The Early Signing Period for high school seniors to officially bind them to a college football team starts next Wednesday, Dec. 16 and runs to that Friday.
Currently, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights have 21 commits for the 2021 class and as a group, they are ranked No. 30 in the country by Rivals. And the unique thing is the signing day coming up will be the first one taking place in the middle of the season due to schedule shifts because of COVID-19. Normally, teams would either be finished with their fall campaigns at this point or just practicing and developing ahead of a bowl game.
“It's definitely going to be different. Signing day in the middle of a game week is going to be different. But why wouldn't it be, it's 2020. Everything is different,” Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano said.
“We'll again have a plan. Recruiting never stops. Even though we are focused on Maryland, my job and every coach's job on this staff is to continue to recruit through the season. Recruiting is 365 days a year. That's not unusual. What'll be unusual is the signing date in the middle of the game week. We really are excited about the class we're about to sign. We have to push to the finish line and make sure the guys that we want in this class are a part of this class.”
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Since his return, Schiano has used his previous relationships and more to scoop up players from New Jersey. Nine players in the 2021 bunch are from the state. Twelve of the 22 high school scholarship signees from a year ago were from the Garden State along with five transfers as well.
And the Scarlet Knights aren’t done.
“First off New Jersey will always be the beginning and the end of everything we do,” Schiano said earlier this season. “There's a lot of reasons for that. Number one, it's a great football, high school football state. Great players. There's tremendous high school football coaching. You get guys that are thoroughly along with their development and understand the commitment level of playing big time college football.””
While Rutgers will continue to recruit and try and sign the top players in the area that fit, it will also branch out to places such as Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Canada and now even Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, and Texas.
“We will recruit other players for sure, but (New Jersey) is always where it starts and finishes,” Schiano said. “I tell our coaches let's not be flying over a bunch of kids when we leave New Jersey. If we go somewhere else to get players it's because we need to and there's good football played all around the country. But we happen to be in one of the hotbeds and we got to treat that with the utmost importance first and foremost.”
The program has also added a number of in-state high quality walk-ons to the fold as well from the state in 2020 and again in 2021. In the past, walk-ons have been instrumental in the rebuild and stability of the success of the team under Schiano. Many are contributing now.
“Those of you who followed our program know they're a critical part of what we do. We had seven walk-ons that became captains of our football team my first go around here. That's a high number,” Schiano said. “We've had several that have gone to play in the NFL when you talk about guys like Brandon Renkart, Gary Brackett, Michael Burton, who's actively playing right now for the New Orleans Saints. Kevin Brock had a really good career. When you identify guys, and then you develop them -- Jay Butler, tremendous in our strength and conditioning program. Tremendous element to the walk on program.
“And a lot of it goes back to the very beginning. I personally watch every walk on that we offer. Because when I do that, I know that they can come in here and help our program. And I wouldn't present them to be admitted to school unless I really believe. So it's a very big process. And it started up again right away. I actually remember the night as soon as we finished that first wave and we went into the dead period, we went right to walk ons because we started recruiting those walk-ons right then and there. I think it's a critical, critical element to our program and it always will be.”
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
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