Quotables
Rashad Blunt on moving from Florida to New Jersey:
“I really don’t like how hot it is here. I probably will miss the weather once I get up there. I will also miss the palm trees. I have palm trees in my front yard. It is going to be weird not seeing palm trees every day.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five NJ Junior Prospects
5.) Ron Johnson (Camden)
4.) Jordan Fuller (Old Tappan)
3.) Kareem Walker (DePaul)
2.) Ahmir Mitchell (Cedar Creek)
1.) Rashan Gary (Paramus Catholic)
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers’ next commit will be an offensive player
Quarterback Recruiting
Dwayne Haskins - The Bullis School (Md.)
Since spending some time on the RU campus last weekend, things have been a little quieter between the four-star prospect and Rutgers. As Haskins continues to entertain a number of schools, it doesn’t look as though Rutgers is going to wait out his recruitment as evidenced by the multiple visits to different quarterbacks this week.
Last weekend when Haskins was on campus, he didn’t commingle with the other prospects who were on campus, such as the group of Camden players, which included 4-star wide receiver Brad Hawkins.
“I didn’t even talk to him or even see him,” Hawkins said of Haskins. “When I was at the Rutgers spring game, I saw him but I didn’t talk to him there either.
Anthony Russo - Archbishop Wood (Pa.)
Russo has enjoyed a strong off season highlighted by a top 5 performance at the NY/NJ Elite 11 camp. North Carolina came to watch him throw recently and although the Tar Heels have a QB commit in this class, the UNC staff appears to be on the cusp of offering as they are expecting a QB to transfer out of the program. UVA will also visit Archbishop Wood to watch Russo in the near future.
Rutgers continues to be well positioned with Russo, who will visit Rutgers next week for a personal visit with the staff. The Pennsylvania QB remains high on the program while Wood has been a pipeline to Rutgers in recent years.
Patrick O’Brien - San Juan Hills (Calif.)
The California product hosted Rutgers OC Ben McDaniels this week for an evaluation. Interest is continuing to build for O’Brien as he picked up an offer from Texas Tech this week. O’Brien told our Texas Tech website, RedRaiderSports.com, that Arizona State and Northwestern were coming to evaluate him this week. He also has offers from Colorado, Colorado State and Nebraska. The two big in-state schools, UCLA and USC, were taking a long look but both received commitments at the position and appear to done for the class of 2016. Nebraska has received one QB commitment, but plan to sign two in this class and O’Brien will visit Lincoln this weekend.
Steven Duncan - Ashley Ridge (S.C.)
McDaniels was down to see Duncan on Wednesday and the 6-foot-5 junior discussed what he and McDaniels talked about after his Wednesday practice performance.
“It went really well. He told me everything was positive out of his visit and everything he needed to see he saw,” Duncan said.
Duncan would be likely to commit if he received an offer and his plans to return for a camp visit are likely to depend on how things play out with Rutgers.
Aidan Smith - Carroll (Ind.)
McDaniels also made a trip out to see Smith throw in person, but has known about the Indiana junior for quite some time.
“I met him about a year ago at a showcase in Cleveland when he was still the wide receivers coach,” Smith said of McDaniels. “I have had a relationship with him ever since then. He told me he trusts in my abilities and likes what I have to offer so he wanted to come out and see me throw.”
After seeing Smith perform in person, McDaniels extended a camp invitation.
“I am hoping they offer before I get out there,” Smith said.
Currently, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Smith holds offers from Boston College, Ball State, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Ohio.
Max Mullaney - Colts Neck
The local product is still a bit under the radar, but did receive a visit from a member of the Rutgers coaching staff yesterday.
“The visit was great. Coach Joe Rossi stopped by the school, he couldn't sit and talk long so I'm calling him tonight to talk,” Mullaney told Scarlet Nation Thursday evening.
Mullaney seems farther down among the RU quarterback targets and could wind up being a walk-on candidate in the future.
Florida Cornerback Recruiting
Locally, defensive back isn’t the deepest position talent-wise in the class of 2016, so Rutgers focused on the position while evaluating talent in the Sunshine State this week.
