Fat Cat Top Five
Top Five RU Running backs in the last decade
5.) Mike Burton
4.) Paul James
3.) Jawan Jamison
2.) Brian Leonard
1.) Ray Rice
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will get at least three defensive commits this month
JuCo Tidbits
Pridgeon Update
Nassau Community College offensive lineman Malcolm Pridgeon took the scarlet nation on a roller coaster ride last weekend with a commitment that turned out to be a soft one and now he is keeping his options open. Rutgers is still doing very well with Pridgeon and a key player in his recruitment could wind up being RU grad assistant Scott Vallone.
“They have a GA (graduate assistant) over there in Scott Vallone who grew up in Central Islip, Malcolm’s hometown,” said Nassau assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Greg Lauri. “He’s had a huge a huge role because of the commonality of having grown up in the same town as Malcolm.”
Rutgers remains among Pridgeon;s top schools. Look for a full article on Pridgeon later this morning on Scarlet Nation.
More Nassau prospects
DT Tyrell Chavis
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive tackle is racking up a long list of offers, including one from Rutgers. Thus far, Chavis has visited Penn State and Rutgers. His trip to Piscataway came during a spring practice when Chavis had the chance to spend some time with head coach Kyle Flood and defensive line coach Jim Panagos. Chavis is working on his academics and is planning on being a mid-year enrollee. Rutgers remains a contender and continues to recruit the standout d-tackle.
OG Connor Morehart
Once a Temple commit, who also held a Rutgers offer as a high school prospect, Morehart was viewed as a defensive end prospect art the time. He has since made the switch to offensive guard and is starting to turn heads.
“He kind of blossomed with us and a lot of coaches have been in to talk to him,” Lauri said of Morehart. “Things are starting to change a little bit about him. I spoke with coach Vallone about his progress. He is changing his persona and is becoming a pretty dominant offensive lineman. When him and Terrell go against each other in practice, it’s a show.”
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Patrice Rene – Episcopal (Va.)
The four-star class of 2016 prospect is currently out in Detroit for the Sound Mind Sound Body Satellite Camp. Some RU coaches are working today’s camp in Michigan where Rene will be performing. Rene is looking to make a decision this summer and revealed to Scarlet Nation which schools are out in front.
“Ohio State and Rutgers, UNC and Virginia Tech are the schools I am talking to the most now,” Rene said last night.
Rene is planning to visit Rutgers one more time before making a decision while the only other remaining visit will be to Michigan this weekend, although the Wolverine staff has yet to extend an offer.
DE Luiji Vilain – Episcopal (Va.)
A teammate and close friend of Rene’s, Villain is still open at this point in the recruiting process. This summer, he has plans to visit Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. This fall will be Vilain's first at Episcopal as he will make the permanent move from his home in Canada.
Rutgers continues to do very well with Villain as linebackers coach Bob Fraser has been able to make an impression.
“I love coach Fraser. He was the first coach to offer me, so that was pretty special," Vilain said on Thursday. "He also offered Patrice [Rene] and Jonathan [Sutherland]. He gave us that opportunity and we have all been in contact with him all the time.”
Satellite Camping
As we’ve referenced recently, Rutgers is taking the camp show on the road this week with a break between its own summer camps to venture out to familiar territory in Florida. Some of the staff has also made a trip out to the heart of Big Ten Country.
It has been a busy week for the RU staff as it made an appearance at Lauren’s First and Goal Camp at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania on June 7th. The staff has split up, making appearances at the FIU camp in Miami on Thursday, Windermere Prep (near Orlando) on Friday and Boca Ciega High School (near Tampa) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the other group is at the Sound Mind Sound Body (SMSB) camp outside of Detroit on both Thursday and Friday. Coordinators Joe Rossi, Ben McDaniels and Phil Galiano, along with Bob Fraser and Jim Panagos are currently in Florida while Anthony Campanile, The Wilsons (Darrell and Norries) and Mitch Browning are expected at SMSB in Michigan. It is unclear where head coach Kyle Flood is expected to attend at this point. With a number of the Big Ten head coaches participating at SMSB, including MSU's Mark Dantonio, Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Penn State's James Franklin. With Rutgers trying to make a name for themselves in the Midwest, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see Flood in Michigan on Friday.
