PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) Rutgers says offensive catalyst Janarion Grant and defensive end Quanzell Lambert suffered season-ending injuries during Saturday's loss to Iowa.

Coach Chris Ash confirmed Monday that both seniors won't play again without disclosing their injuries.

Grant was hurt late in the second quarter after a 76-yard catch and run to the Hawkeyes 3. Cornerback Desmond King stepped on his ankle at the end of the play.

Grant had a hand in six touchdowns this season. The wide receiver ran for three, scored on punt and kickoff returns, and threw a touchdown. He had eight career returns for touchdowns.

Ash said Rutgers would petition the NCAA for a medical redshirt season for Grant, but it might not be granted because he played in four games. >> Read more

Copyright 2016 by the Associated Press

Box score

Akrum Wadley scored on 26-yard run on the play after Iowa's defense forced a turnover deep in Rutgers' territory and the Hawkeyes rebounded from their stunning loss to North Dakota State with a 14-7 victory over tougher-than-expected Rutgers on Saturday.

Safety Brandon Snyder set up the score by stripping the ball from receiver Andre Patton with just under nine minute to play to help Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) win its ninth straight regular-season conference game and its seventh straight league win on the road.

C.J. Beathard threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle late in the first half to give Iowa a 7-0 lead.

Rutgers (2-2, 0-1) tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Chris Laviano to Patton.

The Scarlet Knights got to the Hawkeyes 17 on their next possession, but Iowa came up with stops on third- and fourth-down runs to end the drive.

Iowa took the lead late in the first half on Beathard's touchdown pass to Kittle. It capped an eight-play, 99-yard drive that started after the Hawkeyes' defense stopped the Scarlet Knights after they got a first-and-goal at the 3 on a 76-yard catch and run by Janarion Grant.

Hawkeyes cornerback Desmond King stepped on Grant's right leg at the end of the play and Rutgers' dynamic receiver was knocked out of the game.

Beathard had runs of 14 and 12 yards on the drive and hit four passes, the last to a wide-open Kittle, who just got across the goal line with 34 seconds left in the half.

Rutgers tied the game on Laviano's third-down pass to Patton in the left corner of the end zone with 12:45 left in regulation, capping a 13-play, 88-yard drive. Justin Goodwin had runs of 24 and 13 yards and Laviano had a 12-yard run. >> Read more 

Tags: Rutgers University , University of Iowa

If Rutgers is going to have any chance in its Big Ten Conference opener against Iowa, it can't afford another bad start.

The Scarlet Knights fell behind Washington 24-0, trailed Howard by two touchdowns and New Mexico by 21 points - all in the first quarter.

Rutgers (2-1) was able to overcome the deficits in the last two games, but it won't be so easy if Iowa (2-1) comes ready to play on Saturday at High Point Solutions Stadium after its loss to North Dakota State, the winner of the last five FCS national titles.

"We've got to start games better." Rutgers coach Chris Ash said. "There is no magic formula for that. We're not going to go out and do any extra stretches or jumping jacks or whatever to get ready for a game. We have a process that I think is one that will lead us to being successful."

Halfback Robert Martin said the players realize the competition is going to pick up.

"We're about to get in to Big Ten play and we're about to be playing some real good teams and we would rather start ahead than start behind," he said.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said his team made too many mistakes in losing to a good team.

"You've got to move on at some point, and in sports and football, that starts Monday morning," Ferentz said. "You've got to push through it and start your preparation for the next team because we're all on the clock." >> Read more 

Tags: Rutgers University , University of Iowa

Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs has released a letter to students following an incident in which he was caught drinking beer at a student tailgate. 

Hobbs, who had apologized for the incident earlier, described in the letter why the university shut down the tailgate area known as "The Alley." 

"[The Alley's] popularity exceeded everyone's expectations," Hobbs said in the letter. "Yesterday, due to concerns about our ability to ensure student safety, we made the decision that The Alley could not continue to be used as an area for student tailgating." 

Here is the full letter: 

Rutgers will host Iowa at 12 p.m. on Saturday in their Big Ten opener. 

Tags: Rutgers University

Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs has apologized for a video surfacing of him drinking a beer at a student tailgate this past Saturday, and told NJ Advanced Media that he was attempting to restore order to what was turning into an unruly atmosphere.

"My first concern is always for the safety and well-being of our students,'' Hobbs said. "Anyone who was at the (student tailgate) Saturday knows that I was acting to ensure that.''

Last Saturday's tailgate drew between 2,500 and 3,000 students, and the university's athletic department has since announced that it would be shutting down the student tailgate at home games for the rest of the season.

"Regrettably, due to safety concerns, The Alley is no longer available for student tailgating," Rutgers Athletics tweeted yesterday. 

Hobbs said he arrived as the Rutgers police were issuing tickets, and he got the sense that the crowd was starting to get out of control. Hobbs stood on a riser, grabbed a microphone, and spoke to the crowd, helping the Rutgers Police Department control the situation. As he was about to leave the stage, Hobbs grabbed a can of beer and took a sip.

"I regret that any action on my part can be interpreted as promoting the use of alcohol,'' he said. "That was certainly not my intention.''

Linebacker Najee Clayton has left the Rutgers football program and his status with the team is uncertain, reports Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com.

Clayton was not with the team as the Scarlet Knights defeated New Mexico on Saturday afternoon, as he had left the team Friday.  

"Najee is not with us right now," head coach Chris Ash said. "He has stepped away for personal reasons right now and was not here with us today, and not sure what his status will be moving forward. But Najee Clayton is not with us right now."

Clayton had eight tackles after the first two games of the season. 

Tags: Rutgers University

Box score

Wide receiver Janarion Grant threw for a touchdown and had a go-ahead 69 yard punt return for another score as Rutgers rallied from an early 21-point deficit and defeated New Mexico 37-28 on Saturday.

Halfback Robert Martin rushed for a career-high 169 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, and Chris Laviano threw a 75-yard scoring pass to Jawuan Harris in helping the Scarlet Knights (2-1) overcome a big deficit for the second straight week.

David Bonagura kicked three second-half field goals, including two in the final 5:30, in keeping new coach Chris Ash unbeaten at home.

Daryl Chestnut scored on a 19-yard run, Austin Apodaca threw a 36-yard TD pass to Patrick Reed and Lamar Jordan scored on a 52-yard run in giving the Lobos (1-2) a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter. Richard McQuarley scored on a 22-yard fourth-quarter run to get New Mexico within 31-28, but Bonagura added two field goals to put the game out of reach. >> Read more

Tags: Rutgers University

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) After picking up his first win, Rutgers coach Chris Ash is facing a lot of challenging teams in the next month.

It starts on Saturday with a game against New Mexico and its funky offense and finishes with a brutal opening three weeks in the Big Ten Conference with games against No. 13 Iowa, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan.

The Lobos (1-1) run a unique option offense that is bound to test the Scarlet Knights, who are coming off a 52-14 win over Howard in a game in which they trailed early by two touchdowns.

