Category: Rutgers recruiting

Rutgers ready to host dozens of commits and several four-star recruits against Ohio State

Rutgers football is set to host several big-time recruits this Saturday agains

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It is a big weekend for Rutgers football ahead of Saturday’s game against No. 11 Ohio State. For 3-1 Rutgers, it is the chance to make a national statement on the field. It is also the chance to make inroads in terms of recruiting off the field.

Roughly three dozen recruits and commits are expected at Saturday’s game at SHI Stadium. It is an opportunity for Rutgers to make an impression and continue the very solid work from the past two years in terms of landing recruits and continuing to upgrade the quality of athletes being brought in by the Scarlet Knights.

Four-star linebacker Anthony Johnson, a Rutgers verbal since the spring, will be at the game. So too will two Florida four-star players: linebacker Troy Bowles and wide receiver Santana Flemming. All three players also hold Ohio State offers.

A strong showing against the reigning Big Ten champions would be impressive and help Rutgers start their 2023 class on solid footing.

Here are the players confirmed to be in attendance on Saturday afternoon. Players in italics are current verbal commits. An asterisk denotes a player who also holds an Ohio State offer.

The players are listed in alphabetical order and include position, high school, and graduation class in parentheses:

Thomas Amankwaa (CB; Hillsborough, NJ; 2022)

Troy Bowles* (LB; Jesuit, FL; 2023)

Joe De Croce (OL; Northern Valley, NJ; 2022)

Santana Fleming (WR; American Heritage, FL; 2023)

Davison Igbinosun (S; Union, NJ; 2022)

Anthony Johnson* (LB; Norman-Goretti, PA; 2022)

Nelson Monegro (OL; Union City, NJ; 2022)

Emir Stinette (OL; Imhoptep, PA; 2022)

Famah Toure (ATH; Irvington, NJ; 2023)

Vaboue Toure (S; Irvington, NJ; 2024)

Taj White (OL; Hudson Catholic, NJ; 2022)

Watch: Four-star running back Samuel Brown shows why he’s perfect for the Rutgers offense

Rutgers football commit Samuel Brown shows off his athleticism and high ceiling with a long touchdown run on Saturday.

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Rutgers football has landed quite a prospect in four-star running back Samuel Brown. His explosiveness in the open field was on display this past weekend, backing up his status as one of the best players in the Rutgers 2022 recruiting class as well as a premier running back recruit.

Brown had a tremendous afternoon for La Salle in Saturday’s 38-14 win over McDonogh as the Rutgers commit had a 74-yard touchdown on a wheel route. The highlight play showed his athleticism, speed, and versatility.

The traits on the run make him a perfect fit for Rutgers offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson. On the run, Brown showed shiftiness and good vision to break into the open field, follow his downfield blocking and get the touchdown.

La Salle is now 5-0 on the season.

 

Brown, who committed to Rutgers in late March, is the No. 12 player in Pennsylvania according to Rivals.com and is the No. 23 running back in the nation. He held offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech among others at the time of his verbal to Rutgers.

Eric LeGrand on the new reality of recruiting for Rutgers football

Former Rutgers football star Eric LeGrand discusses the impact of recruiting in the new college football landscape.

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College football recruiting has changed drastically in recent months and Rutgers is ahead of the curve when it comes to making the most of the new normal.

Now a part of the Rutgers football team, earlier this month quarterback Gavin Wimsatt went from playing his third game of the season as quarterback of his high school team to now being on a Big Ten roster. It is a whirlwind scenario certainly and part of the reality now that Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) is a part of college sports.

Former Rutgers standout defensive tackle Eric LeGrand said that coaching staffs need to rely on their recruiting staff now more than ever to navigate these new realities of college football.

“It’s very interesting, you have to be adaptable, having to change on the fly. I think you have to rely a lot on your staff, your recruiting staff especially, knowing the rules and regulations of what you can do,” LeGrand said on the ‘CHOP Weekly’ show.

“And thinking if we have a position of need, we may have to try and get a guy earlier. Hey, do we have enough scholarships for this? Now you’re going into the game saying usually when I was getting recruited, it was ‘We have enough scholarships for this year and that’s that.’ Now, it’s do ‘I bring him in for 2021? Do I bring him in for 2022?’ You really have to know your roster and how many you’re graduating next year or somebody leaves or transfers in the middle of the year or the summer.”

The case of Wimsatt is certainly an outlier in the world of college football, going from playing in high school to hours later joining a Big Ten program.

But it is a fascinating scenario and one that might play itself over again in the coming years.

With Wimsatt reclassifying to the 2021 class, Rutgers dropped to No. 31 in the national rankings for 2022. They are No. 17 in average star ranking (3.43 stars).

Wimsatt is currently enrolled at Rutgers, practicing with the team and eligible to participate fully including game action.