Greg Schiano and the Rutgers staff have been waiting for the day to finally head back out on the road and recruit. That day finally arrived Friday as the dead period ceased and the contact period commenced. Schiano moved around in-style in a helicopter, flanked by defensive backs coach Fran Brown and defensive line coach Jim Panagos.
One stop they made was to The Loomis Chaffee School (Windsor, Conn.) to visit defensive end Paris Shand, a three-star recruit with upwards of 10 offers from Rutgers, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Virginia and various Group of 5 and FCS schools.
Paris Shand, 2020 DE from Connecticut
Rutgers is doing really well with Shand who is scheduled to officially visit two weekends from now, which will serve as the final official visit weekend prior to traditional signing day. Shand has already received in-school and in-home visits, and Rutgers has a good shot to land the 6-5, 240-pound defensive end to what is becoming a serviceable Big Ten defensive front.
However, Rutgers must see his recruitment through to the end as Shan is still being courted by a number of schools due to his length and athleticism.
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2021 4-star DE Elijah Jeudy added to RU’s weekend visitors list
Elijah Jeudy is one of the twitchiest defensive end prospects throughout the Northeast and his presence adds even more star power to a visitors list featuring many of the top players from South Jersey’s 2021 recruiting class.
A 6-3, 230-pound junior, Jeudy has been offered by upwards of 25 schools, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, and plenty of others. Defensive backs coach Fran Brown serves as Jeudy’s biggest connection to Rutgers. Brown was one of the first coaches to offer Jeudy back in December of 2018 while co-defensive coordinator at Temple.
Although Rutgers is a long shot for Jeudy who can basically punch his ticket to whichever school he wants to go, just getting a prospect of this caliber to a junior day for a team that won two games in 2019 is a win.
Official visits and a pledge
Boston College defensive tackle transfer Ireland Burke announced Friday that he’ll attend Rutgers beginning in 2020. A 6-3, 300-pounder, Burke adds size and depth to Rutgers’ defensive front.
He committed to the Rutgers staff over a week ago but waited to announce his intentions until all of the paperwork was complete. The announcement was made while on his official visit. Fellow additions Peyton Powell, Brendon White, and Wesley Bailey are on campus for their official visits, as well.
Update on Temple DE transfer Quincy Roche
As far as Roche, the 6-4, 235-pound AAC Defensive Player of the Year, the longer his decision takes, the more it seemingly helps Rutgers, as Roche intends to enroll somewhere this spring. Classes start at Rutgers on Tuesday while most other colleges have already begun the spring semester. Roche has a pre-existing relationship with Fran Brown, who was his co-defensive coordinator at Temple before Brown accepted the Rutgers job. Also, defensive line coach Jim Panagos coached Roche at Temple prior to taking a job with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
A Maryland native, Roche visited the University of Miami last weekend and surprisingly left campus without committing. If the Rutgers staff can convince him to take an official visit soon, with limited time to decide and easy logistical transition from Philadelphia to Piscataway, it may have a legitimate shot. Outside of Miami and Rutgers, UNC is also in the mix among others.
Former Temple DE Quincy Roche. (Getty Images)
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Todderick Hunt may be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TodderickHunt. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.