"It's a different style of offense," Ash said. "It's not Army. It's not Navy. So when you hear option, don't confuse it with that. It's not the same. The sets are different. The plays are different. They have more threats at passing the ball, also. Quarterback is different. I mean, it's different. I mean, although there are some similarities, you say triple option is triple option, it's like calling spread offenses all the same. They're not all the same."

New Mexico is coming off a 32-31 loss to rival New Mexico State in a game in which it turned the ball over twice, gave up a big play late in the first half and failed to convert late with the game on the line. >> Read more

Copyright 2016 by the Associated Press

Rutgers RB Robert Martin isn't taking his return to the starting lineup for granted, writes Keith Sargeant for NJ.com.

Martin, who missed the season opener due to hamstring and foot injuries, rushed for 83 yards on Saturday in Rutgers' win over Howard.

"I love football so much, so when you don't have that you feel kind of depressed, Martin said.''

"In my mind I know what I"m capable of doing, especially being healthy,'' he continued. "I know I can help the team out a lot. I just missed being out there, and when I wasn't out there on the field, I was just making sure I was doing all the little things to not miss a beat.''

Martin, a junior, played in 12 games (one start) last season, rushing for 763 yards and six touchdowns on 141 attempts.

Rutgers head coach Chris Ash said he wants a team full of players like Larry Stevens, writes Ryan Dunleavy for NJ.com.

Stevens, a freshman walk-on safety who initially committed to Army, has been playing on special teams and is listed as the backup safety.

"We were in a team meeting talking about special teams and using him as an example of how we want the game to be played with our football team," Ash said. "We can't get enough guys like Larry Stevens. He'll knock people down, get knocked down, he gets back up, goes to the sideline and asks for his next mission. We'd love to have a team full of guys like Larry Stevens."

Stevens was named Special Teams Player of the Game last week.

"When coach initially said it in the meetings, I was surprised," Stevens said about the honor. "I thought it was a joke, but then he showed us the film and showed how hard I went. I didn't realize how much I affected the team, so I was honored to get that award. I saw that (Grant's award) on Twitter and was like 'Wow' -- and then they picked me."

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) Rutgers and Maryland will stage a wrestling-football doubleheader at Yankee Stadium next year.

The schools announced Tuesday the doubleheader called the "Big Ten Battle in the Bronx" will be held Nov. 4, 2017.

The wrestling match, the first in the history of the stadium, will precede the football game. There will be a contingency plan for the wrestling in case of inclement weather.

"Never before has a doubleheader such as this taken place at a venue so iconic," Rutgers athletic director Patrick Hobbs said. "We are thrilled to provide our fans this one-of-a-kind experience while enhancing the Big Ten brand in the world's media capital."

Rutgers is 2-1 in three football games at the current Yankee Stadium, including two appearances in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. It has played 12 games at Yankee Stadium dating to 1926. Maryland leads the all-time series 6-5, but Rutgers has won two of the last three meetings. They have split two Big Ten contests. >> Read more

Copyright 2016 by the Associated Press

Rutgers may have gotten a glimpse of the quarterback of the future in its one-sided win over Howard.

Based on the inconsistent performance of starter Chris Laviano, backup Tylin Oden may see more time in the present.

Oden made his debut in the fourth quarter, following the first collegiate experience of redshirt sophomore Giovanni Rescigno, who had one rush for a 42-yard touchdown. Oden had nine rushes for 59 yards, including a run of 30 yards.

While Laviano won the quarterback competition in coach Chris Ash's first training camp, Rescigno and Oden are better runners. That's a key component of the quarterback's play for offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer's power spread.

Mehringer said Laviano played OK Saturday in the 52-14 win. He went 11 of 22 for 137 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while carrying the ball seven times for 39 yards.

There was room for improvement. Mehringer was not happy with the interception on Rutgers' first offensive play and a 14-yard loss on a third down sack in the second quarter with the game tied at 14.

"If he cleans those parts up, he plays a decent game," Mehringer said. >> Read more 

 

Tags: Rutgers University

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) Janarion Grant scored three touchdowns and Rutgers overcame an early scare against Howard in posting a 52-14 victory on Saturday, giving new coach Chris Ash his first win.

Grant resurrected a stunned Rutgers (1-1) from a 14-0 first quarter deficit with an 84-yard kickoff return, and he was in the center of a 21-point third quarter with touchdown runs of 58 and 21 yards.

Quarterback Chris Laviano added three touchdown passes as the Scarlet Knights scored the final 52 points in wearing down Howard (0-2), an FCS opponent that was facing its second straight Big Ten Conference opponent.

Grant was the difference in this game in which Rutgers rushed for 375 yards and had 512 yards in total offense. The senior wide receiver finished with six rushes for 106 yards, two receptions for 24 yards and three kickoff returns for 119 yards. His longer rushing TD came on a direct snap in a wildcat formation and was aided by a great block by Laviano.

Laviano (11 of 22 for 137 yards and an interception) had touchdown passes of 22 yards to Andre Patton, 7 to Carlton Agudosi and 29 to Jawuan Harris.

>> Read more from SNY.tv

For most Big Ten Conference football teams, a step-down game is one to put in the win column.

After being blown out by now No. 8 Washington in Chris Ash's coaching debut at Rutgers, it's hard to know what to expect when the Scarlet Knights face Howard on Saturday.

Rutgers did not play well in dropping a 48-13 decision to the Huskies. They trailed 24-0 after the first quarter, 34-3 at the half and 48-3 after three quarters.

Howard will be playing its second straight Big Ten foe. It opened with a 52-13 loss to Maryland in a game it trailed 42-0 after three quarters.

"Howard gives us as a program another opportunity to go out and show that we're improving, and we've got to go out and compete to show that we came back from last Saturday," Ash said.

Since taking the Rutgers job, Ash has insisted that rebuilding the program isn't solely about wins and losses.

"What drives me is to get a team of individuals, coaches and players to go out and try to perform to our potential," he said. "Did that happen Saturday? No, it did not, and that's what I'm really disappointed about. Do I hope we win every game? Absolutely, and that's what we want and that's what everybody wants, but at the end of the day -- at the start of it, I want us to be a program that goes out and performs to our full potential every chance that we get."

Howard coach Gary Harrell said his team had chances against Maryland early and did not make the plays.

"You have to play better and you limit the mistakes if you want to get the results that you ultimately want," Harrell said of playing teams in a higher category. >> Read more

Tags: Rutgers University

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) The opponent will be very different for Rutgers in week two. The Scarlet Knights vow to take Howard as seriously as they did Washington - though they expect different results.

Rutgers was blown out by Washington in the first game with Chris Ash as coach.

"After a loss like that you got two choices to make and everyone's coming to work and everyone's ready to go this week and we're approaching this opponent just like any other opponent," Scarlet Knights quarterback Chris Laviano said. "It doesn't matter if it's FCS."

Howard is one of the worst teams in FCS. After a 1-10 campaign in 2015, it opened up this season with a 52-13 loss at Maryland.

"The opponent never matters. Really for me, it could be anyone across the ball. I approach the game and practices the same way. I'm going to go out there and make sure I'm fundamentally sound and I handle business properly," offensive lineman Dorian Miller said. "I don't focus on the I-AA aspect of it. Every week prepare like we're playing the No. 1 team in the country."