Junior Henry Miller of Gateway received a visit from defensive line coach Jim Panagos. Miller told Scarlet Nation that Panagos informed Miller’s coach that “he loved the workout and it looks like Miller still remains a top target for Rutgers.” Miller is up to 29 offers after Purdue issued one yesterday and while he has no favorites, he intends to visit former teammate Isaiah Wharton at Rutgers this summer.
Junior Aaron Robinson of Deerfield Beach told Scarlet Nation that tight ends coach Phil Galiano evaluated him during a workout, issuing an offer afterwards through his coach. Kentucky, North Carolina and Wisconsin have also offered the 6-foot-1, 185 pound cornerback with Auburn and Florida showing interest.
Freshman Al Blades of University School picked up a Rutgers offer yesterday, even though he is already committed to Miami. Still just a freshman, Blades has a long way to go until signing day and Rutgers has made its interest known.
“I don't know much about the program but I'm really interested to learn about Rutgers and see what they have to offer and visit one day,” Blades said yesterday.
JUCO watch
OL Conner Morehart - Nassau Community College (N.Y.)
A former RU offeree at DT at the high school level, Morehart signed with Temple, but after not qualifying he ended up at Nassau Community College and switched to offensive line. Illinois and Georgia State have offered Morehart who is now 6-foot-5, 315 pounds and projected by most as either a center or guard. RU linebackers coach Bob Fraser inquired about Morehart when he visited the campus during an NCC spring practice last month.
CB Elijah Battle - Dodge City Community College (Kansas)
Battle (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) is a New Jersey native and high school teammate of current Scarlet Knight Komoko Turay, battle just received his first offer from Ohio. Meanwhile, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Iowa State are a few of the programs keeping a close eye on the Newark native. Rutgers is also keeping an eye on Battle but he told Scarlet Nation that he was told that Rutgers doesn’t know if they can take a JuCo corner this year.
Eye on Rutgers
Very soon, the new RU freshmen will arrive on campus. However, freshman playing time is
not always determined by talent, but by position need as deeper positions tend to warrant redshirts. Here is a look at the order of positions where it is very possible for a true freshman to play this season.
Tight end
Rutgers has a stable of tight ends on its roster and while Nick Arcidiacono may be at the head of that pack, it hasn’t been a position that has been one of extreme overall strength. Freshman Nakia Griffin is tipping the scales at around 235 pounds and Ron’Dell Carter is checking in at 240 pounds. Of those two freshmen, the one who picks things up the quickest could find their way onto the field this season.
Defensive tackle
The nose guard position is especially thin, which means the RU staff might have to play a freshman somewhere in the interior of the line. Kamaal Seymour looks like a legitimate candidate as he is already approaching the 290-pound mark. With Sebastian Joseph’s return date up in the air, there may be a need to play a freshman right away and Seymour would be that guy.
Defensive end
Marques Ford and early enrollee Jon Bateky both have very good chances of playing this year. Ford is among the most talented incoming freshmen while Bateky showed flashes in the spring and is currently right around the 260-pound mark. If Bateky continues to put on size, there is always the possibility that he could slide down to defensive tackle as well.
Quarterback
It looks to be a two-man race between Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig for the starting spot. This summer, Mike Dare will also enter the fold, armed with a lot of talent. By the time RU played Indiana last year, the Hooisers were on their third starting quarterback. That is proof that the physical play of the Big Ten can knock out a quarterback at any given moment. Dare could climb the ladder that way and if he can pick things up quickly, he has the talent to push those two signal callers ahead of him. Also keep in mind that RU has a recent history of playing true freshman quarterbacks as three have started in the last six years.
Offensive Line
Rutgers ended the spring with eight healthy offensive linemen. Sheer mathematics would put two freshmen on the two-deep if that is how RU would begin the season. Nevertheless, those freshmen may only wind up playing out of necessity. Zach Venesky looks to be the center of the future and there’s always the chance that he could enter the fray right away and learn through some bumps and bruises. However, the ideal plan would be to redshirt him and probably start him next season. Jack Shutack will also be one of only two true backup tackles in practice this summer, with Zach Heeman still recovering from injury.
Wide Receiver
Rutgers looks to have enough capable bodies at the position and can probably lean on redshirting all three freshman wideouts (Rashad Blunt, Jawuan Harris, Dontae Owens). But if an injury or two strikes the wide receiver position, the best of that freshman trio could find his way onto the field this season.
