Rutgers fifth-year senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton is the highest-ranked recruit ever to suit up in scarlet and now that he has just one more game remaining, the former five-star recruit looked back on his recruitment and shared his thoughts.

Hamilton commented on what has been the most memorable part of his time at Rutgers.

“Just how close I was to the guys coming in and how close we still are. Leonte [Carroo] had his bye week and he came back and we hung out a lot. I keep in touch with the guys who left and obviously the guys who are still here. It is crazy to see how close we were when we started and how close we are now.”

He also remarked on how much rec recruiting has changed.

“What you can offer a kid, as the years go by, increases more and more. The higher recruits get treated like kings or whatever, but it is pretty much the same.”

Over the past five years, Hamilton has also seen a change in the way social media is used in recruiting.

“Every year is something new,” he said. “If you use social media the right way, you have the chance to strengthen your brand. But it can also hurt you.”

Hamilton was the No.11-ranked prospect in Rivals.com’s class of 2012 and a U.S. Army All-American. That lofty status stayed with him through college.

“I think people still harp on me being a five-star,” Hamilton said. “But I didn’t rate myself. There are specialists who sit around in a room and decide that, I just go out and play ball. I didn’t slap five-star on my forehead, I didn’t slap All-American on my forehead. Other people did that for me, I just cared about football.”

Pretty much every major program in the country offered Hamilton, but he did not always see himself as such a highly-touted recruit.

“I think there were days in the beginning of my high school career where I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play at the next level,” Hamilton said. “I hadn’t completely bought in. But when I started putting it all together and getting all those scholarship offers, that was something that really humbled me and showed me where hard work and dedication can take you.”

Hamilton also offered some advice for some recruits who may be going through the recruiting process.

“Just follow your heart. All the glamour, historic names, everything the place has to offer, big names and big things like that, that’s great if that is where you really want to be. But you have to follow your heart. I think a lot of kids make impulsive decisions based off what’s hot or what’s not.”

Since his time as a five-star recruit, Hamilton has also seen a change in himself.

“I think I am more mature. I still laugh at the same things I laughed at when I was 17 and 18. But I think I am definitely wiser on and off the field, taking care of my body and things like that. You really don’t understand how important things are until you get banged up.

“I remember my first start. We played Fresno State and it was an overtime game. The next day, we had practice in the bubbler and Coach [Jim] Panagos was asking me if I was all right. All the older guys had the day off. But I felt great. I could have played another game that day if we had to. Unfortunately, if doesn’t feel the same now as it once did. Getting older, you have to be smarter about taking care of your body.”