SMSB is primarily geared towards prospects in the Detroit metro area, but the camp has started to attract participants not just from the Midwest, but all over the US and Canada.
Here is some of the Rutgers prospects from outside of Michigan expected to attend:
ATH CJ Turner - East Ridge, NY 2017
ATH Chase Claypool - British Columbia, Canada (Rutgers offer)
DT Daniel Joseph - Lake Forest IL 2016 (Rutgers offer, native of Canada)
DB Jayvaughn Myers - Pasco, Florida – 2016 (Rutgers offer)
DE Josh Kaindoh - Mount Carmel MD -2017 (Rutgers offer)
DB Patrice Rene – Episcopal VA 2016 (Rutgers offer, native of Canada)
DE Luiji Vilan - Episcopal VA 2017 (Rutgers offer, native of Canada)
DE/TE Ricky Norris - Trinity Pawling, NY – 2017 (cousin of Quentin Gause)
WR/DB Steven Smothers - Franklin MD (Rutgers offer)
OT/DL Thomas Schaffer - Lake Forest IL 2016 (Rutgers offer)
In Florida, RU commit Jon Pollock is expected at the Windermere Prep location and 2016 DB target Henry Miller of Kissimmee, who has Rutgers among his favorites, is also planning to attend. One local class of 2016 wide receiver Rutgers has been keeping a close eye on is Tyrell Washington of Vero Beach (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), who will also be at the Friday camp. Washington visited the Rutgers campus this spring and is looking to earn an offer today.
“Coach Panagos has been to practice already, so my goal is to do good enough to get the offer tomorrow,” Washington said last night. “They’ve been in heavy contact and I know they're signing a lot of receivers in this class because they have some that will be leaving soon.”
At Boca Ciega, Rutgers could see some local prospects like class of 2016 OL offerees Caleb Gregory of East Bay, Jamal Mention of Dade City and Graham Stover of Hudson, as well at 2016 DB KJ Sails of East Bay, a teammate of Rutgers 2015 signee Marques Ford.
More Recruiting Tidbits
DL Owen Bowels – Cedar Creek
The class of 2017 offensive lineman picked up his first offer from Rutgers last weekend at the RU Big Man Academy, following a very solid performance.
“It was very exciting," Bowels said. "I was confident that I could an offer based on the way I performed at the camp, my grades and because they also seemed to have an interest in me before. It was just so exciting.”
Bowels worked out at the 3-technique during the camp, but stated that he could wind up playing multiple spots on the d-line. However, he said that he is most comfortable playing 3-technique.
DL Ethan Wiederkehr – Shoreham-Wading River (NY)
The class of 2017 Long Island prospect was another offeree at the RU Big Man Academy as a strong performance enabled him to pick up his first offer, which is no small accomplishment coming from such a lightly recruited area.
“It doesn’t happen that much up here, but I feel like we are becoming stronger in football and getting more d1 recruits up here,” he said of receiving the RU offer.
ATH Tyree Johnson – St. John’s College (D.C.)
The versatile athlete projects as a linebacker at the college level and picked up offer No.1 from Rutgers last weekend. He talked about how the recruiting process kicked off with the RU coaching staff.
“About a month ago, they came to my school and saw me working out,” Johnson explained. “Then, they saw my highlight film and invited me to their camp. Then, the head coach [Kyle Flood] offered me at the camp.”
Johnson is just starting to see his recruiting attention kick up a notch as he visited West Virginia yesterday.
Hoops Tidbit
SG Kwe Parker - Wesleyan Christian (NC)
North Carolina’s Parker, the No.51-ranked national prospect in the class of 2016, will take an official visit to Rutgers this weekend. Wake Forest was considered the favorite due to proximity and ties to the program, but Rutgers is a serious contender for Parker who is looking to make a final decision towards the end of this month. The ability to help grow the Rutgers program and play alongside fellow four-star guard Corey Sanders seems to appeal to Parker, who is an undersized (6-foot-1) but explosive shooting guard.
