As first reported by Footballscoop.com last night, AJ Blazek is expected to join the RU staff. Blazek spent the last three seasons as the offensive line coach at Western Illinois. Prior to that, he had experience in the FBS only as a graduate assistant at Iowa from 2001-04. It is still unclear as to what capacity Blazek will serve at Rutgers. Yesterday, Blazek also started following myself and Scarlet Nation on Twitter.
Another name to keep an eye on is Matt Thurin, who worked alongside Ash at Ohio State. His position was worked directly alongside RU special teams coach Vince Okruch in the quality control department. Prior to that one-year stay at Ohio State, Thurin served as the secondary coach/special teams coordinator at Columbia University. Thurin was also part of the Akron staff as a grad-assistant, working with both the linebackers and the secondary. Thurin was also at Akron while Okruch was there as the special teams coordinator/ defensive tackles coach.
In terms of recruiting, Rutgers is looking to possibly add at a tight end to this class. Bergen Catholic Tight End Korab Idrizi is a name to watch.
“The offensive coordinator gave me a call, telling me he saw my film and he liked the way I play. He also told me to be patient and that I would have to wait until the whole staff fell into place before we could continue with recruitment,” Idrizi told Scarlet Nation. "We had a great conversation. He's a really cool guy and we were able to talk about stuff other than football and he told me some stories that had me laughing."
As of right now, Idrizi is set to visit Illinois officially on Jan 29th. He has a top three of James Madison, Villanova and Delaware, although that could change with a Rutgers offer.
Another name to keep an eye on is Matt Thurin, who worked alongside Ash at Ohio State. His position was worked directly alongside RU special teams coach Vince Okruch in the quality control department. Prior to that one-year stay at Ohio State, Thurin served as the secondary coach/special teams coordinator at Columbia University. Thurin was also part of the Akron staff as a grad-assistant, working with both the linebackers and the secondary. Thurin was also at Akron while Okruch was there as the special teams coordinator/ defensive tackles coach.
In terms of recruiting, Rutgers is looking to possibly add at a tight end to this class. Bergen Catholic Tight End Korab Idrizi is a name to watch.
“The offensive coordinator gave me a call, telling me he saw my film and he liked the way I play. He also told me to be patient and that I would have to wait until the whole staff fell into place before we could continue with recruitment,” Idrizi told Scarlet Nation. "We had a great conversation. He's a really cool guy and we were able to talk about stuff other than football and he told me some stories that had me laughing."
As of right now, Idrizi is set to visit Illinois officially on Jan 29th. He has a top three of James Madison, Villanova and Delaware, although that could change with a Rutgers offer.
Last edited by a moderator:
