It's time to start a new week in the Rutgers sports world.
Bobby Deren
It's time to start a new week in the Rutgers sports world as Scarlet Nation continues to provide the latest in Rutgers football and basketball. Recruiting is staying busy on both fronts as Rutgers football is closing in on its biggest official visitor weekend in a long time. New offers continue to go out as the staff remains busy on the recruiting trail.
Rutgers basketball has also been busy hosting visitors and checking out prospects in person. The clock is also ticking to arrival time for the incoming class of 2024. All that and more awaits in the latest edition of The Monday Morning Kickoff.
The take from center court (Rutgers Basketball)
Rutgers basketball is still looking to fill out its 2024-25 roster with two open spots remaining. The staff continues to look for another player in the transfer portal and that led to a midweek visit to campus for forward PJ Hayes. Last season, Hayes played at San Diego after previously making the jump from the Division 2 level.
Hayes enjoyed a strong debut at the Division 1 level, averaging 10.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He also shot 39.7 percent from three-point range and 79.1 percent from the free-throw line as a full-time starter.
Scarlet Nation is hearing Rutgers is particularly interested in the 6-foot-6 Hayes for his three-point shooting ability.
Over the weekend, Rutgers hosted a class of 2024 prospect in Oak Hill Academy center Jamie Vinson, who was previously committed to Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-11 Vinson would provide depth at the center position behind Emmanuel Ogbole and incoming freshman Lathan Sommerville. 247Sports basketball recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins offered his thoughts on Vincon coming off last year's AAU circuit.
"Vinson played his way onto high major recruiting boards by altering shots defensively and showing floor spacing potential on the offensive side of things. He additionally cleaned the glass for second-chance points and even showed comfort in making minimal plays off the bounce. His desire will determine his level of play moving forward but it would not be surprising if a few power conferences decide to take a chance on the Austin native."
Last week, Rutgers identified who it would be playing in the first-ever NIL Tournament labeled the Player's Era Festival in Las Vegas. Rutgers will take on Alabama, Houston and Notre Dame in Las Vegas this November. The Alabama game would provide Rutgers with a matchup against recent transfer Cliff Omoruyi, who is now a member of the Crimson Tide hoops squad. Alabama made its first-ever final four appearance last season and ended with a 25-12 record.
Rutgers last faced Notre Dame in the First Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and dropped a heartbreaker in overtime. That was Rutgers' last NCAA Tournament appearance.
Rutgers class of 2024 signee Lathan Sommerville is set to arrive next month and just graduated from Richwoods High in Peoria, Ill. Yesterday, after the graduation, Sommerville received a call from head coach Steve Pikiell.
"He just reached out to me about graduating and was congratulating me," Sommerville told Scarlet Nation. "He doesn't really just focus on the basketball aspect, but life as well. I love him as a coach, as a person and as somebody that's going to be calling the shots for our team. I just really appreciate the fact that he's always thinking of us as the players - not just on the basketball court, but outside as well."
A view from the gridiron (Rutgers Football)
Former Rutgers cornerback Max Melton made his NFL future official last week when he inked a deal with the Arizona Cardinals. As a second-round pick, Melton signed a four-year, $8.888 million deal that includes a $3.284 million signing bonus. The contract is also fully guaranteed from 2024 through 2026. Melton became the highest Rutgers NFL Draft pick since Devin McCourty was selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Seven other Rutgers rookies will be on training camp rosters as the latest addition was offensive lineman Ireland Brown, who earned a contract with the Miami Dolphins last week. That stemmed from a strong showing at the team's rookie minicamp.
Recruiting continued last week as Rutgers is continuing its push for class of 2025 running back John Forster of DePaul Catholic (Wayne, N.J.). Scarlet Nation caught up with Forster last week at DePaul ahead of a quartet of official visits in June, including one to Rutgers. Foster has also been keeping a close eye on Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai, who led the Big Ten in rushing yards last season.
"[I like] his explosion plays - he's always making big plays, getting the ball out of the backfield, [he's in] the passing game, too, he's pass blocking," Forster said. "They utilize their running backs in the pass-game too, which is huge for me."
New offers continued to go out last week and one turned into an official visit for class of 2025 defensive end Miron Gurman of Spencerport (N.Y.) High. Rutgers became his first offer and that evolved into an official visit to campus on the weekend of May 31.
"It means a lot seeing my dreams come to life. It shows me I'm capable of playing at the high level of football Rutgers is on," Gurman told Scarlet Nation of the offer.
Rutgers is set to host a record number of spring official visitors through the first two weekends of June.
Rutgers will also have an official visitor on campus from the state of Georgia. Class of 2025 defensive lineman Chase Linton of North Atlanta (Ga.) confirmed with Scarlet Nation that he will be at Rutgers for an official visit on the first weekend in June.
"I can tell Rutgers is on an upswing since coach [Greg] Schiano came back and talking to him I understand why," Linton said. "They shoot straight, they focus on family and talked a lot about tradition. I respect it."
Linton is also planning to visit Appalachian State and Memphis the following two weekends.
Sign up now for an annual VIP membership to Scarlet Nation and getoverone-third off the price.Instead of $9.95 per month, you will be billed$6.27 a month for one year.CLICK HEREto get Premium access and get Rutgers basketball and football scoops, coverage and updates every day of the year.Thisis your opportunity to be in the huddle as we bring you an inside look at how Greg Schiano is rebuilding the program and restoring scarlet pride across the state.Scarlet Nation subscribers receive exclusive access to all of our content, as well as our members-only forum. The Round Table VIP forum is where you can interact with our staff, ask questions, and glean insight from other hard-core fans.
A Premium membership to Scarlet Nation also includes the following:
- Access to our VIP message board posts and premium articles. Get the latest breaking news and inside information on Rutgers team news and recruiting that you can't find anywhere else on the internet.
- The best Rutgers recruiting coverage you will find anywhere. Whether it's Scarlet Knight football, basketball, or recruiting, Scarlet Nation covers recruiting like nowhere else. We always have the latest on Rutgers' future stars, potential verbal commitments, priority visitors, top targets, and more.
- Daily features: The Monday Morning Kickoff, Tuesday Scoop, No Work Wednesday, Ask the Staff, Fat Cat Friday
Sign up here for your annual premium membership at a discounted price