Eye on Rutgers
This season, the offensive line play could play a major part in how many wins and losses come Rutgers’ way. There is not a whole lot of experience on the line, although a strong showing by that unit could ease the transition of a new starting quarterback and also benefit a talented group of running backs. Beyond this season, RU will not have to do as much retooling as there will be only one graduating senior in Keith Lumpkin. Here’s a look at the present and future of the offensive line:
Right tackle – After a strong spring, the spot looks to be safe in the hands of J.J. Denman. He enjoyed a well-rounded spring, showing himself capable in run blocking, pass blocking and he also won his share of one-on-ones. Denman was a highly-touted four-star prospect, who is starting to live up to his billing. Behind Denman, Marcus Applefield is steadily showing him to be a capable backup, who also has the position versatility to play elsewhere on the O-line.
Left Tackle – Lumpkin is expected to be RU’s top lineman and a solid season could also land him somewhere in the 2016 NFL Draft. However, life after Lumpkin is a little uncertain at left tackle. If RU can land JuCo lineman Malcolm Pridgeon, it would have an immediate starter, one who looks to have a bright future ahead of him. The other option looked to be Zack Heeman, but knee surgery has him a little behind schedule. Without Pridgeon, there could be auditions at left tackle in 2016.
Center – This spring, there were times it was Chris Muller at center and there were other times it was Derrick Nelson. There were even some instances when it was Dorian Miller, although that experiment just recently began. Whomever winds up starting may be just holding a spot until Zach Venesky can adjust to the college game. It would be ideal to redshirt the promising freshman this season and then enter him as the opening day starter in 2016. RU looks to have enough candidates to christen someone as the starter this year, but Venesky looks to be the center of the future.
Guard – If Muller remains at guard, count on him being one of the two starters. Miller looks like he is in position to hold down the other spot while Tariq Cole made strides this spring. Cole admitted that he still had a lot to learn, although he seemed to get better with each day of spring practice. Cole is not short on size and it seems to be only a matter of time before he and Miller are the team’s starting guards. If Muller winds up playing center this season, it could be the Miller and Cole show at guard this fall. The duo looks to have a bright future, but could experience some growing pains, which are to be expected in younger first-year starters.
Top Five RU Running backs in the last decade
5.) Mike Burton
4.) Paul James
3.) Jawan Jamison
2.) Brian Leonard
1.) Ray Rice
Bobby’s Crystal Ball
Rutgers will get at least three defensive commits this month
JuCo Tidbits
Pridgeon Update
Nassau Community College offensive lineman Malcolm Pridgeon took the scarlet nation on a roller coaster ride last weekend with a commitment that turned out to be a soft one and now he is keeping his options open. Rutgers is still doing very well with Pridgeon and a key player in his recruitment could wind up being RU grad assistant Scott Vallone.
“They have a GA (graduate assistant) over there in Scott Vallone who grew up in Central Islip, Malcolm’s hometown,” said Nassau assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Greg Lauri. “He’s had a huge a huge role because of the commonality of having grown up in the same town as Malcolm.”
Rutgers remains among Pridgeon;s top schools. Look for a full article on Pridgeon later this morning on Scarlet Nation.
More Nassau prospects
DT Tyrell Chavis
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive tackle is racking up a long list of offers, including one from Rutgers. Thus far, Chavis has visited Penn State and Rutgers. His trip to Piscataway came during a spring practice when Chavis had the chance to spend some time with head coach Kyle Flood and defensive line coach Jim Panagos. Chavis is working on his academics and is planning on being a mid-year enrollee. Rutgers remains a contender and continues to recruit the standout d-tackle.
OG Connor Morehart
Once a Temple commit, who also held a Rutgers offer as a high school prospect, Morehart was viewed as a defensive end prospect art the time. He has since made the switch to offensive guard and is starting to turn heads.
“He kind of blossomed with us and a lot of coaches have been in to talk to him,” Lauri said of Morehart. “Things are starting to change a little bit about him. I spoke with coach Vallone about his progress. He is changing his persona and is becoming a pretty dominant offensive lineman. When him and Terrell go against each other in practice, it’s a show.”
Recruiting Tidbits
ATH Patrice Rene – Episcopal (Va.)
