Details on how to vote for Duce here. http://www.espnallamerica.com/

Count Rutgers senior WR Tim Brown as the second person on the Mark Harrison bandwagon. Brown made a comparison between Harrison and Kenny Britt, two names that I have had linked since his verbal commitment in June of 2008.

Brown sees exactly what I do: a similar skill set, and similar size. There's one thing that I think sets the two apart. Harrison is faster. Like, a lot faster. The sky's the limit with this kid. And don't forget, you heard it here first.

Barnegat TE Jarrett Darmstatter has scheduled an official visit with Rutgers for the weekend of December 12-14. The 6'4", 240 pounder who I have ranked as the  second best player that RU is currently in the running for visited Boston College from October 3-5, and reportedly was impressed, but not overly excited about the school. He is also scheduled to visit Purdue this weekend. It's currently unclear whether or not he'll be taking his other two official visits.

There has been a wild rumor going around that an unnamed Syracuse commit could be changing his decision, with an announcement coming as soon as Friday.
Well I can confirm that Malcolm Carter, a linebacker from Riverhead, NY has been considering making the switch, and will be in attendance tomorrow night at the RU-Pitt game. It's not currently known whether or not he plans on making any announcements after, but there's a good chance that by Saturday afternoon, he could be announcing a change in his future plans.

For those who don't know of him, Carter is a MLB prospect who stands 6'2" and weights 215 pounds. He has been unofficially clocked at 4.60 in the 40 yard dash, and is a solid athlete. He's the #71 ranked MLB in the country according to scout, and was considered a major addition to Syracuse's 2010 recruiting class. This would be a big blow to a team that really can't afford many more big blows right now. Huge addition for RU if he does change his mind.


Get a free shirt from BustedTees ($20 Value)

This is an update to my September 17 post about the top 5 prospects that RU still has a shot at grabbing. I'll list each player, and I'll state whether anything has changed. For more information, scroll down to my post from the 17th.

Any questions about these or other recruits, feel free to email me any time and I'll get back ASAP. JTJMas28195@gmail.com




5. Doug Rigg, OLB - Oradell, NJ
Current leader: West Virginia.
Still in the running: Rutgers, Iowa
Odds to sign: 25%

Has reportedly fallen in love with WVU over the past couple of weeks, but still plans on giving RU and Iowa second looks. It appears to the outside observer that all the other schools that were on his list are now out of the running.

4. Danny Foose, OL - Paramus, NJ
Current leader: Either Rutgers or Illinois, depending on who you ask.
Still in the running: Boston College, South Florida, Louisville, Stanford
Odds to sign: 45%

3. Brandon Coleman, WR - Forestville, MD
Current leader: Rutgers
Still in the running: Maryland, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, Virginia
Odds to sign: 88%

2. Jarret Darmstatter, TE - Barnegat, NJ
Current leader: None
Still in the running: Rutgers, Florida State, Boston College, Purdue, Syracuse, UCF, East Carolina
Odds to sign: 15%

1. Eduardo Clements, RB - Miami, FL
Current leader: Georgia
Still in the running: Rutgers, Tennessee, Florida, USF, Michigan, Miami (Fl), Georgia, Florida State, and Alabama.
Odds to sign: Tough to say. If I had to guess, I'd put it at around 12%

FB/LB Sam Bergen has verbally committed to Rutgers after attending the homecoming game against Texas Southern. I'll give you guys a scouting report on him at some point tomorrow, but I figured I'd give you guys an update as to where we stand.

Bergen wasn't the only recruit on hand, and rumor has it that he's not the only one who will be giving a verbal.

There are rumors swirling that Rutgers could be receiving verbal commitments from 2 talent WR prospects for the class of 2010 over the next 2 weeks.

One is a name many followers know, the other is probably a new one for most of you.





The first is Brandon Coleman, a 6'6" 4 star WR from Maryland who, up until just a couple days ago, appeared all but headed to Maryland. He was on hand for the RU-Maryland game, and loved what he saw from the team, the fans, the band, and just about everywhere else. He has openly declared that RU has taken over the lead from Maryland, although it's not immediately clear when he'll actually announce his decision, I've heard from a source that he could be looking to commit by the end of the month.

The second is Torian Richardson, the #155 WR in the class of 2010 according to scout.com. He's a high school teammate of RU commit Chas Dodd, and is highly interested in following his QB north for school. Richardson is 5'11 and about 170. He's not the biggest or the fastest, but he's an excellent route runners, and some scouts have ranked is hands in the top 5 in the nation for this class. He's a highly underrated prospect in my opinion.
Currently, he holds offers from RU, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Louisville, and Syracuse, and he has declared RU and Mississippi state as his 2 leaders.

Here's a list of the top 5 class of 2010 kids that RU is still in the running for. This isn't to say I think RU will get all 5, but these are the 5 best players, in my opinion, that RU could still land come February.

Send questions for my mailbag session: JTJMas28195@gmail.com.






5. Doug Rigg, OLB - Oradell, NJ - Standing  6'1", 220, and with excellent speed, Rigg is considered to be a prototypical hybrid type of player who can play OLB in the 3-4 or DE in the 4-3. It appears to me that his coverage skills need work, and just speaking out of speculation, that could mean that he's more of a match at DE in a 4-3.
In college, he'll likely be switching to end, and will almost certainly have to take a redshirt year to put on some weight. I think he's got the potential to be an excellent pass rusher, and he will be solid, though probably not spectacular in run support.
Other schools considering: Iowa, Louisville, Maryland, Northwestern, and West Virginia have all offered scholarships. Has also received serious interest from Miami (Fl), Michigan, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame.
Odds of signing: Very High. It's considered to be a matter of time before he announces that he'll be attending RU next fall.

