The Monday Morning Kickoff
It was a big weekend for Rutgers recruiting as it landed a pair of offensive commits who look to be a big part of the program’s future. The first commit of the weekend came from St. Peter’s Prep quarterback Johnathan Lewis, who offered up his verbal pledge Saturday night following the NJ Rivals Camp.
The Rutgers coaching staff identified Lewis early on as its top target and never wavered.
“Rutgers has always said that this decision is mine. It’s all for me,” Lewis said. “Whenever I wanted to commit, they would still have a spot for me. They would even have one for me if I decided to go to another place.”
Yesterday, Salem running back Jonathan Taylor kept the commitments going when he offered up his verbal as part of the incoming class of 2017.
“I chose Rutgers because it’s home. I was born and raised in Jersey, so I take pride in my state,” Taylor said. “There is a lot of phenomenal talent in Jersey that go on to do big things, but not in their home state. Lots of them attend universities other than their home state university, which has all the resources you need to be successful.”
As the month of May now kicks into full swing, Rutgers is expected to build off its recent recruiting momentum and that is likely to translate into quite a few commits over the next month.
Meanwhile, many of the RU targets put their skills on display on Saturday as part of the NJ Rivals Under-Armour Camp.
Among the prospects in attendance was Poly Prep (Brooklyn, NY.) offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson, who won the offensive lineman MVP.
At the camp, Wilson, who is the class of 2017’s No.5-ranked prospect in the nation, announced that Rutgers was one of his current top six schools.
“They are definitely a school that is in there,” Wilson said of Rutgers. “In the future I think they are going to do a lot of positive things.”
Another top O-lineman was also at Saturday’s camp as Passaic Tech junior Carter Warren showed off his skillset now that he’s made the bump up to 324 pounds.
“I talk to [offensive line] coach [AJ] Blazek every day down there,” Warren said. “I also talk to coach Ash and they hit me up all the time. It has been a joyride with them.”
This week, Cedar Creek defensive tackle Owen Bowles will be on the Rutgers campus to check out the academic side of things on Tuesday. Bowles is listed as a defensive tackle recruit, but will most likely translate as an offensive lineman at the college level.
As always, stay logged onto Scarlet Nation’s The Round Table for all your latest recruiting news and updates as they unfold.