Rutgers is preparing like a team trying to prove that the debacle in Seattle wasn't what to expect on a regular basis from a team coming off a 4-8 season that was marred by off the field issues and ended with coach Kyle Flood being fired.

>> Read more from SNY.tv

Box score

SEATTLE -- Shortly after sustaining a knee injury in the spring of 2015 that would cost him the season, Washington'sJohn Ross placed the Rutgers logo on a calendar app on his phone, a countdown to when he'd finally get back on the field for the Huskies.

His return proved worth the wait.

Ross caught two touchdown passes and returned a kickoff for another score, Jake Browning threw for 287 yards, and No. 14 Washington looked every bit a Top 25 team with a 48-13 rout of Rutgers on Saturday to spoil the debut of first-year Scarlet Knights coach Chris Ash.

"I feel amazing. I feel great. I'm so thankful, grateful, everything you can think of," Ross said. "I'm just so happy to be able to do it again."

Entering a season of lofty expectations, the Huskies (1-0) raced to a 24-0 first-quarter lead and were never threatened by the rebuilding Scarlet Knights, in their first game under Ash.

Browning threw for 277 yards and all three scores in the first half as the Huskies built a 34-3 lead. Browning should have thrown four TDs in the half, but Darrell Daniels dropped a pass in the end zone late in the second quarter.

Read more

 

Tags: Rutgers University

An offseason of high expectations for Washington ends Saturday when the No. 14 Huskies host Rutgers, which will be playing its first game under coach Chris Ash.

Ash spent the past two seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, helping the Buckeyes win the national championship in 2014. He also coordinated defenses at Arkansas and Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, much of the optimism around Washington centers on third-year coach Chris Petersen, who is only 15-12 in two seasons with the Huskies but had a long run of success at Boise State before that.

He seems to have Washington on the cusp of big things, returning eight starters from a defense that ranked as the best in the Pac-12 last year, allowing only 351.8 yards a game.

The offense should launch behind sophomore quarterback Jake Browning, who passed for 2,955 yards while starting 12 games as a true freshman, and sophomore running back Myles Gaskin, who rushed for 1,302 yards and 14 touchdowns as a true freshman.

Browning threw 16 touchdown passes and was intercepted 10 times in an offense that usually moved at a deliberate pace.

"From this year at this time, to last year, there is a big difference," Petersen said about Browning.

"He knows everything we're talking about with quite certainty. ... One thing we're really trying to stress with him is let's still try and keep it simple. It's still one-two throw, or run for your life. Sometimes you can make this game too complicated."

Rutgers, which went 4-8 last season and had off-field issues that led to the dismissal of coach Kyle Flood, will enter Husky Stadium as a big underdog. >> Read more

Copyright 2016 by the Associated Press

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) Darius Hamilton's technique is as flawless is any defensive lineman in the country. So is his knowledge of the game.

But what stands out most to Hamilton's coaches and teammates at Rutgers is his ability to flip the switch.

"When he walks on the field he changes. He's a different guy," defensive line coach Shane Burnham said. "I've been around him. He's a great kid. He'll do well in whatever he does in life, but when he gets on that field he turns into a nasty kid and that's what I like to see."

Off the field, one of his teammates calls Hamilton "a human jukebox."

"He's listening to Paramore and One Direction and just chilling," friend and fellow fifth-year senior defensive lineman Julian Pinnix-Odrick said. "Knows every song of every genre, but he's a cool guy. Not to outward. But when we're on that field the man really feels unstoppable."

While Hamilton made headlines for his love for One Direction at last year's media days, he never got to show his dominance on the field. The three-time captain and All-Conference player saw limited action early in the season and then had to shut it down because of a knee injury. >> Read more

Copyright 2016 by the Associated Press

Tags: Rutgers University

Chris Laviano will be the starting quarterback for Rutgers.

First-year coach Chris Ash announced the decision on Monday, less than two weeks before the season opener at Washington.

Laviano started 11 games last season in Kyle Flood's final year as coach. He edged TCU transfer Zach Allen, fellow redshirt junior Hayden Rettig and redshirt sophomore Giovanni Rescigno for the job.

The competition for the starting job seemingly came down to Laviano and Allen. They received most of the snaps with the first team during the portions of training camp open to the media.

"He has been the guy who has shown the most consistency throughout the first two weeks of practice and had a good understanding of our offense, and become a pretty good decision-maker with the ball, the best decision maker in the group," Ash said. "Right now he has earned the trust of the staff and the other players."

Tags: Rutgers University

Chris Ash is coming into his first season as Rutgers coach knowing that he sure isn't at Ohio State anymore.

The Scarlet Knights' depth chart isn't very deep and the talent level isn't anywhere close to what he had as the co-defensive coordinator with the Buckeyes.

Coaching Rutgers is going to be a challenge. It is coming off a 4-8 record last season with one win in the Big Ten Conference in eight games.

Rutgers' recent success is a thing of the past. The Scarlet Knights are rebuilding.

"Got to get back in to football playing shape," Ash said after training camp opened. "We're in great conditioning shape from summer work outs, but just like most teams at this time of year, we're not in great football shape and we got to play ourselves back into that, but good start."

Ash was not as happy after the first preseason practice, so there has been some improvement in recent months.

"As we continue to go through training camp we'll have a better feel of our team, our players and our picture will become clearer," Ash said. "It's a lot clearer than when we first started, so making progress, but like I said when we first started, but like I've been saying all along still a long way."

Ash has changed almost everything since replacing Kyle Flood. The coaching staff is new, and so are the offense and defense.

"We've made a lot of changes to their bodies, but it took seven months to make a lot of those changes," Ash said. "We have to change the type of production we get on the field as football players. That doesn't happen on day one."

While there are many on-field questions that need to be answered, Ash is pleased that there are no questions about his team's off-field behavior. During last year's training camp, Flood was engulfed in an academic scandal while his players were getting arrested.

"You look at the behavior and you tell me what you see. I see a bunch of guys that want to be coached, that want to excel, that want to do things right, and they want to be good teammates and they want to represent the athletic department, and this state the right way," Ash said. "Now they have to continue that, but I like the trend that we're on right now." >> Read more...

Second-teamer Giovanni Rescigno made the best impression among Rutgers quarterbacks Saturday as the Scarlet Knights held their first intrasquad scrimmage in Piscataway, N.J.

Chris Laviano had a better day than TCU transfer Zach Allen in the competition between the co-starters on the depth chart. Laviano was 3-for-6 passing, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Vance Matthews and a 55-yard completion. Allen was 2-for-6 and 11 yards. Laviano ran twice for four yards, Allen three times for 10 as the Knights ran plays out of the power-spread offense being installed by new coach Chris Ash.

On Friday, Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo, the former Purdue and LSU coach, told NJ.com he thought Allen was ahead of Laviano. "If I had to decide today, I would go with Allen based on today. He definitely has a better feel for the option stuff and the formations. That obviously puts Chris at a little bit of a disadvantage."

