Rutgers Football Recruiting picks up during bye week

Football recruiting has been relatively quiet recently, with the exception of the decommitment of Jarrod Hewitt the other day. There have been some things going on behind the scenes that haven't been big news but can have a big effect on Rutgers.

Jarrod Hewitt

This is Malcolm Pridgeon all over again. Rutgers isn't technically out of it here, but if they decide to still pursue Hewitt, it will be an uphill battle. He has been putting up monster numbers this year and has been drawing interest from Virginia Tech. He is not ready to commit, but Hewitt seems to like the allure of playing for a big-time program like the Hokies. Hewitt is also the first recruit to be open about the how the issues going on at Rutgers worried him.

Kelvin Harmon

Harmon's recruitment has been an absolute roller coaster. At first. he seemed like a lock to Rutgers. Then, he waited it out and received an offer from USCe. They stormed ahead and seemed like they were due for a verbal from the New Jersey WR. However, Rutgers gained back a lot of ground and grabbed the lead again. Ever since then, USCe has been gaining momentum and Rutgers has clearly had other priorities and already have plenty of WRs in their class. Harmon just returned from a visit to Columbia and is committing on Thursday, probably to the Gamecocks.

Jovani Haskins

It seems as if Haskins could be bound for Blacksburg as well. His recruitment has been eerily similar to that of Kelvin Harmon and could possibly end in disappointment for Scarlet Knights. However, Rutgers is not 100% out of it. Haskins has been all over the place with his recruitment and anything could change in a split-second.

Chinedu Udeogu

Finally, some good news! Udeogu had flirted with the idea of going to Cal, but it seems like that ship has sailed. Rutgers is really the only school left on his radar and he is currently trying to work out a commitment date. Rutgers fans should stay tuned because they will probably be getting some good news sooner rather than later regarding the talented defensive-end from Maryland

Extra Scholarships

Obviously, there are a good deal of extra scholarships as a result of events that have transpired over the course of the past month. Kyle Flood has several options of what to do with them. He could give some to deserving walk-ons, such as Charles Scarff, Matt Flanagan, or Andre Hunt. Flood could also pull a Charlie Wies and give them all to JUCO kids with one year of eligibility left.
I think Flanagan and Scarff definitely deserve scholarships. Besides them, I think the extras need to be used for the 2016 class. Rutgers could use one more member of the secondary and maybe 3 defensive lineman now that Hewitt is gone. Rutgers will likely pass on a TE if they don't get Haskins and they have their QB, HB, WRs, and O-Lineman, so those extra scholarships will likely all go to improving the defense.

Hopefully the 2016 class can stay intact through these tough times and epitomize the terms "CHOP," "T.B.A.," and "F.A.M.I.L.Y."