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Recruiting: December Rutgers Recruiting Round-Up & Notes

The Chris Ash era is officially underway in Piscataway, and there's been plenty of movement since the new head football coach first stepped to the podium. On The Banks has you covered with all the latest news and notes regarding Rutgers football and recruiting.

By cdougherty
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

December has been an exciting month for the Rutgers football program. With the hiring of new head football coach Chris Ash, along with the additions of young, and up-and-coming assistants, there's finally promise in a program that has been down-trodden since the abrupt departure of Greg Schiano in 2012.

Now the program has some hope for promise and change. With new athletic director Patrick Hobbs standing firmly to the side of Chris Ash, there is hope for a brighter future within the Big Ten, a conference alignment that hasn't given Rutgers much of a chance of survival since their arrival in 2014.

The recruiting trail has been a mixed bag this month. With multiple decommitments, and the transfer of top 2015 recruit Marques Ford, the Ash era started off in a hole. However, the once bleak fortune has quickly turned around with promise and excitement. Numerous tweets and shoutouts from potential targets and current commits regarding Ash's hire has brought back excitement to the program.

With only three current in-state commits on the 2016 board, Ash has some serious work to do in order to regain control of the home state. Oh, and just to make it even harder for him, Ohio State replaced his absence with.... Greg Schiano. Yeah, I rolled my eyes, too.

Here's a look at the current list of commits for the 2016 class, as it stands today:



You'll notice Anthony Russo and Patrice Rene are still committed to Rutgers, although both have recently removed any correlation to the school from their public social media profiles; most notably Russo, who received some interesting backlash form Scarlet Knights fans almost immediately after it happened. I reached out to Anthony early in December and asked him to comment on the situation, and he told me "I have not decommitted. My coaches have asked me not to partake in any interviews at this time, Thank you" Well then. Certainly a ringing endorsement from the top, and possibly only quarterback of the Rutgers 2016 cycle.

Wisconsin, seemingly the only major competition for Rene's services put on the full court press earlier this month. The school sent coaches to visit him in Virginia, and up to Canada to visit his family. Rene has outwardly expressed excitement about the Ash hire, and hasn't reneged on his commitment as of yet. In fact, he set Rutgers as his final official visit just days before National Signing Day. Silver lining? We'll see.

I reached out to a few targets and asked about where Rutgers ranks on their list as we approach National Signing Day...

Yasir Durant, a two-star, 6'6'' 330 lb offensive tackle prospect from Imhotep (PA) spoke to me last night about Rutgers and his latest communication with the program:

Rutgers is still in play , I talked to Coach AJ (Blazek) this past Saturday...I do not have a order & he was just saying he loved my film, he think I can come in & contribute early. Also we talked about academics

Durant is considered "warm" to Rutgers, with a 43% lean, but has seen a recent trend to San Diego State as of late, according to crystal ball predictions:



Mohammed Jabbie tweeted last night that he's set his official visit date with Rutgers for the weekend of January 22nd, where he'll be joining the recently decommitted Jarrod Hewitt, and Alex Barbir, the personality-filled kicker who essentially broke the Vince Okruch-to-Rutgers news via twitter.


Former No. 13 overall offensive tackle in the country, Logan Tulley-Tillman, who was released from his scholarship at Michigan earlier this year, was recently offered (VIP) by Rutgers and coach Blazek. Tulley-Tillman was expected to take an official visit near the end of January, around the 29th, according to NJ.com's Todderick Hunt, but it's since been reported that Rutgers may no longer be pursuing Tulley-Tillman.

As it stands today, Rutgers ranks 62nd overall in the country for the 2016 cycle, and 12th in the Big Ten. Quite a drop off from 53rd, and 10th in the conference from just one month ago. Not to fall on Ash for the drop in rankings, but something you'd certainly like to see tick upward around or on National Signing Day.


National Rank

Conference Rank

As always, questions, comments, and concerns can be tweeted with vile to @DoughertyCFB, where Chris will keep you up to date with all the latest Rutgers football recruiting information, as well as the latest happenings surrounding the team itself. Chris also is a crystal ball analyst for 247Sports.com