leap.
“I think that kids would
love
to
play
football
at
Rutgers, and I think there’s a
lot of real genuine interest by
the kids in our state. … I don’t
think you’ve got to go 12-0, I
think you’ve got to show that
you can be competitive, and
I think they’ve shown that
already this year.”
To some extent, Rutgers
has. It owns two conference
wins
over
Illinois
and
Purdue, and another over
Morgan State.
But losses to Washington,
Eastern Michigan, Nebraska
and Ohio State hurt. It won’t
get any easier, either. The
Scarlet Knights close out the
year at Michigan, Penn State
and Indiana, with two home
games
against
Michigan
State and Maryland.
And
it’s
against
those
powerhouses that Rutgers
must
compete
against,
not only on Saturdays, but
also throughout the entire
recruiting cycle.
“Yeah I guess you get that
little type of pressure,” Gary
said. “I remember because
Rutgers was one of my first
offers and for a minute I’m
like, ‘Wow they’re the first
team that showed me that
they really cared about me.’
“So I was gonna go, but
then as more offers start
rolling in and rolling in, I
started looking more and
really trying to find the best
school for me, so Rutgers
just ended up slipping off
the board. But there’s always
that pressure to go home.”
***
The statistics of the last
three years show progress.
According to 247Sports’
rankings
of
New
Jersey
recruits, Rutgers had six
recruits committed to play in
Piscataway in 2015, three of
whom were in the top 30.
From there, the Scarlet
Knights made strides. They
secured nine recruits, with
four in the top 30, in 2016
and 15 recruits — including
the second- and third-best
prospects — in 2017.
This
incoming
class,
however, appears to be a
regression.
Though it’s still early,
Rutgers
has
just
five
players
committed,
but
only one is among the
state’s top 30 players.
Where
Rutgers
goes
from here remains to be
seen.
One man that may have
an idea is special teams
coordinator Chris Partridge,
who joined Michigan’s staff
in January of 2015 after
serving as the head coach
at Paramus Catholic in New
Jersey for five years.
With
that
experience,
Partridge
witnessed
firsthand
what
yielded
success.
“Forming
relationships,
speaking to the kids, knowing
all the kids no matter what
— even if it’s a guy who’s
not maybe a Big Ten player,
or Big East in those days,
or whatever it might be,”
Partridge said. “The Division
I guys, understanding who
they are and what they can
do and just having a really
good grasp of the whole
state. They did a good job
there, and (they’re) making
the inroads. I know that Greg
Schiano did a good job with
the high school coaches and
with knowing even down to
the Pop Warner coaches and
stuff.
“You’ve got to cultivate the
whole state there, and I’m
sure the staff is doing that.
Like I said, I wasn’t there
at all with the new staff —
they’re
getting
talented
kids on the team, they have
talented kids, so I’m sure
they’re doing a good job with
that now.”
Campanile
sees
that
Ash is making those same
inroads, whether it be by
trying to develop personal
relationships
with
the
coaches,
making trips
to
in-state
high schools
when NCAA
regulations
permit
or
creating
events
that
get
coaches
involved
with
the
Rutgers staff
and program.
Of course,
Campanile
says
he’d
love
the
opportunity
to
see
his
players
close
to
home.
He
would
like
to
give
their
families
the
same
opportunity.
Right now, though, that’s
easier said than done.
“Let me preface this by
saying I think Coach Ash
is doing a great job trying
to
recruit
New
Jersey,”
Campanile
said.
“But
everyone that’s ever been
the head coach at (Rutgers)
has tried desperately to keep
the best players in state.
And it’s not an
easy task. He’s
worked
really
hard at it.”
Perhaps
that’s the most
frustrating part
for the Scarlet
Knights.
No
matter
how
hard
their
coach
works,
they
need
results in order
to harvest the
elite talent in
New
Jersey.
And in order
to
get
those
results,
they
need
more
talent. So flows
the cycle.
That’s not to say the cycle
can’t be broken. But with
other coaches like Harbaugh
consistently besting Rutgers
both
in
games
and
in
recruiting, it won’t be easy.
5
TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
EVAN AARON/Daily
Sophomore defensive end Rashan Gary is the latest New Jersey standout to choose the Wolverines.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Former Michigan standout Jabrill Peppers helped pave the way for other recruits from his home state of New Jersey to make the trip to Ann Arbor and play football for Michigan.
Everyone that’s
ever been the
head coach
at (Rutgers)
has tried
desperately to
keep the best
players in state