The Monday Morning Kickoff
Rutgers kicked off its class of 2018 this weekend with a commitment from Florida defensive back Rachad Wildgoose, who offered up his pledge on Saturday night following a visit to Piscataway.
“They say I'd pretty much play as a freshman and they would focus on developing me into a great corner in college and the NFL,” Wildgoose said of the RU coaching staff. “I talk to [Head] Coach [Chris] Ash every other day and he talks to me about what's going on with the team and that he's glad to have me come up and visit to see how I fit in.”
Rutgers is also going to receive a Friday visit from a new offeree as Ohio defensive end Brandon Derrow will be on the RU campus this week.
“I plan on hitting up the team’s practice Friday, and I might even stay another day to check out the spring game," Derrow said. "I’m really just hoping to get a good feel of the campuses and take a tour of all the facilities. I just want to see what Rutgers is all about.”
There will be a host of visitors in attendance for the RU spring game, which will begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday inside High Point Solutions Stadium. Stay logged onto The Round Table for the latest on the expected weekend visitors.
During the spring game, there is not likely going to be any live tackling as Ash indicated that could be a precautionary measure.
“We are still debating on whether it is going to be live or not, because we don’t have the depth and we cannot afford to have somebody hurt,” Ash said on Thursday. “Right now, we are at the point where we’ve had some good, productive live scrimmages here in the spring. We will not go live again at all in the spring until we get into potentially the spring game. Then, we have to make a decision here as we continue to go on what type of spring game we are going to have.”
Meanwhile, Ash highlighted Kemoko Turay, Isaiah Wharton, Blessuan Austin, Saquan Hampton and Deonte Roberts as the top defensive performers of the spring.
“I feel like Coach Ash coming here accelerated the process of my development," Auston told Scarlet Scarlet Nation last week. “I wouldn’t say I am where I want to be, because I am not a complacent person. There is room for improvement but I don’t have a problem with where I am right now.”
This will mark the final week of spring practice for the Scarlet Knights with sessions scheduled on Tuesday. Thursday and Friday before the spring game on Saturday.