The Monday Morning Kickoff
Rutgers added another couple of pieces to its future last week when it landed a transfer at a position of need and a future offensive lineman. The first of those came midweek when TCU graduate transfer quarterback Zach Allen announced that he will be attending Rutgers for the final two years of his college football career.
“I think the selling point for me was this new offense and Coach Mehringer running it, along with Coach Ash as the head coach kind of overseeing everything,” Allen told Scarlet Nation last week. “It is just a great foundation. With the new offense, I think big things are going to come for Rutgers. I really want to be a part of it and be able to compete for a starting job and eventually a Big Ten championship.”
The quarterback competition just got a whole lot more interesting as Allen is the only experienced dual-threat quarterback on the team, although he barely played behind Trevone Boykin at TCU.
While Allen is limited in game experience, he seems like an ideal fit for the Rutgers new power spread offense.
The next new Scarlet Knight was announced yesterday when Cedar Creek class of 2017 offensive lineman prospect Owen Bowles committed to Rutgers, joining teammate Bo Melton.
“Through the whole recruiting process Rutgers was always my No.1,”Bowles told Scarlet Nation. “They were the first school to offer me. They also made it a point to talk to me throughout the week and they always made me feel like a priority.”
That adds one more in-state product to a Rutgers recruiting class that is loaded with South Jersey commits.
The search for more future Scarlet Knights continued this past week with a new offer going out Axel Nyembwe, an under the radar defensive tackle in the class of 2017 from The Avalon School in Gaithersburg, Md.
“I was at the Ohio State camp and the Rutgers staff saw me and they offered me,” Nyemnwe said.
Another new offer went out to Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) class of 2017 wide receiver Shameen Jones.
“I went to the [Tri-state] showcase [Wednesday] and showed the staff what I can do. Coach Busch called me today and he basically told me how excited the staff is about me,” Jones said. “He also said that I competed very well yesterday and told me how much they want me to be a part of the Rutgers family.”
That satellite camp featured a variety of talent as RU head coach Chris Ash and his staff were joined by the Ohio State and Temple coaching staffs as well as some of the Pitt coaches.
“We are here in the middle of June and everybody is talking about college football and football here in New Jersey,” Ash said during the camp. “We could not be more excited about this event and everything that is going on right now.”
This week figures to be another busy one for the RU coaching staff will welcome more visitors to campus. Stay logged onto The Round Table for all the latest recruiting updates as they unfold.