Rescigno threw a 71-yard TD pass and ran 36 yards for a score. Hayden Rettig, who also played with the second team,  was 4-for-8 passing for 27 yards, but threw a 14-yard interception returned for a touchdown.

NJ.com reported about 1,000 fans attended the two-hour scrimmage, held in 97-degree heat on Rutgers' FieldTurf field. Rutgers, 4-8 last season under former coach Kyle Flood, opens the season Sept. 3 at Washington.

Read more about Rugters football at SNY.tv. . . . .

Chris Ash has given Rutgers a face lift in his first seven months as the coach.

The former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator has changed just about everything predecessor Kyle Flood did in a tenure that ended with a 4-8 season, a training camp engulfed in player arrests and the coach at the center of an academic scandal.

One thing remains - the quarterback question.

Redshirt juniors Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig are competing for starting quarterback again, along with TCU transfer Zach Allen.

Laviano won the job last season and completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,247 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Rettig went 14-of-25 for 233 yards and two touchdowns in mop-up duty. The LSU transfer also started the season opener after Laviano was suspended of the first half of the season opener for breaking curfew and trying to use a fake ID during training camp.

Both Ash and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Drew Mehringer have since praised Laviano for his leadership.

"He's had a lot of turmoil, well-documented, things that go on in his life," Mehringer said. "One of the things that we talked about with him - not just from this past spring semester, but throughout the summer - consistency has to be established in your life and he did that. This summer was a tribute to an individual trying to change his life and do things the right way and a credit to him."

Laviano, who declined to speak after the spring game, was more affable this week. He cracked a few smiles and gave some lengthy answers to questions.

"I'm more mature. I feel different. I am different in here and it's a very positive place," Laviano said. "I think honestly it's the consistency off the field and on the field and in the facility. It's just coming every day to work, every day to the meeting room with a positive attitude, not getting in trouble off the field, just being a quarterback all year around." >> Read more...

Rutgers has landed recruit Eugene Omiruyi, a 6' 6" wing from Orangeville Prep.

Omiruyi, who's from the class of 2016 and will play this season, made his decision during a visit to Rutgers on Wednesday. 

He is a skilled wing with a strong body and tremendous upside.

"It's a great school with great academics and (I committed) mostly because of the coaching staff and their resume," Omiruyi said, adding that he'll "bring a great motor" he believes "cannot be matched."

Tags: Adam Zagoria

Former TCU Horned Frog Zach Allen is transferring to Rutgers and will use his last two years of eligibility as a graduate transfer, thescore.com reports. He was also considering Syracuse University, the report said.

Allen has appeared in 26 games since redshirting his freshman year, mostly as a holder for field goals and extra-point attempts. He's thrown for two passes in his TCU career, which each connected for a total of 17 yards.

He transitioned into a role as a wide receiver last year at TCU, and caught one pass for eight yards.

He is expected to play quarterback at Rutgers.

Wide receiver and Wayne Hills, New Jersey native Tyler Hayek has verbally committed to Rutgers, he announced on his Twitter account. 

Hayek, 6-foot-3 and190 pounds, is committed to play for the school starting in the 2017 season. 

Extremely excited to announce that I have verbally committed to play D1 football at Rutgers University ��#B1G #AshEra pic.twitter.com/wpjsu5TjDd

- Ty (@Tylerhayek0) June 25, 2016

Hayek had gone to two of Rutgers' camps and was considered one of the better receivers there, according to NJ.com. 

"It felt really good to get the Rutgers offer because I went twice and I did really well twice," Hayek said, according NJ.com. "And I've just been working hard, really. So finally, I felt like everything was really paying off. So it was great."

Also a safety in high school, Hayek reportedly had offers from Stony Brook, Army and Robert Morris. He is the fourth wide receiver recruit and 14th overall committed to the Class of 2017. 

---

Mike Vorkunov, SNY.TV
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PARAMUS, N.J. -- As the sun set on his nearly four-hour long football camp, Jim Harbaugh was still doing the same awkward dance he had been engaged in all day since he got to Paramus Catholic. At midfield he was once again asked to take a picture with a camper, this one younger and smaller than most. And again Harbaugh had to go through his usual lawyerly line of questioning.

"How old are you?"

"13?"

"You're going to be a freshman in high school?"

"Then I can't take a picture with you."

He had been saying this for almost 15 minutes now, repeating the same line almost verbatim. The camp had ended and everyone wanted a photo with the man at the middle of it -- the one who somehow turned some measly clinics into the latest match to set aflame the clumsily-governed tinder box that is college football.

The NCAA doesn't allow photos, he repeated to camper after camper who came over. Instead, he set his own policy: pats on the backs and handshakes. There was one exception, to one nearly incredulous mom.

"We're allowed to hug," Harbaugh said.

If anything encapsulated this day, it was this. Harbaugh, Michigan's mad scientist in residence, the coach who caused the NCAA even more angst by turning the Wolverines brand into a traveling road show, was carefully gauging his every step and movement as he tried to press the flesh of the governing body's arcane rules without breaking them.

The camp at Paramus Catholic promised to the biggest and most high-profile of all the camps Harbaugh has held. He's developed especially-close ties to Paramus, nabbing the top-ranked player in the country, Rashan Gary, from there in January. And Thursday he's going to be the commencement speaker at graduation.

Harbaugh's satellite camps have gobbled up the oxygen during college football's dead period. They've led to Twitter storms, press conference feuds with Nick Saban, and escalated rivalries. But over the course of an evening in Paramus, watching as the Michigan coach and dozens of other college coaches ran one banal drill after another, it was a reminder that all the fuss was about what, again?

"We're doing this because we really enjoy it," Harbaugh said. "And you can believe that or not, I don't care anymore. I'm having more fun than I've had in six months. I'm like a pig in slop out here. That's why I personally am doing it. I don't know about anybody else."

Whether you believe Harbaugh's explanation or not depends on your level of cynicism. College football coaches have hardly earned the benefit of the doubt. If anything, their actions have conditioned us to assume their every move is a means to some end. Could these camps really just be about Harbaugh and his staff getting an opportunity to get back to plain old grassroots coaching, as he and his brother, John, insist? Sure. But there are the residual benefits too, other than the headaches it causes for compliance departments.

"Everybody keeps saying the obvious thing is this is all about recruiting and I disagree," Harbaugh said. "I've disagreed with that premise from its first inception. It's not about recruiting. If it really helped recruiting that much then people would have been doing this because it's been around for 10, 20, 30 years. We're just enjoying the heck out of coaching."

Getting ornery, he adds: "We could easily recruit them from Ann Arbor. This is about doing what's good for football and what's good for youngsters. Now I've said it a million times and believe or don't believe it, I don't really care anymore, I don't know what else to say about it."

Paramus Catholic has benefited from this relationship, too. If they're not a feeder school for Michigan, it looks like something approximating it. Chris Partridge, the coach who turned the school into a nationally significant program, is now on Michigan's staff. In September, they'll play a game at Michigan Stadium.