Rashad Blunt on moving from Florida to New Jersey:
“I really don’t like how hot it is here. I probably will miss the weather once I get up there. I will also miss the palm trees. I have palm trees in my front yard. It is going to be weird not seeing palm trees every day.”
Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five NJ Junior Prospects
5.) Ron Johnson (Camden)
4.) Jordan Fuller (Old Tappan)
3.) Kareem Walker (DePaul)
2.) Ahmir Mitchell (Cedar Creek)
1.) Rashan Gary (Paramus Catholic)
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers’ next commit will be an offensive player
Quarterback Recruiting
Dwayne Haskins - The Bullis School (Md.)
Since spending some time on the RU campus last weekend, things have been a little quieter between the four-star prospect and Rutgers. As Haskins continues to entertain a number of schools, it doesn’t look as though Rutgers is going to wait out his recruitment as evidenced by the multiple visits to different quarterbacks this week.
Last weekend when Haskins was on campus, he didn’t commingle with the other prospects who were on campus, such as the group of Camden players, which included 4-star wide receiver Brad Hawkins.
“I didn’t even talk to him or even see him,” Hawkins said of Haskins. “When I was at the Rutgers spring game, I saw him but I didn’t talk to him there either.
Anthony Russo - Archbishop Wood (Pa.)
Russo has enjoyed a strong off season highlighted by a top 5 performance at the NY/NJ Elite 11 camp. North Carolina came to watch him throw recently and although the Tar Heels have a QB commit in this class, the UNC staff appears to be on the cusp of offering as they are expecting a QB to transfer out of the program. UVA will also visit Archbishop Wood to watch Russo in the near future.
Rutgers continues to be well positioned with Russo, who will visit Rutgers next week for a personal visit with the staff. The Pennsylvania QB remains high on the program while Wood has been a pipeline to Rutgers in recent years.
Patrick O’Brien - San Juan Hills (Calif.)
The California product hosted Rutgers OC Ben McDaniels this week for an evaluation. Interest is continuing to build for O’Brien as he picked up an offer from Texas Tech this week. O’Brien told our Texas Tech website, RedRaiderSports.com, that Arizona State and Northwestern were coming to evaluate him this week. He also has offers from Colorado, Colorado State and Nebraska. The two big in-state schools, UCLA and USC, were taking a long look but both received commitments at the position and appear to done for the class of 2016. Nebraska has received one QB commitment, but plan to sign two in this class and O’Brien will visit Lincoln this weekend.
Steven Duncan - Ashley Ridge (S.C.)
McDaniels was down to see Duncan on Wednesday and the 6-foot-5 junior discussed what he and McDaniels talked about after his Wednesday practice performance.
“It went really well. He told me everything was positive out of his visit and everything he needed to see he saw,” Duncan said.
Duncan would be likely to commit if he received an offer and his plans to return for a camp visit are likely to depend on how things play out with Rutgers.
Aidan Smith - Carroll (Ind.)
McDaniels also made a trip out to see Smith throw in person, but has known about the Indiana junior for quite some time.
“I met him about a year ago at a showcase in Cleveland when he was still the wide receivers coach,” Smith said of McDaniels. “I have had a relationship with him ever since then. He told me he trusts in my abilities and likes what I have to offer so he wanted to come out and see me throw.”
After seeing Smith perform in person, McDaniels extended a camp invitation.
“I am hoping they offer before I get out there,” Smith said.
Currently, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Smith holds offers from Boston College, Ball State, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Ohio.
Max Mullaney - Colts Neck
The local product is still a bit under the radar, but did receive a visit from a member of the Rutgers coaching staff yesterday.
“The visit was great. Coach Joe Rossi stopped by the school, he couldn't sit and talk long so I'm calling him tonight to talk,” Mullaney told Scarlet Nation Thursday evening.
Mullaney seems farther down among the RU quarterback targets and could wind up being a walk-on candidate in the future.
Florida Cornerback Recruiting
Locally, defensive back isn’t the deepest position talent-wise in the class of 2016, so Rutgers focused on the position while evaluating talent in the Sunshine State this week.
