This has been a busy few weeks for Rutgers football and head coach Greg Schiano, with camp season providing an important opportunity for the program to get in early on some top-tier talent. The offseason is an opportunity for Schiano to grow and develop relationships throughout the evaluation process.
Something that the Rutgers head coach says is vitally important for his program when they recruit.
The focus for Rutgers of keeping top recruiting targets who are in-state from leaving New Jersey has been something Schiano has preached during both his tenures with the program.
In the 2022 recruiting class, New Jersey led the way with nine commitments for Rutgers. Last year, the state had five players for Rutgers (Florida led the way with six).
This current recruiting class has two New Jersey players but is ranked No. 24 in the nation according to 247Sports.
Despite the dip in raw numbers from New Jersey this year, keeping the players within the ‘State of Rutgers’ is something that is important for the continued rebuilding of the program. Speaking this week with Larry Blustein on Florida radio station WQAM, Schiano spoke of the importance of recruiting New Jersey and Florida.
“I think the football here in New Jersey is as good as anywhere in the country. And the coaching as well,” Schiano said on WQAM.
“It’s just not as deep – as you (Blustein) said as some other states. So where you know, Florida annually produces hundreds of division one caliber athletes – that may not be the case (for New Jersey) – we’re not the biggest state either.”
Camps, such as the Big Man Camp this weekend and the annual 7-on-7 tournament, give Schiano and his staff a chance to evaluate talent up close. He also gets to see the work ethic and character of the player in an intense camp setting.
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New Jersey remains an important part of the recruiting success for Rutgers but there is no doubt that Florida is an important part of the equation if the program is to climb the ladder in the Big Ten. Of the 17 commits in this current recruiting class, five are from Florida and there are three apiece from Michigan and North Carolina.
Schiano said that when recruiting out of state, is important to develop strong relationships with coaches and school administration so as to get all the necessary details when evaluating a player.
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“So I think the key to recruiting the right guys is relationships with coaches, relationships with players. And to do that you have to be repeat customers, you have to keep coming back,” Schiano said.
“You have to develop relationships with the coaches, the people in the school, and that really helps you prevent from making mistakes. Because you know, it’s easy to make a mistake if you don’t really know the young man. Does he fit your culture? You know, 40 times, the height and weight – is not enough to determine if the guy is going to make it and be a good fit in your program.
“And that’s what we try to do. Like I said earlier, as much information as you can ascertain and then really put it into a formula that we’ve made over the years that kind of tells us if this is a guy for us.”
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