The four-star class of 2016 prospect is currently out in Detroit for the Sound Mind Sound Body Satellite Camp. Some RU coaches are working today’s camp in Michigan where Rene will be performing. Rene is looking to make a decision this summer and revealed to Scarlet Nation which schools are out in front.
“Ohio State and Rutgers, UNC and Virginia Tech are the schools I am talking to the most now,” Rene said last night.
Rene is planning to visit Rutgers one more time before making a decision while the only other remaining visit will be to Michigan this weekend, although the Wolverine staff has yet to extend an offer.
DE Luiji Vilain – Episcopal (Va.)
A teammate and close friend of Rene’s, Villain is still open at this point in the recruiting process. This summer, he has plans to visit Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. This fall will be Vilain's first at Episcopal as he will make the permanent move from his home in Canada.
Rutgers continues to do very well with Villain as linebackers coach Bob Fraser has been able to make an impression.
“I love coach Fraser. He was the first coach to offer me, so that was pretty special," Vilain said on Thursday. "He also offered Patrice [Rene] and Jonathan [Sutherland]. He gave us that opportunity and we have all been in contact with him all the time.”
Satellite Camping
As we’ve referenced recently, Rutgers is taking the camp show on the road this week with a break between its own summer camps to venture out to familiar territory in Florida. Some of the staff has also made a trip out to the heart of Big Ten Country.
It has been a busy week for the RU staff as it made an appearance at Lauren’s First and Goal Camp at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania on June 7th. The staff has split up, making appearances at the FIU camp in Miami on Thursday, Windermere Prep (near Orlando) on Friday and Boca Ciega High School (near Tampa) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the other group is at the Sound Mind Sound Body (SMSB) camp outside of Detroit on both Thursday and Friday. Coordinators Joe Rossi, Ben McDaniels and Phil Galiano, along with Bob Fraser and Jim Panagos are currently in Florida while Anthony Campanile, The Wilsons (Darrell and Norries) and Mitch Browning are expected at SMSB in Michigan. It is unclear where head coach Kyle Flood is expected to attend at this point. With a number of the Big Ten head coaches participating at SMSB, including MSU's Mark Dantonio, Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Penn State's James Franklin. With Rutgers trying to make a name for themselves in the Midwest, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see Flood in Michigan on Friday.
SMSB is primarily geared towards prospects in the Detroit metro area, but the camp has started to attract participants not just from the Midwest, but all over the US and Canada.
Here is some of the Rutgers prospects from outside of Michigan expected to attend:
ATH CJ Turner - East Ridge, NY 2017
ATH Chase Claypool - British Columbia, Canada (Rutgers offer)
DT Daniel Joseph - Lake Forest IL 2016 (Rutgers offer, native of Canada)
DB Jayvaughn Myers - Pasco, Florida – 2016 (Rutgers offer)
DE Josh Kaindoh - Mount Carmel MD -2017 (Rutgers offer)
DB Patrice Rene – Episcopal VA 2016 (Rutgers offer, native of Canada)
DE Luiji Vilan - Episcopal VA 2017 (Rutgers offer, native of Canada)
DE/TE Ricky Norris - Trinity Pawling, NY – 2017 (cousin of Quentin Gause)
WR/DB Steven Smothers - Franklin MD (Rutgers offer)
OT/DL Thomas Schaffer - Lake Forest IL 2016 (Rutgers offer)
In Florida, RU commit Jon Pollock is expected at the Windermere Prep location and 2016 DB target Henry Miller of Kissimmee, who has Rutgers among his favorites, is also planning to attend. One local class of 2016 wide receiver Rutgers has been keeping a close eye on is Tyrell Washington of Vero Beach (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), who will also be at the Friday camp. Washington visited the Rutgers campus this spring and is looking to earn an offer today.
“Coach Panagos has been to practice already, so my goal is to do good enough to get the offer tomorrow,” Washington said last night. “They’ve been in heavy contact and I know they're signing a lot of receivers in this class because they have some that will be leaving soon.”
At Boca Ciega, Rutgers could see some local prospects like class of 2016 OL offerees Caleb Gregory of East Bay, Jamal Mention of Dade City and Graham Stover of Hudson, as well at 2016 DB KJ Sails of East Bay, a teammate of Rutgers 2015 signee Marques Ford.
