Bedell breaks down Rutgers decision

Rutgers added one more commit to its class of 2014 on Thursday as another New Jersey product opted to stay home for college. Fair Haven defensive lineman Donald Bedell offered up his verbal commitment this morning and became the sixth New Jersey prospect to commit to Rutgers this year.

Bedell spent a good chunk of yesterday on the Rutgers campus but wanted to take some time to himself before making his decision.

"I think sleeping on it really helped. I know going to the visit I was probably going to do that and make a decision after that," Bedell said.

This morning, Bedell had a chance to clear his head make his college choice.

"Me and my family talked about it a little bit more this morning," Bedell said. "The final decision was that the best place for me would be Rutgers."

Bedell went on to talk about yesterday's visit to Piscataway.

"It was great. We were there for a long time. We toured basically everything. We met with coach Flood, coach Panagos and the whole crew. It was a great time. They obviously took a lot of time to show me everything that Rutgers has to offer and I really did enjoy the visit which helped me make my decision.

"I met some of the players there. They were all really nice. I met with David Milewski and Darius Hamilton. They were great guys. That helped me really see what kind of players are there at Rutgers and also to interact more with the coaching staff. That really kind of solidified everything."

With scholarship spots filling up rather quickly, the RU coaching staff stressed their desire to have Bedell join the class of 2014. However, he didn't feel too pressured when posed with the option of committing right away.

"Coach Flood was real honest with us yesterday," Bedell explained. "He said 'we're not forcing you to do anything. But you have to realize there are other kids out there.' He said they were taking two or three more defensive linemen. Either I had to deal with not being able to get a spot because of other kids committing or committing now and knowing where I'm going and having all that taken care of. So I decided to commit and have that taken care of."

With today's commitment, Bedell has ensured his place as part of RU's first freshman class to play in the Big Ten.

"As far as football goes, playing in the Big Ten is going to be awesome," he said. "That is obviously going to be a great experience, being able to play in the most prestigious football and athletic conference in the country. And being able to go to Rutgers is just a big upside. There is great education there and there is not a lot of downside to that place at all."

Bedell's recruitment just seemed to get going as he picked up offers from Rutgers, UConn and Temple only a couple of weeks ago.

Now that the process is behind him, Bedell and his family are glad to have moved past that part of his football career.

"Everyone feels like there is a lot off weight of their shoulders. It's obviously my decision but my parents have a lot to do with it, so they feel nice and relaxed too."