The symbiotic relationship has brought scrutiny and headlines. When a camp in New Jersey was announced without the presence of Rutgers -- the local state school -- Rutgers responded by organizing one 37 miles away. With Ohio State coaches in tow. New Jersey's high school coaches rallied around Rutgers, according to an NJ Advanced Media report.

Though no one at the camp claimed it to be divisive, it hardly seemed to match reality. The only Rutgers paraphernalia seen at Paramus Catholic was worn by one Scarlet Knights player who came to the camp to support his brother. Artur Sitkowski, a top-ranked quarterback recruit from the 2018 class recruited by Michigan and Ohio State, said he chose the Paramus Catholic camp over the other because it was just easier to get to.

Wednesday, James Vail, the high school's principal, again asserted that Rutgers had received an invitation to the camp in good faith. He said it while wearing a makeshift, homemade Rutgers basketball hat -- because he couldn't find an actual one in stores, he said. Vail said the hat was in support of Steve Pikiell, the new Rutgers basketball coach and former high school student.

"This is not a camp, an event to promote any particular college," Vail said in his opening remarks to the camp in a packed gymnasium. "The grounds of Paramus Catholic are not a proxy war for anyone else's agenda."

Deciding on the actual aggrieved party in the dispute is not easy, but it has allowed both sides to play the victim.

"I can't speak for Mr. Harbaugh but I think he's the type of guy that knows to excel and to succeed it means at time you're going to be attacked," Vail said. "Mediocrity never gets attacked."

Perhaps, more than any other reason, these satellite camps have elicited so much attention because there is nothing else to talk about. The NFL has become a year-round sport by turning the inane into media events. College football is slowly headed that way too.

So on a cool day in Northern New Jersey in the middle of June, Harbaugh is able to steal some attention. Does it help recruiting? He says no. So does Sitkowski, even as he speaks in awe about the chance to work with the coach for an afternoon.

And no one seemed more excited than Harbaugh himself. As he stood inside the gymnasium, introduced to a whole camp who already knew his name, he screamed and panted into the microphone. He compared himself to a boxer about to fight, to a horse about to run the Kentucky Derby, and to his excitement level just before he coached in the Super Bowl. It didn't seem crazy that maybe he even meant it as he threw himself into the moment.

Then, with his final words to the assembled high school campers and their parents, he sent everyone onto the field and waded into the masses, patting backs and refusing to stop his momentum. Rich Fisherman, a Michigan fan, found him on the floor and asked to take a picture. Harbaugh told him just to take it, unwilling to look into the camera and break any NCAA code, and kept on moving.

"The compliance people said I can't look at you," Fisherman said Harbaugh told him.

Afterward, as Fisherman looked into his phone, he saw a blurry photo of the coach, looking the other way -- a selfie gone awry. He reveled in his glory. He would send this to his son.

"The guy's a rock star."

Video: Rutgers hosts Tri-State showcase

Tags: University of Michigan

The Rutgers football staff extended an offer to son of former Pro Bowl punter and Super Bowl champion Jeff Feagles, Zach Feagles according to NJ.com.

Feagles, who is a punter and running back for the Ridgewood High School Maroons, is ranked the No. 7 punter in the 2017 recruiting class.

Listed at 6'2, 220 lbs, he is slightly taller and bigger than his father, who played in the Giants 2007 Super Bowl game where they beat the 18-0 Patriots.

Yesterday, Rutgers signed former University of Miami tight end Jerome Washington.

The Princeton Junction, NJ native was granted full release from the Hurricanes to come play for the Scarlet Knights.

Washington was ranked a four-star recruit and the #1 tight end prospect in the country coming out of high school. During his time in Miami, he played in one game where he caught a 13 yard reception.

The 6'5, 262 lb product will have to sit out one year due to NCAA rules regarding transfers. He will then be eligible to play two seasons for Rutgers.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will face the Maryland Terps in football at Yankee Stadium in 2017, according to NJ.com's Dan Duggan.

Former Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann, who was fired in November, reached an agreement with the Yankees two years ago to move the Rutgers-Maryland game in 2017 to Yankee Stadium, according to Duggan.

"(The Yankees) want to work more closely with us," new Rutgers athletic director Patrick Hobbs told Duggan earlier this week about the potenital of Rutgers playing at Yankee Stadium. "We want to look at maybe bringing a game here and announcing that sometime down the road. I guess the Yankees see Rutgers is starting to move forward and is a good story so they want to be part of it, too."

While the Old Yankee Stadium hosted many football games from the 1920s -- including the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts -- the New Yankee Stadium has hosted six Pinstripe Bowls since 2010.

Cody and Caleb Martin committed to. Nevada over Rutgers, source tells @SNYtv

- Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 25, 2016

They join fellow transfers Kendall Stephens (Purdue) and Hallice Cooke (Iowa state). 

Meantime, Rutgers continues to look to build its roster under first-year coach Steve Pikiell, who recently added San Jacinto College forward Cândido Sá, and 6-9 forward Issa Thiem, as well as Roselle Catholic senior guard Matt Bullock.

Caleb finished fourth on the Wolfpack in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game, while Cody averaged 6 points per game. The twins are North Carolina natives.

"Through a series of honest, thoughtful and somewhat surprising conversations we have had in the days since our season ended, Caleb and Cody have informed me of their desire to explore options that they believe are in both of their best interests," N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said when they decided to transfer.

"While I don't share all of their views, I have certainly come to understand and respect the unique dynamic and special bond that exists between identical twins, especially when they play the same sport for the same team. I enjoyed coaching them over the past two years."

Nevada loading up on transfers. Already added Kendall Stephens and Hallice Cooke.

- Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 25, 2016

 

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Rutgers University has recently settled a lawsuit with former forward Derrick Randall for $300,000, according to Jerry Carino of USA Today.

Randall sought damages for "assault and battery, breach of fiduciary duty, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with prospective economic advantage, discrimination, and violations of his civil rights and of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act."

The 6-foot-9, 240 pound forward, who has learning disabilities, filed the suit in 2013, eight months after Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice for mistreating his players. 

In addition to Rutgers and Rice, then-athletics director Tim Pernetti, then-assistant coach Jimmy Martelli, athletics chief financial officer Janine Purcaro, university president Robert Barchi, and Mark Hershhorn, who chaired the board of governors' committee on intercollegiate athletics at the time, were also named in the suit. 

Rutgers is also paying for Randall's expert witness fees in the amount of $6,800. However, the settlement agreement notes that there is no admission of wrongdoing by Rutgers or any of the parties named in the suit. 

In two seasons as a reserve at Rutgers, Randall averaged 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. After the firing of Rice, Randall transferred to Pittsburgh, where he played as a reserve for his final two seasons.

Chris Ash doubted whether he would ever make it big in coaching.

Long before he became Rutgers coach, Ash played small-college football about 20 miles from the Iowa town where he grew up.

Even as he climbed the ranks to become the defensive coordinator for a national championship team, Ash still wondered if his stay-out-of-the-spotlight style would hold him back.

"The concern for me trying to get a head coaching job was I wasn't highly regarded as a hot coach," Ash said. "I'm not a guy that had been necessarily trying to self-promote himself to get his name out there and become popular with the media people or with fans.