More Recruiting Tidbits
DL Owen Bowels – Cedar Creek
The class of 2017 offensive lineman picked up his first offer from Rutgers last weekend at the RU Big Man Academy, following a very solid performance.
“It was very exciting," Bowels said. "I was confident that I could an offer based on the way I performed at the camp, my grades and because they also seemed to have an interest in me before. It was just so exciting.”
Bowels worked out at the 3-technique during the camp, but stated that he could wind up playing multiple spots on the d-line. However, he said that he is most comfortable playing 3-technique.
DL Ethan Wiederkehr – Shoreham-Wading River (NY)
The class of 2017 Long Island prospect was another offeree at the RU Big Man Academy as a strong performance enabled him to pick up his first offer, which is no small accomplishment coming from such a lightly recruited area.
“It doesn’t happen that much up here, but I feel like we are becoming stronger in football and getting more d1 recruits up here,” he said of receiving the RU offer.
ATH Tyree Johnson – St. John’s College (D.C.)
The versatile athlete projects as a linebacker at the college level and picked up offer No.1 from Rutgers last weekend. He talked about how the recruiting process kicked off with the RU coaching staff.
“About a month ago, they came to my school and saw me working out,” Johnson explained. “Then, they saw my highlight film and invited me to their camp. Then, the head coach [Kyle Flood] offered me at the camp.”
Johnson is just starting to see his recruiting attention kick up a notch as he visited West Virginia yesterday.
Hoops Tidbit
SG Kwe Parker - Wesleyan Christian (NC)
North Carolina’s Parker, the No.51-ranked national prospect in the class of 2016, will take an official visit to Rutgers this weekend. Wake Forest was considered the favorite due to proximity and ties to the program, but Rutgers is a serious contender for Parker who is looking to make a final decision towards the end of this month. The ability to help grow the Rutgers program and play alongside fellow four-star guard Corey Sanders seems to appeal to Parker, who is an undersized (6-foot-1) but explosive shooting guard.
Eye on Rutgers
This season, the offensive line play could play a major part in how many wins and losses come Rutgers’ way. There is not a whole lot of experience on the line, although a strong showing by that unit could ease the transition of a new starting quarterback and also benefit a talented group of running backs. Beyond this season, RU will not have to do as much retooling as there will be only one graduating senior in Keith Lumpkin. Here’s a look at the present and future of the offensive line:
Right tackle – After a strong spring, the spot looks to be safe in the hands of J.J. Denman. He enjoyed a well-rounded spring, showing himself capable in run blocking, pass blocking and he also won his share of one-on-ones. Denman was a highly-touted four-star prospect, who is starting to live up to his billing. Behind Denman, Marcus Applefield is steadily showing him to be a capable backup, who also has the position versatility to play elsewhere on the O-line.
Left Tackle – Lumpkin is expected to be RU’s top lineman and a solid season could also land him somewhere in the 2016 NFL Draft. However, life after Lumpkin is a little uncertain at left tackle. If RU can land JuCo lineman Malcolm Pridgeon, it would have an immediate starter, one who looks to have a bright future ahead of him. The other option looked to be Zack Heeman, but knee surgery has him a little behind schedule. Without Pridgeon, there could be auditions at left tackle in 2016.
Center – This spring, there were times it was Chris Muller at center and there were other times it was Derrick Nelson. There were even some instances when it was Dorian Miller, although that experiment just recently began. Whomever winds up starting may be just holding a spot until Zach Venesky can adjust to the college game. It would be ideal to redshirt the promising freshman this season and then enter him as the opening day starter in 2016. RU looks to have enough candidates to christen someone as the starter this year, but Venesky looks to be the center of the future.
Guard – If Muller remains at guard, count on him being one of the two starters. Miller looks like he is in position to hold down the other spot while Tariq Cole made strides this spring. Cole admitted that he still had a lot to learn, although he seemed to get better with each day of spring practice. Cole is not short on size and it seems to be only a matter of time before he and Miller are the team’s starting guards. If Muller winds up playing center this season, it could be the Miller and Cole show at guard this fall. The duo looks to have a bright future, but could experience some growing pains, which are to be expected in younger first-year starters.
