boston College and Northwestern.
“Recruiting is going pretty good, but I'm looking forward to bringing it to a close,” said DePietro. “I’m thinking about making a decision in early July. I’m going out and making all my visits at the beginning of summer.”
So is there a formal top 3 or 5 for DePietro?
“It’s hard to say, I still have a lot of places to see,” he said.
Zaire Williams (Cherokee) 2013
The running back will be camping at Rutgers and performed pretty well at the Under Armour Combine last weekend. He has 1A potential, very good size at 5-foot-11, 190 pounds. He could be in store for a big season as he becomes the feature back in a run heavy offense.
Michael Casimos (Don Bosco Prep)
Plenty of schools have passed through the halls of Bosco during the spring evaluation period and many have inquired about Casimos. Rutgers is among that group and has extended an invitation for him to perform in person in a few weeks.
“I wasn't [going to the RU camp] because of conflicting things," said Casimos. "But now i got a new invite to a big man camp that is different from the RU camp. But it’s still an RU camp.”
The Sleepers and the youngsters
Lewis Simpson (Camden)
The 6-foot-4, 290 pound junior offensive lineman is gradually creeping up on more college radars.
"He is a massive guy, four-year starter on varsity," said Camden head coach Durwin Pearson. "Temple, Rutgers, UConn and Iowa have shown interest. Iowa is very close to offering and they have a great track record with getting players from the city with Coach Darrell Wilson(Camden native) coaching there."
Simpson will attend RU's Big Man Academy along with 2014 defensive tackle Andrew Stevenson (6-foot-1, 290 pounds).
"He's very aggressive, started three games on varsity for us towards end of last season," Pearson said of Stevenson.
Greg Johnson (West Orange)
The junior WR/TE (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) had a strong showing last week at the Northeast Under Armour Combine.
"It was great, had a good experience," Johnson said of the combine. "I just wish I got the ball a little more but I didn’t complain about it. I just kept working hard. It was a good experience, I met a lot of good people."
Recently, Rutgers and Temple have been among the schools to visit West Orange High.
"Rutgers said they will be watching me closely this season and Temple wants me to camp June 18th and if I do well, I think they’ll offer," said Johnson who looks to be more of a tight end recruit.
Brad Henson (Monsignor Donovan) 2013
The 6-foot-4, 270 pound OL has the potential to be one of the top prospects in New Jersey for the class of 2013. Henson was very impressive this past weekend at the Under Armour Northeast Combine. Henson said he plans to camp at Rutgers as well as Georgia (where his father is from) Penn State, and Boston College. So far Henson has received some early interest from Notre Dame, Georgia, BC, Penn State and Rutgers.
Tajhier Hammary (Asbury Park)
The 2012 Athlete put on a show as a wide receiver at the Under Armour Combine, but some colleges have him projected as a cornerback.
"I was just trying to come here, work hard and make a name for myself," Hammary said of the combine. "I’ve been to five or six camps and I was trying to come here and work hard. I don’t have any offers yet so I am just trying to earn some."
Hammary just got back in contact with Rutgers as he has transferred back to Asbury Park. Hammary has received interest and in-school visits from Boston College, Maryland, Syracuse, UConn, South Florida, Monmouth, Temple, James Madison, North Carolina and Miami. As far as camps go, Hamary intends to be busy.
"I have a full schedule as I plan to camp at Wake Forest-June 12th, UNC-June 17th, Miami-June 18th and UConn-June 19th, and Rutgers-June 26th," he said. "Hopefully, I leave out with a scholarship from one of those."
Joe Scelzo (Tottenville, NY)
The big junior OL is scheduled to camp this summer at Rutgers, Syracuse, UConn and BC. Scelzo claims two offers but at this time did not want to reveal his suitors.
This post was edited on 5/27 1:36 AM by Bobby Deren
