Mike Tverdov is officially a Scarlet Knight

Rutgers officially welcomed in class of 2017 defensive end Mike Tverdov of Union High School today as he penned his national letter of intent to the Scarlet Knights.

“Starting today it is all business,” Tverdov said. “It is really surreal now that it is here. Growing up as a Rutgers kid, it is really an incredible feeling. It is really a sweet moment.”

Tverdov has already begin working towards this coming season as he is currently training with former RU starting defensive end Will Beckford.

“My mentality is training to play in the Big Ten conference. The way I am training, I am going in there to start,” Tverdov said. “Whether that happens or not, I have that mentality. You have to always reach for the best. Even if you miss, you will fall to a great spot. I am just going to keep that mentality and crank it up a notch. It is not high school football anymore, it is big boy football.”

Since Tverdov committed to Rutgers in July, he has lobbied on the school's behalf when it came to recruiting and that continued all the way up until signing day.

“January is always a crazy month as far as recruiting goes. I have been doing my part to recruit players,” Tverdov said. “It gets to the point where it just building relationships and telling guys they would be a great fit at Rutgers. We are a close group. All the Jersey guys at Rutgers love each other to death. 2016 was a great year as far as recruiting so there are a lot of positive things.”

And what is Tverdov’s take on how the RU class of 2017 has filled out?

“I really think we have a great class. It was a little better than I thought it would be. We have a lot of Jersey guys. A couple of guys flipped, but that’s all right. That is normal, it happens. We are really talented in every area and we have a really talented D-line coming in, the receiving corps is really good and we have a good quarterback. We have a lot of guys that can make an impact early. It is just a matter of how hard we are going to work.”

Now that recruiting is officially behind him, Tverdov mentioned what he believes to be the most memorable part of the process.

“Just being recruited. It is really a great feeling to get called out of class and to have schools come to see you, visiting all these places, getting all these letters and phone calls. It is great when everybody tells you they want you. Sometimes, it can get a little stressful, a little overwhelming. But I was blessed to be in this situation. My mom does not have to pay a dime for my college and that is the most important thing that matters to me. It was a great process, I enjoyed it and went about it the right way. I have God to thank for that.”