That's not been me. I've been focused on trying to do a good job in the job that I have and see where that takes me."

That approach took the 42-year-old Ash to New Jersey, where he hopes to use what he has learned during his time at Ohio State and Wisconsin to turn Rutgers into program that can compete with those Big Ten powers. >> Read more

Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell continued to rebuild his roster with the addition of 6-foot-9 forward Issa Thiam on Monday.

Thiam initially committed to former Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan and then re-opened his recruitment after Jordan was fired.

Greg "Shoes" Vetrone, an assistant under Jordan and now in charge of player development under Pikiell, was the point man on Thiam.

"He's committed to Rutgers," Arlington Country Day coach Shaun Wiseman said by phone. "Coach Vetrone was instrumental in keeping that relationship with the former staff moving on, and Coach Pikiell coming in and keeping Shoes on board was a huge part of Issa's commitment."

Wiseman said Florida was also involved.

"If it would've opened up, there was a ton of suitors," he said.

Thiam, who averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds in 10 game at Arlington Country Day, joins Roselle Catholic guard Matt Bullock and junior college forward Cândido Sá among the new players PIkiell's staff has landed as it looks to rebuild the roster. He projects to be a rotation player behind Jonathan Laurent with the Scarlet Knights.

"He's 6-9, he's long, he's athletic, he can defend three positions," Wiseman said. "He can shoot it, he's just gotta get stronger, man, but he has a huge upside."

Tags: Rutgers University , Adam Zagoria

Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer is in talks with athletic director Pat Hobbs on a new four-year contract, according to NJ.com.

Hobbs said he is making the move to assure recruits the Hall of Fame coach is staying.

Stringer, 68, signed a four-year deal with former AD Julie Hermann in 2014 that pays her $700,000 a year. Under terms of that deal, the school could have bought out Stringer after this past season or the upcoming one.

Stringer will be entering her 22nd season at Rutgers, where she has been gone 451-231 since arriving from Iowa in 1995. Stringer has taken the Knights to the Final Four twice and gone to the NCAA Tournament 15 times, but they have have missed the NCAAs three of the past four seasons. 

They won the WNIT in 2014, but were eliminated in the second round this year. Stringer is 29 wins from 1,000 for her career at Cheyney State, Iowa and Rutgers.

Rutgers has raised more than $50 million since the start of the year in its campaign to build new athletic facilities and upgrade others in a bid to become more competitive in the Big Ten Conference.

Athletic director Patrick Hobbs said the university has received more than $29.3 million in cash and pledges since the fundraising drive started after Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation granting $25 million of tax credits toward the building of a multisport training center - the centerpiece of the three projects in the master plan that was announced on Jan. 20.

The two other projects include a lacrosse, tennis and soccer complex and enhanced football facilities at the Hale Center.

Hobbs said university has received 10 donations of more than $1 million, including three of largest gifts to Rutgers Athletics, which combine to exceed $11 million.

The campaign has attracted 923 donors, with 71 committing more than $25,000.

"Let's say I am happy where we are and we have a lot of work to do, but 15 weeks in, I feel we are making some real progress," said Hobbs, who was hired in late November after Julie Hermann was fired in the wake of off-the-field problems with the football team.

Prior to the current campaign, the most money Rutgers raised for athletics was $14 million in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

During Greg Schiano's storied tenure as football coach, it could not raise $30 million for an end-zone expansion of the then Rutgers Stadium in 2008. The university eventually had to borrow some money to complete the job.

Hobbs said that 90 percent of the current donations have been earmarked toward the multisport training complex, which will be built for practice facilities for the men's and women's basketball team, wrestling and the gymnastics program.

"That facility is really important," Hobbs said. "I've talked about how that facility is not just important for the benefits that it provides our programs, but it's our signal that we are going to be competitive, we are going to compete in the Big Ten and we are going to compete in the Big Ten to win championships." >> Read more...

Three @RFootball game times announced! Homecoming set for a noon start on Oct. 15. https://t.co/lDK7hNfooo pic.twitter.com/bQS73EuVcm

- Rutgers Athletics (@RUAthletics) May 11, 2016

Rutgers linebackers Quentin Gause and Steve Longa and offensive tackle Keith Lumpkin signed free agent deals with NFL teams Saturday after they went undrafted.

Gause, 23, agreed to a deal with the Eagles. Gause (6 foot, 232 pounds) was a two-year starter and senior co-captain who had a career-high 96 tackles and was honorable mention All-Big-Ten.
 
Lumpkin (6-7, 315) signed with the Bills. He was a three-year starter at Rutgers. Last year, former Rutgers lineman Kaleb Johnson made the Ravens as an undrafted agent and finished the season with the Browns.

Longa (6-1, 241), who passed up a final year of eligibilty, signed with the Seahawks. He was the second player in Rutgers history with 100-plus tackles in three straight seasons.

Running back Paul James got a minicamp invitation from the Browns. Former Rutgers halfback Savon Huggins, who played at Northern Iowa last year, got a mincamp tryout with the Packers.

Candido Sa, a 6-foot-9 forward from San Jacinto-Central, has committed to Rutgers, a source has told SNY.TV. He will be eligible immediately and has two years to play. 

Sa averaged 4.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field for San Jacinto, a community college based in Houston, TX. 

Greg "Shoes" Vetrone was the lead recruiter for Sa this past year while he was an assistant coach, and head coach Steve Pikiell has visited Sa at San Jacinto. 

"He's a 4/5 that can stretch the defense with a good stroke from three," San Jacinto head coach Scott Gerander said about Sa.

Sa was scheduled to visit Texas this weekend, but after the trip was pushed back, he decided to commit to Rutgers. 

Rutgers currently has only seven scholarship players, thus Sa will add frontcourt depth. The staff is continuing to look to add transfers and graduate transfers.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Whenever Julian Pinnix-Odrick sees Chris Ash in the hallways of Rutgers' football center, the fifth-year senior tells his first-year coach that it's OK to smile.

Ash has cracked a few smiles in wrapping up his first spring practice on Saturday night in front of 14,177 fans.

His focus, though, is overhauling a program derailed by an academic scandal and player arrests and providing structure for the future.

"When it's grind time he makes sure that we're in line and ready to grind," Pinnix-Odrick said.

Wide receiver Janarion Grant was the star of the scrimmage, with 11 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. He also had two carries for six yards in the fans' first view of Ash's new power spread offense as the Scarlet (first team) beat the White (second) 33-20.

Both quarterbacks had a touchdown pass with no interceptions. Chris Laviano was 16-for-29 for 240 yards, Hayden Rettig 13-for-22 and 186 yards.

Wide receiver Andre Patton was the second-leading receiver, with nine catches for 112 yards. Carlton Agudosi had three catches for 83 yards and a score.

Running backs Justin Goodwin (59 yards) and Robert Martin (48) each had 12 carries and a touchdown. Kicker David Bonagura was 2-for-4 on field goals, hitting from 32 and 38 yards and missing from 36 and 49.

Read more. . . .

SNY follows former Rutgers linebacker Quentin Gause as he prepares for the NFL Draft.