Junior Henry Miller of Gateway received a visit from defensive line coach Jim Panagos. Miller told Scarlet Nation that Panagos informed Miller’s coach that “he loved the workout and it looks like Miller still remains a top target for Rutgers.” Miller is up to 29 offers after Purdue issued one yesterday and while he has no favorites, he intends to visit former teammate Isaiah Wharton at Rutgers this summer.
Junior Aaron Robinson of Deerfield Beach told Scarlet Nation that tight ends coach Phil Galiano evaluated him during a workout, issuing an offer afterwards through his coach. Kentucky, North Carolina and Wisconsin have also offered the 6-foot-1, 185 pound cornerback with Auburn and Florida showing interest.
Freshman Al Blades of University School picked up a Rutgers offer yesterday, even though he is already committed to Miami. Still just a freshman, Blades has a long way to go until signing day and Rutgers has made its interest known.
“I don't know much about the program but I'm really interested to learn about Rutgers and see what they have to offer and visit one day,” Blades said yesterday.
JUCO watch
OL Conner Morehart - Nassau Community College (N.Y.)
A former RU offeree at DT at the high school level, Morehart signed with Temple, but after not qualifying he ended up at Nassau Community College and switched to offensive line. Illinois and Georgia State have offered Morehart who is now 6-foot-5, 315 pounds and projected by most as either a center or guard. RU linebackers coach Bob Fraser inquired about Morehart when he visited the campus during an NCC spring practice last month.
CB Elijah Battle - Dodge City Community College (Kansas)
Battle (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) is a New Jersey native and high school teammate of current Scarlet Knight Komoko Turay, battle just received his first offer from Ohio. Meanwhile, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Iowa State are a few of the programs keeping a close eye on the Newark native. Rutgers is also keeping an eye on Battle but he told Scarlet Nation that he was told that Rutgers doesn’t know if they can take a JuCo corner this year.
Eye on Rutgers
Very soon, the new RU freshmen will arrive on campus. However, freshman playing time is
not always determined by talent, but by position need as deeper positions tend to warrant redshirts. Here is a look at the order of positions where it is very possible for a true freshman to play this season.
Tight end
Rutgers has a stable of tight ends on its roster and while Nick Arcidiacono may be at the head of that pack, it hasn’t been a position that has been one of extreme overall strength. Freshman Nakia Griffin is tipping the scales at around 235 pounds and Ron’Dell Carter is checking in at 240 pounds. Of those two freshmen, the one who picks things up the quickest could find their way onto the field this season.
Defensive tackle
The nose guard position is especially thin, which means the RU staff might have to play a freshman somewhere in the interior of the line. Kamaal Seymour looks like a legitimate candidate as he is already approaching the 290-pound mark. With Sebastian Joseph’s return date up in the air, there may be a need to play a freshman right away and Seymour would be that guy.
Defensive end
Marques Ford and early enrollee Jon Bateky both have very good chances of playing this year. Ford is among the most talented incoming freshmen while Bateky showed flashes in the spring and is currently right around the 260-pound mark. If Bateky continues to put on size, there is always the possibility that he could slide down to defensive tackle as well.
Quarterback
It looks to be a two-man race between Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig for the starting spot. This summer, Mike Dare will also enter the fold, armed with a lot of talent. By the time RU played Indiana last year, the Hooisers were on their third starting quarterback. That is proof that the physical play of the Big Ten can knock out a quarterback at any given moment. Dare could climb the ladder that way and if he can pick things up quickly, he has the talent to push those two signal callers ahead of him. Also keep in mind that RU has a recent history of playing true freshman quarterbacks as three have started in the last six years.
Offensive Line
Rutgers ended the spring with eight healthy offensive linemen. Sheer mathematics would put two freshmen on the two-deep if that is how RU would begin the season. Nevertheless, those freshmen may only wind up playing out of necessity. Zach Venesky looks to be the center of the future and there’s always the chance that he could enter the fray right away and learn through some bumps and bruises. However, the ideal plan would be to redshirt him and probably start him next season. Jack Shutack will also be one of only two true backup tackles in practice this summer, with Zach Heeman still recovering from injury.
Wide Receiver
Rutgers looks to have enough capable bodies at the position and can probably lean on redshirting all three freshman wideouts (Rashad Blunt, Jawuan Harris, Dontae Owens). But if an injury or two strikes the wide receiver position, the best of that freshman trio could find his way onto the field this season.
