Quotables
Quentin Gause on Rutgers:
"This program is on the rise. Guys like Ray Rice, they built the first five floors of the Rutgers football structure, and we are going to build the next five. We are going to change the perception of Rutgers nationally."
Greg Schiano on Djwany Mera and Kenneth Kirksey qualifying:
“I love it. I love the fact that they are here now and they are working. I think it was a good experience with what they went through in the last six months before getting to Rutgers. Is it ultimately what I wanted, no, I wanted to get them here for summer school and keep them here, but I think they grew up some when they went away. They were forced to. I think it makes it easier now for them to jump into the structure of our program with a transitional period between high school and college. It is great to have them here and ready to go this spring.”
Mike Rice following RU’s 2-point loss to St. John’s:
“It was an interesting postgame. For how proud I was on one end of the game - the defensive end - and how angry and disappointed and frustrated I am on the other end ? the offensive game. For them not to allow themselves to become frustrated and just quit after being so pathetic on offense, I told them I liked their fight. But eventually, they are going to have to stop getting in their own way and allow themselves to be successful.”
Miles Shuler on Savon Huggins:
"Savon Huggins has to compete for the spot, but we're all anticipating he'll start. He's a great running back, and that's a wide receiver's best friend, because everyone needs to be in the box and I can go over top of coverages, hopefully. We can make big plays there."
Alumni Check In
Scarlet Nation caught up with recent graduate Charlie Noonan, and the defensive lineman had this to say to the fans in response to the disappointing 2010 season:
"Tough times don't last, tough people do. The program was built the right way and we'll be back!"
We also caught up with corner Brandon Bing, who also just wrapped up his final season as a Scarlet Knight:
"I love all of the fans that supported my brothers and I, win, lose or draw. Thank you for 4 wonderful years and expect an even brighter future. Continue to pray for Legrand ~23."
Fat Cat Top 5
Top 5 riser through the 2011 recruiting season
5. Anthonmy DiPaula
4. Mike Bimonte
3. Dallas Hendrikson
2. Myles Jackson
1. Djwany Mera
Matt vs. Bobby
Super bowl winner
Matt: Packers
Bobby: Steelers
Biggest impact freshman
Matt: Kenneth kirksey
Bobby: Savon Huggins
NJ sleeper in the class of 2012
Matt: DJ Singelton
Bobby: Jamil Pollard
The Numbers Game
10 RU offers out to 2012 offensive linemen
9 offers for Don Bosco WR Leonte Carroo
8 games remaining for RU women’s basketball
7 Big East teams with higher ranked recruiting classes than conference champion UConn
6 RU January commits
5 of RU’s six remaining opponents in the top 25
4 Floridians in RU’s class of 2011
3 new assistant coaches at Rutgers
2 straight double-digit scoring games for Robert Lumpkins
1 Junior college member of the RU class of 2011
Bobby’s Crystal ball
Ruhann Peele will be the first commit to the class of 2012
Scarlet Nation’s Ask the Staff will return this weekend
RU hoops will upset one of its five remaining ranked opponents
Recruiting tidbits
Offers with new offers
A trio of players with RU offers picked up some new offers this past week. Old Tappan quarterback Devin Fuller picked a Virginia offer to bump his total to three.
Archbishop Wood tight end Colin Thompson picked up his fourth offer from South Carolina and just scheduled a March trip out to Notre Dame where he believes an offer will be waiting.
DeMatha defensive end Brent Wilkerson is now up to four offers as NC State was the latest team to send one his way.
Don Bosco Prep cornerback Elijah Shumate picked up his 17th offer from Notre Dsame this week as he could wind up being the highest rated recruit from New Jersey in the class of 2012.
Mystery guests revealed
The four mystery guests who visited Rutgers over the past few months can finally be revealed. Running back Rashaad Williams of C.B West (PA) visited Rutgers back on December 10th. It seems that Williams was sort of a backup plan if by some chance Rutgers lost out on Savon Higgins. Williams had an excellent season rushing the football but it was rumored he had some disciplinary issues in the past.
Rahway’s Olsen Pierre (Miami commit) and Florida native Jamie Byrd (Boise State commit) were both scheduled to visit on January 21st but only Byrd made the trip.
Sayreville’s Syd Holt also visited on walk-on visit weekend (Jan. 28) but signed with Towson on Wednesday.
2012 Scholarships
The number of scholarships always fluctuate from year to year but as of now, it looks as though Rutgers will have 15 open scholarships for the class of 2012. However, as seen in years past, that number has a tendency to rise as the year progresses.
Dave Schuman's (president and combine director for the NUC and the All World Gridiron Classic) take on the 2011 Rutgers recruiting class
"The number 1 thing that stood out is with the Pitt coaches that came over, he now has a powerful recruiting engine that should be able to get him near the top ? if not the top - of the Big East every year from a recruiting standpoint. Wright and Nova coming over from Pitt, and getting them from when they weren’t even thinking about Rutgers, was big. Paul Canevari is big. Huggins and Shuler are gigantic recruits. In the old days they would have gone someplace far down south. They end up staying home and going to Rutgers. Shuler is the fastest kid in the state of NJ, so being able to secure him, a kid who runs 10.3 and change, is a huge thing for Rutgers to do. As someone who watched Schiano from the beginning, I am continuously amazed at how well he is always able to recruit and step his game up from that standpoint. This year’s class is complete evidence of that."