Brandin Knight will join the Rutgers basketball team as an assistant coach, the school announced.

"I am thrilled to welcome Brandin to the Rutgers basketball family," new head coach Steve Pikiell said in a statement. "He is one of the premier young coaches in the country. Brandin has developed an excellent reputation as a high-level recruiter and a tremendous teacher of the game. He brings a passion and expertise in developing players that will be infectious to our program."

Knight joins Rutgers from Pittsburgh, where he also served as an assistant coach. According to RU, the Panthers compiled a 252-101 (.714) record and reached the postseason all 10 seasons with Knight on staff. Pitt won the 2008 Big East Championship, earned two NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds (2009 & 2011) and captured the 2011 Big East regular season title.

"The opportunity to join a Big Ten staff in my home state under the leadership of Coach Pikiell is very exciting," Knight said in a statement. "I can't wait to help bring winning back to Rutgers."

At Pitt, Knight also served the 2007-08 and 2006-07 seasons as Director of Men's Basketball Operations and Program Assistant/Video Coordinator, respectively.

"Brandin is a coach who knows the area and has recruited this area for a number of years," Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff told SNY.tv. "I think he'll help Rutgers recruiting for sure. "

Knight is originally from East Orange, New Jersey.

"Brandin and I have a very good relationship," Sports U coach Brian Coleman said to SNY.tv. "I know he will look out for the kids and take good care of them. I think it will help Rutgers get involved with our kids."

Steve Pikiell has gone back to his ties at Stony Brook and hired long-time assistant Jay Young as an assistant coach at Rutgers.

Young spent 11 seasons working as an assistant on Pikiell's Stony Brook staff, including the last seven as associate head coach.

This past season, Young was instrumental in the Seawolves achieving a 26-7 record that featured the America East Conference regular and post-season titles and an NCAA Tournament berth. He served as their defensive coordinator and frontcourt developer.

Young served five seasons as coach at New Haven prior to Stony Brook. He has also served as an assistant coach at Northeastern, Salem State College and Fitchburg State. He also was the coach at Newbury from 1992-96.

© 2016 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.

 

HOUSTON -- Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell opted to stay within his UConn family and hire Karl Hobbs as his associate head coach.

A former UConn starting point guard (1980-84) and captain, Hobbs just finished his 13^th season as a UConn assistant coach in two separate stints: 1993-2001 and 2011-2016. During 2011-12, he served as the Director of Basketball Administration). In between, he spent 10 years as the head coach at George Washington University, directing the Colonials to 166 wins, two Atlantic 10 Tournament titles and three straight NCAA Tournament berths.

"I'm a lucky guy to have had the chance to return to my alma mater and enjoy such great success," Hobbs said. "While at UConn, I had the opportunity to be a part of two incredible eras of national championship basketball with legendary coach Jim Calhoun and with Kevin Ollie, who is also a phenomenal head coach. Not many people can say that they have been fortunate enough to leave and come back and win again so, I'm incredibly grateful. I'm also very appreciative of the entire UConn family, which has given me so much as a former student, an alumnus, and now as a coaching professional.  

"I am moving on to another very competitive program at Rutgers where I will be able to coach alongside my longtime friend and fellow Husky alum, Steve Pikiell. As always, I want to bring out the best in each student/athlete and help them work hard to be their best. I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to taking my expertise to Rutgers."

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Chris Ash bounced from drill to drill at his first spring practice as Rutgers' new football coach Thursday, alternating from offense to defense, offering encouragement and warnings to his players.

"Finish every play," he said, later adding: "If you don't finish, you won't be here."

Music blasted inside the practice bubble for the entire hour the media was permitted to watch.

Ash's wife and infant son along with his mother-in-law were on the sidelines. So were athletic director Pat Hobbs and booster Ron Garuitti, who, along with his wife, Joanna, donated $1.25 million to overhaul the weight room in the Hale Center. Most of his time in New Jersey has been spent in his office.

"Honestly, I was just trying to do what we've been doing and get the guys better every single day. My emotions were gone," the former Ohio State defensive coordinator said. "I had the press conference back in December when I was hired as the head football coach and that was an emotional day, but outside of that day it's been focus and blinders on and try and figure out the things we need to do each day to get better and today was no different." >> Read more

Tags: Rutgers University

Taking a program from worst to first has been Steve Pikiell's trademark in basketball.

He did it as a player at Connecticut under Jim Calhoun. He did it as an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State and George Washington, then again as a head coach in transforming little Stony Brook from an also ran to a perennial power in the American East Conference.

Now comes the biggest challenge for the 48-year-old: changing Rutgers from the worst school in the Big Ten to one that can dance with the best of them after a 25-year absence from the NCAA Tournament.

The Scarlet Knights posted a 7-25 record this past season, which led to the firing of Eddie Jordan after just three years. They won one Big Ten game this year and three in their first two years in the league.

"I've never let an athletic director down, I've never let a president down and I've never let a student body down," Pikiell said after being introduced as Rutgers sixth head coach since 1997. "I'm not going to do it here at Rutgers. I embrace challenges."

During his tenure at Stony Brook, the Seawolves won four America East regular season championships, achieved 22 or more victories on six occasions and captured five conference player of the year awards. A four-time America East coach of the year, Pikiell compiled a 119-48 (71.3 percent) record over the past five seasons.

Rutgers has not had a winning season since 2005-06 and only five since going to the NCAA Tournament in 1991.

"I don't think we could have hired as basketball coach who did not see the challenge and the opportunity here," Rutgers President Robert L. Barchi said. "If anybody walked in here and thought they were going to the NCAA (Tournament) next year, we didn't want them. If anybody came here and we couldn't do it in the next 10 years, I didn't want him either."

Barchi said the university wanted a coach who saw the potential of the program, and that's what they found in Pikiell.

Athletic director Pat Hobbs understands that Pikiell is going to struggle starting recruiting this late, noting he won only four games in his first season at Stony Brook.

"He has been at programs that were challenged, programs that people felt could not come up off the carpet," Hobbs said. "He is not going to be intimidated by anything he experiences here." >> Read more…

Rutgers is set to introduce Steve Pikiell as its new head men's basketball coach during a press conference on Tuesday.

Here are five suggestions on what Pikiell -- who this year led Stony Brook to its first NCAA Tournament bid -- needs to address immediately.

1. Attend Monday's TOC Final

Wouldn't it make quite a statement if the new Rutgers coach showed up at the Sun Bank Center in Trenton tonight (Monday) to watch the Tournament of Champions final between St. Anthony's and Linden?

The game just happens to feature arguably the two best high school coaches in the Garden State in Bob Hurley (winner of 12 TOCs) and Phil Colicchio. Pikiell should go and greet both coaches and sit courtside to show he's on top of New Jersey hoops from the get-go.

"I really don't know Steve," Hurley told me this weekend. "They really haven't recruited any kids from our school recently."

Asked if the Rutgers coach needs to recruit the state, Hurley quipped, "You would think, yeah. It's the State University. He hasn't been that far away. He's been in Long Island. He's done a good job. His coaching record is very good and he's gotta develop a familiarity here in state."

