Sacred Heart OL transfer JD DiRenzo breaks down commitment to Rutgers
Rutgers has struck gold in the transfer portal in consecutive days – this time with Sacred Heart offensive line grad transfer JD DiRenzo.
The 6-foot-6 mauler played his high school ball at St. Joe’s Hammonton (NJ) before playing for the Pioneers at the college level. He chose the Scarlet Knights over the likes of Kentucky, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Purdue and Virginia among others and made the classy gesture of thanking the programs for helping him throughout his process.
DiRenzo told The Knight Report earlier in the week that he would commit to his given school when his heart told him to – and that happened Friday night.
“Last night I felt like it was time and I woke up this morning and felt the same way,” he told TKR. “I called Coach [Greg] Schiano and told him I was giving him my verbal commitment and he was very excited. He thinks I can come in and make an impact right away. Every school that recruited me wanted me to start right away. I’ll be there in a week and I’m excited for it.”
The same level of excitement for his commitment extends to the rest of the staff. DiRenzo has had positive conversations with offensive line coach Andy Aurich and offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson regarding scheme and fit, neither of which are expected to be an issue for the Hammonton (NJ) native.
“Coach Aurich and I have been texting about it and I’ll probably talk to him more about it later tonight,” he said. “We’re just ready to get to work and get started. I’ve talked to Coach Aurich and Coach Gleeson about the systems they run and we’ve watched some film. The techniques Coach Aurich coaches is stuff that will be an easy transition for me and some of the same stuff I did at Sacred Heart. It’s all good stuff.”
As for the reasons behind his pledge to the hometown school, it’s trust, location and what the staff has been trying to change as soon as Schiano took the podium in Piscataway for the first time again – culture.
“I really trust the coaching staff and I feel like they have something good going there,” he said. “They’re close to home which doesn’t hurt. I also think it’s a culture I fit into really well.”