The Monday Morning Kickoff
It's time once again to get caught up in the latest Rutgers football news as The Monday Morning Kickoff starts off a new week in the scarlet nation.
Rutgers finished out spring practice Saturday night with the annual Scarlet-White game inside High Point Solutions Stadium. The big story was the quarterback race, although nothing seems to be settled between Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig as they continue to vie for the starting job.
“Nothing is going to be settled after this game,” head coach Chris Ash said of his two quarterbacks. “Both of them did some decent things tonight, both of them struggled at times.”
Janarion Grant led all receivers with 11 catches for 140 yards while Justin Goodwin led all running backs with 59 yards on 12 carries.
Meanwhile, there was a large contingent of prospects in attendance to check out the game.
“I had a great time and family did as well,” said Cedar Creek junior Owen Bowles. “Another great visit. In particularly I loved the way they are running their offense. A lot of spread out and zone schemes which I think I would fit into well.”
A new offer went out to a visitor as Peddie School class of 2018 linebacker Javar Garrett left Rutgers with an offer.
“Coach [Jay] Niemann brought me to the side in the locker room and gave me the news and how him and the staff came to the decision of offering me,” Garrett said.
A day before the spring game, Rutgers landed a commitment from class of 2017 wide receiver Everett Wormley of Burlington Township.
Wormley was in attendance Saturday night and offered his thoughts on the action.
“Overall it was live. The atmosphere was live, the great fans were great and overall I took a lot of positives away from this game.”
A few days before Wormley’s commitment, Rutgers landed verbal pledges from step brothers Jamaal Beaty and Micah Clark of St. John Vianney.
“I felt at home there, staying in state,” Beaty said. “The coaching staff showed a lot of love. The players did too. We were able to interact with the players and they welcomed me and my brother. We felt like we could stay here and be close to home so my parents could see us.”
Rutgers also leads for a host of other recruits, including Tottenville (NY) wide receiver Tim Barrow, who was also at the spring game.
“After the game, we went down to the locker room and met some of the players and speak with the coaches,” Barrow said. “I spoke with [Defensive Backs] Coach [Bill] Busch and [Head] Coach [Chris] Ash. They were telling me they were happy I came down there and how much they enjoy having me there.”
Now that spring football is over, the RU staff will get busy out on the road recruiting at various high schools throughout the spring evaluation period.
“We went out on Friday April 15th, it was the first day we could go out,” Ash said on Saturday. “We went out again on Wednesday and we will wrap up player meetings on Monday and Tuesday. The majority of the staff will hit the road on Wednesday.”