This post was edited on 2/4 11:10 PM by John Otterstedt
This post was edited on 2/4 11:17 PM by John Otterstedt
This post was edited on 2/5 9:22 AM by John Otterstedt
Quentin Gause on Rutgers:
"This program is on the rise. Guys like Ray Rice, they built the first five floors of the Rutgers football structure, and we are going to build the next five. We are going to change the perception of Rutgers nationally."
Greg Schiano on Djwany Mera and Kenneth Kirksey qualifying:
“I love it. I love the fact that they are here now and they are working. I think it was a good experience with what they went through in the last six months before getting to Rutgers. Is it ultimately what I wanted, no, I wanted to get them here for summer school and keep them here, but I think they grew up some when they went away. They were forced to. I think it makes it easier now for them to jump into the structure of our program with a transitional period between high school and college. It is great to have them here and ready to go this spring.”
Mike Rice following RU’s 2-point loss to St. John’s:
“It was an interesting postgame. For how proud I was on one end of the game - the defensive end - and how angry and disappointed and frustrated I am on the other end ? the offensive game. For them not to allow themselves to become frustrated and just quit after being so pathetic on offense, I told them I liked their fight. But eventually, they are going to have to stop getting in their own way and allow themselves to be successful.”
Miles Shuler on Savon Huggins:
"Savon Huggins has to compete for the spot, but we're all anticipating he'll start. He's a great running back, and that's a wide receiver's best friend, because everyone needs to be in the box and I can go over top of coverages, hopefully. We can make big plays there."
Alumni Check In
Scarlet Nation caught up with recent graduate Charlie Noonan, and the defensive lineman had this to say to the fans in response to the disappointing 2010 season:
"Tough times don't last, tough people do. The program was built the right way and we'll be back!"
We also caught up with corner Brandon Bing, who also just wrapped up his final season as a Scarlet Knight:
"I love all of the fans that supported my brothers and I, win, lose or draw. Thank you for 4 wonderful years and expect an even brighter future. Continue to pray for Legrand ~23."
Fat Cat Top 5
Top 5 riser through the 2011 recruiting season
5. Anthonmy DiPaula
4. Mike Bimonte
3. Dallas Hendrikson
2. Myles Jackson
1. Djwany Mera
Matt vs. Bobby
Super bowl winner
Matt: Packers
Bobby: Steelers
Biggest impact freshman
Matt: Kenneth kirksey
Bobby: Savon Huggins
NJ sleeper in the class of 2012
Matt: DJ Singelton
Bobby: Jamil Pollard
The Numbers Game
10 RU offers out to 2012 offensive linemen
9 offers for Don Bosco WR Leonte Carroo
8 games remaining for RU women’s basketball
7 Big East teams with higher ranked recruiting classes than conference champion UConn
6 RU January commits
5 of RU’s six remaining opponents in the top 25
4 Floridians in RU’s class of 2011
3 new assistant coaches at Rutgers
2 straight double-digit scoring games for Robert Lumpkins
1 Junior college member of the RU class of 2011
Bobby’s Crystal ball
Ruhann Peele will be the first commit to the class of 2012
Scarlet Nation’s Ask the Staff will return this weekend
RU hoops will upset one of its five remaining ranked opponents
Recruiting tidbits
Offers with new offers
A trio of players with RU offers picked up some new offers this past week. Old Tappan quarterback Devin Fuller picked a Virginia offer to bump his total to three.
Archbishop Wood tight end Colin Thompson picked up his fourth offer from South Carolina and just scheduled a March trip out to Notre Dame where he believes an offer will be waiting.
DeMatha defensive end Brent Wilkerson is now up to four offers as NC State was the latest team to send one his way.
Don Bosco Prep cornerback Elijah Shumate picked up his 17th offer from Notre Dsame this week as he could wind up being the highest rated recruit from New Jersey in the class of 2012.
Mystery guests revealed
The four mystery guests who visited Rutgers over the past few months can finally be revealed. Running back Rashaad Williams of C.B West (PA) visited Rutgers back on December 10th. It seems that Williams was sort of a backup plan if by some chance Rutgers lost out on Savon Higgins. Williams had an excellent season rushing the football but it was rumored he had some disciplinary issues in the past.
Rahway’s Olsen Pierre (Miami commit) and Florida native Jamie Byrd (Boise State commit) were both scheduled to visit on January 21st but only Byrd made the trip.
Sayreville’s Syd Holt also visited on walk-on visit weekend (Jan. 28) but signed with Towson on Wednesday.
2012 Scholarships
The number of scholarships always fluctuate from year to year but as of now, it looks as though Rutgers will have 15 open scholarships for the class of 2012. However, as seen in years past, that number has a tendency to rise as the year progresses.
Dave Schuman's (president and combine director for the NUC and the All World Gridiron Classic) take on the 2011 Rutgers recruiting class
"The number 1 thing that stood out is with the Pitt coaches that came over, he now has a powerful recruiting engine that should be able to get him near the top ? if not the top - of the Big East every year from a recruiting standpoint. Wright and Nova coming over from Pitt, and getting them from when they weren’t even thinking about Rutgers, was big. Paul Canevari is big. Huggins and Shuler are gigantic recruits. In the old days they would have gone someplace far down south. They end up staying home and going to Rutgers. Shuler is the fastest kid in the state of NJ, so being able to secure him, a kid who runs 10.3 and change, is a huge thing for Rutgers to do. As someone who watched Schiano from the beginning, I am continuously amazed at how well he is always able to recruit and step his game up from that standpoint. This year’s class is complete evidence of that."
This post was edited on 2/4 11:10 PM by John Otterstedt
This post was edited on 2/4 11:17 PM by John Otterstedt
This post was edited on 2/5 9:22 AM by John Otterstedt
