The Monday Morning Kickoff
The Rutgers coaching staff continued to fill out last week as new head coach Chris Ash added more members. Now coaching the defensive line will be former Iowa State assistant coach Shane Burnham.
“I am excited to be reunited with Shane here at Rutgers,” Ash said in a statement. “We have worked together in the past [at Iowa State] and I have always been impressed with the way he teaches, the way he recruits and how he takes care of his players. Shane understands our defense and how we want the defensive line coached in our system."
Former Wisconsin defensive back Aaron Henry also joined that staff as an assistant defensive backs coach. Wisconsin football reporter John McNamara of BadgerBlitz.com had a firsthand view of both of Henry, covering the team while Henry was a player.
“I remember talking to Aaron years ago and he wanted to open up a business in Florida. Coaching was never something he discussed during his time at Wisconsin,” McNamara told Scarlet Nation. “But just the way he was able to relate to people and communicate, I think that is absolutely something he will have success with. He comes from Immokalee down in Florida so he will be able to recruit that area and particularly in South Florida. He will be able to relate to those guys down there. He will pay some dividends on the recruiting front because he has those strong ties in South Florida.”
Another Wisconsin tie resulted in another RU hire as Bill Busch was brought on to coach the defensive backs. Busch spent last season with Ash as he handled quality control duties on defense at Ohio State.
New Jersey coaching veteran Rick Mantz is yet another addition as he will be the program’s high school relations director, a new position created by Ash.
In the midst of Ash’s hires last week, the highest ranked member of the RU recruiting class, four-star Patrice Rene, offered up his endorsement.
“I know coach Ash has been coaching Ohio State for their bowl game, but he has done a tremendous job in picking up coaches, especially in the secondary,” Rene told Scarlet Nation. “You can tell he puts an emphasis on that. Being a safety coach himself is definitely sweet, but the new hires caught my attention. It is exciting and I am happy to see who they brought in.”
Ash finished up his Ohio State coaching stint with a 44-28 Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame on New Year’s Day and will now be at Rutgers without having to pull double duties.
The dead period in recruiting will last for a couple of more weeks, although coaches can still contact recruits. One of the recruits that has been targeted by the new staff is St. Peter’s Prep athlete K.J. Gray, who has been in contact with Ash.
“I wasn't sure if the new staff was interested. He just talked about his interest in me and how he is ready to change the program,” Gray said of Ash. “I like how optimistic he is.”
Stay logged onto Scarlet Nation to learn about one of the newest priority recruits of the new staff as a full-length feature article will be up later today.
In basketball news, the RU hoopsters dropped their first two Big Ten contests last week with a 79-72 home loss to Indiana, which was followed up with a 79-57 road loss to Wisconsin.
“They share the ball, they're mature, good size, and that's what hurt us tonight,” head coach Eddie Jordan said of Wisconsin. “You know their size and different ways hurt you in ways not directly throwing it in the post and powering it to the rim, but we have to help in and when we help in we weren't quick enough to get back out to the shooters. They move the ball, they move themselves, and I was proud of my guys for having a good 30 minutes and then it cracked open because we sort of wore down with their size."
Next up for Rutgers is a Wednesday night road contest against No.4-ranked Maryland with a tip-off time of 7 p.m. Rutgers now has a record of 6-9 on the season.
On the wrestling mat, No.8-ranked Rutgers took third place at the Midlands Regionals, which took place in Evanston, Ill.
“It was a very solid showing,” head coach Scott Goodale said in a statement. “We came here to win a trophy – that was the goal. We did that and we beat some really good guys along the way. That being said, we have a lot of work to do. That wasn’t our best wrestling. We can get better. We have to.”
The RU grapplers are 10-2 on the season and its next match will take place inside The RAC on Friday when the Scarlet Knights play host to Michigan State.