2. Bring in Jim Calhoun as an advisor

The former UConn coach and Hall of Famer told me this weekend that his former point guard was "a great choice" for Rutgers.

"I think it's a great day for Rutgers," Calhoun said. "He's a great combination of a lot differrent things. He brings winning, he has tenacity, [he] built a program, and I think it's a great day for Steve and for Rutgers."

Calhoun said he had spoken several times to both Pikiell and Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs. What if Pikiell were to make Calhoun some kind of special advisor to the program, similar to what Gene Keady was to Steve Lavin at St. John's? Calhoun would bring instant credibility and a knowledge of the Northeast.

3. Add some sex appeal to the program

Right now, Rutgers basketball has no buzz nationally or even regionally. Zero, zip, nada.

The biggest buzz its gotten in recent days may have been when I asked Bill Murray about the job at Madison Square Garden and the comedian said, "I'll take the Rutgers job for three years but then I gotta get back to work."

Told by ESPN's Jeff Goodman that Pikiell had filled the job, Murray said on ESPN, "It's been filled? No phonecall."

OK, so Rutgers won't have the former "Caddyshack" star hanging around games the way he did for his son Luke Murray at Xavier, but Rutgers can make things more interesting for recruits.

What about bringing in Chris Smith in some sort of graduate assistant position? Then you might have the support of people like Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith, Giants wideout Victor Cruz (who played AAU ball with J.R.) and NJ Playaz director Jimmy Salmon.

You don't think recruits in New Jersey would take notice if those guys were at a game or an event on campus?

4. Visit and offer the 2018 and '19 kids immediately

Seton Hall made a bold and strong move by making a 'Fab Five' offer to the Class of 2018 kids from the Sports U AAU program: Naz Reid, Luther Muhammad, Jahvon Quinerly, Atiba Taylor and Louis King.

Rutgers, as I reported earlier this year, never offered them as a group and barely had those kids on campus under former coach Eddie Jordan. Seton Hall had them there. All. The. Time.

Should Rutgers offer the 'Fab Five' right away?

"I would," Sports U director Ed Bright told me this weekend. "I would."

There you go.

PIkiell and his staff should immediately visit those kids -- along with Class of 2019 kids like Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis of the Ranney school -- as well as their high school and AAU coaches.

"He's got to start recruiting young," Bright said. "Right now we have the top sixth-, seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders in our program. He's got to get to know those families, the kids. Everybody wants our 2018 unit, everybody wants them, but he's gotta focus on 2019."

Oh, and while they're at it, it's probably not a bad idea to visit with uncommitted Roselle Catholic senior guard Matt Bullock, too. All that kid's done is win four New Jersey state titles and two TOCs.

"They've gotta get something before the year's done, I don't know if there's anybody still loose," Hurley said. "They need to add to the roster, and then start the rebuilding process for the future."

5. Meet with the area's top high school and AAU coaches immediately

When Chris Mullin got the job at St. John's, he brought in many of New York's top high school and AAU guys and shared a single message.

"Chris Mullin brought us all in and he said, 'Listen, we can do all the things we want to do right here at St. John's University,'" Bright said. "He brought in Matt Abdelmassih, who did a great job at Iowa State [as an assistant], he brought in Slice [Barry Rohrssen], he brought in guys who have been here, done it, and can get in the trenches. And Rutgers can't be high and lofty, either. They've gotta have guys who get in the trenches with us."

"It's not just New Jersey, he has to go into New York," Bright added before Pikiell was hired. "He's gotta deal with Munch [Terrance Williams of the PSA Cardinals], he's gotta deal with [Dana] Dingle [of the NY Lightning], he's gotta deal with Andy [Borman of the Rens], he's gotta deal with these guys. He's gotta bring them all together and say, 'Listen, we can do everything we want to do right here in New Jersey.'"

So Pikiell needs to immediately meet or reach out to everyone I've mentioned above, along with guys like Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff (who I'm told he's already spoken with), St. Pat's coach Chris Chavannes, Hudson Catholic coach Nick Mariniello, Blair Academy coach Joe Mantegna, Pope John XXIII coach Jason Hasson, Seton Hall Prep coach Kevin Williams, as well as New York guys like Cardozo's Ron Naclerio, Christ the King's Joe Arbitello, Mount Vernon's Bob Cimmino, Thomas Jefferson's Bud Pollard and Lincoln's Tiny Morton.

All you have to do is look at the NCAA Tournament to see all the talent that came from New York and New Jersey playing for other schools.

Sports U alone had 13 kids in the Big Dance, including Maryland's Jared Nickens, St. Joe's DeAndre' Bembry, Temple's Josh Brown, Vanderbilt's Wade Baldwin and Wichita State's Markis McDuffie.

There has always been talent in the Garden State. Pikiell's challenge -- like that of Eddie Jordan, Mike Rice, Freddie Hill and Gary Waters before him -- is to keep it home.

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Steve Pikiell has been hired as the new Rutgers head basketball coach and will be introduced at a press conference on Tuesday.

Steve Politi of NJ.com was the first to report the news.

Pikiell, 48, took a four-win Stony Brook team and led them to their first NCAA Tournament in school history this season. 

Pikiell will replace Eddie Jordan after Jordan coached the team for three seasons, culminating in a seven-win season which led to his dismissal. The Scarlet Knights have won just three games in the Big Ten since joining the conference.

Throughout his 11 seasons as head coach of Stony Brook, Pikiell earned a 190-155 record, including this past season where the Seawolves went 24-6. 

"I think Steve is a great hire," Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff, who coached Stony Brook star Jameel Warney, told SNY.tv. "My experience with him recruiting Jameel, he was on top of it all the time. They offered him very early but then they were still there and came to all of our big games and were constantly checking in on him, so I thought that they did a great job in terms of the recruitment of him.

"I also know that Steve was really a catalyst behind getting a new facilty at Stony Brook so he's shown an ability to get things like that done and so for those I reasons I think he should be successful."

During his playing days, Pikiell was a two-year captain for UConn from 1987-1991. That Huskies team won their first Big East title and advanced to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16, with Pikiell leading the way at point guard. Pikiell also worked under Jim Calhoun at UConn for two seasons. 

"He might still be [at Stony Brook] because he loves it there," Calhoun said earlier this week. "Clearly, he's had a few opportunities before. He's called me about them, but now I would think there will be more opportunities. As a coach and a person, he checks all the boxes."

The Pikiell hire comes a few days after a few of Rutgers' top candidates withdrew their names from consideration. Both Rhode Island's Dan Hurley and George Washington's Mike Lonergan were being linked to the open position, but they each took themselves out of the race. 

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Rutgers has narrowed its head coach search down to three candidates, reports Steve Politi of NJ.com (Mar. 18)

The three candidates are Tim Cluess of Iona, Mike Lonergan of George Washington, and Steve Pikiell of Stony Brook.

Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley, who Rutgers offered a six-year deal worth roughly $2 million per year, turned down their head coaching offer on Thursday.

Rutgers fired head coach Eddie Jordan last Thursday.