Committed players
ATH Anthony Cioffi from Springfield is the first Rutgers verbal for the 2013 recruiting class. He wasn't a huge name before the commit, because you really don't see a ton of DI prospects out of public schools in that Union/Somerset/Morris/Essex area (west of the Parkway) that's known more for its wealth than anything else.
Uncommitted players
The North Jersey parochials will make sure everyone knows about the allegations that North Bergen's coach was involved with recruiting players. Meanwhile, Jabril Peppers is transferring to Paramus Catholic. Well, at least he won't get pressured by hanger-ons to consider Colorado now...
Another top priority is right in Piscataway with ATH Nadir Barnwell.
Why was Quanzilla Lambert such an important sign for Rutgers earlier in the month? Not only is he a huge prospect, but Timber Creek has three DI prospects this fall, including DT Greg Webb. Timber Creek and Winslow are the two big South Jersey programs in terms of cranking out DI talent over the past few years.
DB Tre Bell from St. Peter's Prep is racking up offers early on.
Rutgers is the first team named by teammate WR Charlie Callinan.
Our promise to Kevin Olsen: come to Rutgers, and we'll tell anyone who doesn't like your Dad to get lost.
Reports are that DB Anthony Averett recently landed a RU offer.
Rutgers wasn't the first in on LB Brandon Bell, but quickly caught up to the pack.
Do we really need a puff piece about how NJ recruits want to play for Penn State? For the records, both guys are loathe to say anything negative, and the writer just seemed to build a story around those generic platitudes.
Is RU after PA WR Brian Lemelle? One Philly-area name is OL Mike McGlinchey.
One early out of state offer is VA DL DaShawn Hand. There's also an offer out to MD LB Marcus Newby. Imagine the pun possibilities! Damian Prince is a 2014 name to watch. DC OL Derwin Gray went to Junior Day at RU.
RU also is going after MA OT John Montelus.
The offer to FL ATH Janarion Grant could be verbal, that will be worth watching.
Did you ever expect to see Rutgers recruiting get featured in Sports Illustrated? To read that Chris Christie was dialing up Tim Pernetti for updates on how recruiting was going? It's not too late for Christie to try to change Devin Fuller's mind, is it?
Dave Cohen, you've hit the blogosphere.
Hey NCAA, can you please sanction South Carolina already?
Random thought: Randy Edsall hiring Mike Locksley didn't do a whole lot of good outside of signing Stefon Diggs. Nobody wants to play for Edsall. Nobody.
This column criticizing Rutgers for not offering Tevin Shaw was really out of bounds. Rutgers and Piscataway is an obvious pairing and all, but so is Rutgers and South Brunswick. Jevon Tyree got that last ship. It's not like anyone can even get mad about the last scholarship going to a guy from Florida or something. Thankfully, this is just one writer with too much time of an imagination. Meanwhile, another story goes for the angle of Charlie Weis trying to re-establish his NJ ties at Kansas, going rightttt up to the line of Charlie Weis almost wistfully yearning for a chance to coach at Rutgers.
Worth noting: Florida fired Frank Verducci for supposedly interviewing for the Kansas City OL job. It was shocking that Verducci didn't follow Weis to Kansas. Odds are that he probably will at some point, or just resurface in the NFL again. Verducci isn't a very good OL coach, but he is a very good NJ recruiter, so it definitely helps to not have him at Florida any longer.
Everyone knew CB Eli Woodard would commit to Ohio State no matter what, and that's just what he did. It's too bad considering that Logan Ryan went to the same high school and is amazing at coverage and all. D.C. Jefferson's younger brother, RB Adam Lane, committed to Florida.
Watchlist: This is a section of this site's weekly recruiting posts featuring links to players that Rutgers may or may not be showing interest in, but has not yet offered.
Marcell Lazard (the early frontrunner for the memorial "why hasn't RU offered" sweepstakes), Matt Milano, Greg Pease, Thomas Plonski, Devin Ray, Shakir Soto, Jullian Taylor, and Terrance Toney.