Apparently, the improvement of Rutgers has been noticed by some of tOSU's targets...
More top players are considering Rutgers
Sunday, October 30, 2005
BY MIKE HELFGOT
For the Star-Ledger
Carteret senior Jason Adjepong was part of the sellout crowd at Rutgers Stadium yesterday, not so much as one of the nation's top recruits but as a fan.
Adjepong, a 6-3, 255-pound defensive end widely considered one of the top five prospects in New Jersey, has long rooted for Rutgers and was swept up in the excitement as the Scarlet Knights became eligible for their first bowl game since 1978 with a 31-21 victory over Navy.
"I didn't come on a visit, I came as a fan, and this isn't the first time," Adjepong said. "The atmosphere was electric as usual, the fans are crazy. It was a great win. There were a lot of question marks surrounding the program in recent years and they went out there and made a statement."
Of course, he knows there's excitement being generated all over the country, and there's not a program in America that wouldn't be happy to have him. For all the significant strides in recruiting Greg Schiano has made in his five-year tenure as head coach, he's still struggling to keep the cream of New Jersey's crop home.
"Some of the schools I'm considering other than Rutgers are Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Miami and others," Adjepong said. "I'm still debating back and forth which schools to visit officially."
Another highly ranked defensive end, Pemberton's Johnnie Troutman, was also impressed with the victory by Rutgers but said it did little to change his pecking order. The 6-4, 270-pounder is set to visit Penn State, Ohio State, Virginia, Boston College and Maryland.
"I'm impressed with what Rutgers is doing, but you can't just have one good season and expect them to be good the whole time I would be there," Troutman said. "You have to be consistent in doing that. The schools I'm considering are. Rutgers might get there, but I don't want to get there and have them go back to their losing ways."
That opinion notwithstanding, Schiano had already changed the way New Jersey recruits feel about Rutgers before this season's success. Far more top-level recruits are willing to consider Rutgers at the start of the process, and considerably more good New Jersey players have stayed home.
Yesterday's victory didn't impress Hun running back Jaslee Rouson and Seton Hall Prep linebacker Alex Wujciak as much as it met their expectations.
"I love Rutgers," said Rouson, the son of former Colorado University and Giants running back Lee Rouson. "I don't care how everyone tries to make fun of them, I've always loved Rutgers. Now that they're on such a roll it is appealing. My dad loves Colorado and my mom loves Rutgers. It will probably come down to those two."
"I have been keeping an eye on them," said Wujciak, who is being recruited by numerous schools. "I definitely thought they had a big upside. I was open to them before the season and I'm still open to them now. I kind of thought they were going to have a good year so it hasn't changed my mind at all."
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