The Monday Morning Kickoff
Recruiting continues to move forward with a full head of steam at Rutgers as the coaching staff landed a big commitment yesterday when four-star linebacker Tyshon Fogg offered up his verbal pledge to the Scarlet Knights.
“I have been up to the campus numerous times and I am comfortable there with the campus and everything,” Fogg told Scarlet Nation yesterday. “So today I was like, hey I have been up there enough times and I am comfortable enough with the program. My family likes it. So I said I should pull the trigger right now.”
For a complete rundown of Fogg’s commitment check out Shawn Brown’s Fogg commitment article and be on the lookout for another follow-up piece later this morning on Scarlet Nation.
Fogg’s commitment was the second of the week as the RU coaching staff received another one from Wayne Hills wide receiver Tyler Hayek on Friday. It may have seemed sudden, but the RU staff has been Hayek for quite a while.
“It all started in January and since Junior Day [in February], I have been talking to Coach [Bill] Busch throughout my track season,” Hayek said. “He’s been asking my track times and talked to me like every single day.”
This past weekend also brought out some stars to the RU campus as the Rutgers Passing Camp was held on Saturday.
Among the day’s notable performers was Rutgers quarterback target Shelton Applewhite of DePaul.
“We were in the huddle and I turned around to talk to my coach real quick and I saw Coach Ash waving at me,” Applewhite said. “Then, we scored on that drive when I threw a touchdown. I came back and Coach [Drew] Mehringer was like 'what’s up.' Just the fact that the head coach and the offensive coordinator were there watching me, that’s big time for me.”
Saturday also served as a forum for some standout play from Cardinal Hayes wide receiver Shameen Jones, who is a prime RU target at wide receiver.
“At Rutgers, it feels like everybody is all working together to all be successful,” Jones said on Saturday.
There were also some new offers that went out last week, with one of the most recent ones coming from a defensive tackle target, who has just emerged onto the recruiting scene. Liberty High School Jaohne Duggan of Bethlehem (Pa.) landed his first offer from Rutgers this weekend after a strong performance at one of the Rutgers east coast elite camps a couple of weeks ago.
“They wanted to offer me, they just needed to get my paperwork together with my transcripts and stiff like that,” Duggan said. “Then, I got the call [Saturday] from Coach [Shane] Burnham and he said we see you having an immediate impact when you get here and we really want you. He wanted to let me know that they are offering me a full scholarship.”
Look for a full-length feature on Duggan later today on Scarlet Nation.