4. Danny Foose, OL - Paramus, NJ - Excellent size (6"6", 305) for his age, and pretty good footwork. Plays mostly tackle in high school, but is likely a guard at the next level. Needs to work on his technique, as his brute strength will not be enough to get by at the next level like it is in high school
Other schools considering: Offers from Boston College, Illinois, Stanford, Iowa, Washington, South Florida, UCF, Virginia, and Louisville.
Odds of signing: Decent. He' appeared to be ours at one point. At another he appeared to be all but BC's. At this point, it's too early to tell, but we've got as good a shot as anybody else in his top 10.

3. Brandon Coleman, WR - Forestville, MD - Huge kid with the strength to match. The 6'6", 200 pounder could be one of the most gifted players in the nation this year. Incredible speed and agility for his size, and has excellent hands. He's very similar to Kenny Britt in terms of physicality. The one drawback for this kid is his tendency to have mental lapses in run blocking and sometimes in route running.
Might consider playing football and basketball in college. Freddy Hill may want to get on the horn to this kid.
Other schools considering: Holds offers from Maryland, Boston College, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Syracuse, Wake Forest, UNC, and NC State.
Odds of signing: Okay, not great. He's highly interested in Maryland because they appear willing to let him play both football and basketball.RU is probably #2 on his list as of now, closely followed by the rest of the list. My money's on Maryland, but RU still has a shot.

2. Jarret Darmstatter, TE - Barnegat, NJ - More of a receiver than a blocker, Darmstatter has work to do before he can be useful in the running game. A wiry kid standing 6'4", he's got room to grow into his frame, and will need to in order to be consistently successful at the next level. As it is, he's possibly the most explosive TE in the passing game in the country, and is absolutely fearless. Definitely one of the top prospects in the country.
Other schools considering: Florida State, Boston College, Purdue, Syracuse, UCF, East Carolina.
Odds of signing. Solid. He's still not 100% sure what he's looking for, but he's definitely interested in staying in state. He'll probably wait a while before making a final choice, and I wouldn't expect much news on this front until sometime in January.

1. Eduardo Clements, RB - Miami, FL - Truly one of the best players in the country this year, Clements has everything you'd look for in a big time running back.He's got the home run ability, he's got the vision, he's got the balance, he's got the change of direction. He's an excellent receiver out of the backfield. He's a capable blocker. He's pretty good in the return game. The only area of improvement to me is that he's got to get stronger. He's usually okay inside, but at times he can have difficulty running between the tackles.
Other schools considering: Has just about his pick of any school in the country, although he's shown the most interest in Tennessee, Florida, USF, Michigan, Miami (Fl), Georgia, Florida State, and Alabama.
Odds of signing: Unknown. All we know at this point is that Georgia will be in the final 3 or 4 when he makes his decision. Beyond that, no one really knows what he's thinking. He's said things in the past, only to say the complete opposite days later.It's just a wait and see. I'd say sometime after the high school season ends is when he'll make his final choice. Maybe around the high school All America games.

Over the last couple weeks, RU football lost out on the commitments of several big time players from the class of 2010.

-Corey Brown, RB - Springfield, PA - to Ohio State

-Zach Zwinak, FB - Frederick, MD - to Penn State

-Travis Bell, S - Belle Glade, FL - to West Virginia

-Darius Millines, WR - Delray, Beach, FL - to West Virginia

None are overly surprising losses, but I thought out of those four that we'd be able to swipe one. For the record, I'm still pretty high on the class so far, and I expect us to grab a few more big names that are still out there.

It's been pretty slow couple of days in terms of recruiting for the 2010 class, but there has been a little movement for the class of 2011 over the past couple weeks.

3 players from the class have been offered scholarships by RU, and all 3 are considered nationally significant prospects.




Tanner McEvoy: A native of Oradell, NJ, McEvoy attends Bergen Catholic High School. Standing 6'6" and 210 pounds with decent speed, he is a physical specimen. Entering his junior season, he is expected to see time at QB, WR, and S and is considered a major recruit at all 3 positions.
Aside from his offer from Rutgers, McEvoy has garnered interest from Penn State, UCLA, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Michigan, Boston College, and Iowa.
RU currently stands as his only offer, but that will certainly change between now and next summer.

Sheldon Royster: A 6'0", 190 pound safety prospect out of Jersey City, Royster is also a capable offensive threat at both RB and WR. Rumor has it he'd prefer to play defense at the next level. And the success enjoyed by defensive backs like Courtney Greene, Ron Girault, and Joe Lefeged early in their careers makes RU an interesting destination for Sheldon.
Like McEvoy, Royster's only offer at the moment is from RU, but he has drawn significant interest from Penn State, Maryland, and Pittsburgh.

Savon Huggins: A teammate of Sheldon Royster's at St. Peter's prep, and arguably the best prospect of the 3, Huggins has a chance to be one of the elite running backs in the class of 2011. He has excellent speed, and decent strength for his size (5'11", 175 pounds). At a camp in Baltimore last summer, Huggins displayed impressive numbers for a kid who at the time was only a sophomore (35" vertical jump, 4.55 40). He caught the eye of coaches across the nation, and I expect the offers to start pouring in once his season gets underway.
He has reportedly drawn interest from a real Who's Who across the college world: Oklahoma, Florida, Nebraska, USC, Cal, Miami, Penn State, Wisconsin, Texas, Alabama, Notre Dame, Illinois, and Florida State.