16 ex-Rutgers players will work out for NFL scouts Wednesday
Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerFullback Jack Corcoran runs after catching a screen pass against Navy earlier in his Rutgers career.Jack Corcoran finds himself in a sort of football limbo these days — talented enough to draw interest from NFL scouts but not quite productive enough as a college player to merit being drafted next month.
If nothing else, it’s a familiar situation for him. Corcoran’s final season at Rutgers ended in December and left him stuck in no-man’s land as well, a regular starter but a forgotten contributor.
“Of course I would have liked to have had a better senior year,” said the Knights’ former fullback, one of 16 ex-Rutgers players who will participate in the school’s annual pro-day drills Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t really know how to explain what happened. We did some different things on offense. There’s nothing else really to it. I don’t know how else to explain it.
“I wasn’t in games as much as I was my junior year because we did some different things.”
The 6-1, 230-pound Corcoran, a three-year starter, represents the other end of the spectrum from teammates Anthony Davis, a projected top-10 NFL Draft pick, and Devin McCourty, a potential late first-round pick. They will be the marquee names during the pro-day drills that will be conducted in the Bubble indoor facility across from Rutgers Stadium under the watchful eyes of NFL scouts from almost every team in league.
Davis, who left after his junior year, is rated as one of the Draft’s top three offensive tackles. And McCourty’s pro stock at cornerback continues to soar — an extension of an impressive senior year.
Corcoran? He is a bit undersized and comes off a senior year in which he didn’t get one of the team’s 484 carries and caught just five passes for 52 yards.
The challenge now is trying to convince pro scouts none of that matters, especially at his position, and that he does have the requisite size as well as the toughness to be an NFL fullback.
But he knows it’s an uphill climb starting today, just as it will be for former teammates Blair Bines, Ryan Blaszczyk, Pat Brown, Tim Brown, Andrew DePaola, Ryan D’Imperio, Shamar Graves, Kevin Haslam, George Johnson, Stephante Kent, Zaire Kitchen, Jabu Lovelace and Damaso Munoz. They also will be showcasing their skills today, hoping to catch someone’s eye.
“What it’s going to be, it’s going to be,” Corcoran said of his draft prospects. “I’m going to train the best I can to get my stock up. I’m hearing seventh (and final) round maybe, but I’ll probably be a free agent. Hopefully, I have time to raise my stock and impress scouts.”
Once a heralded recruit from St. Joseph’s in Hammonton, Corcoran was supposed to be Rutgers’ next Brian Leonard. Instead, he spent the past three years mostly as an under-the-radar starter.
“I’m not overly concerned with what happened last year or in my college career,” he said. “Obviously, I’d like to get drafted. If not, I’ll make the best of what happens. Certainly guys have done it without being drafted.”
Two, in fact (Gary Brackett and Eric Foster of the Colts), played in last month’s Super Bowl. Neither was drafted out of Rutgers.
“It’s all up to me now,” Corcoran said. “That’s how I like it.”
Tom Luicci may be reached at tluicci@starledger.com
Runs 40 in 4.48, continues impressive winter showing
Event to be held April 9 and 10 features a spring practice session and an intrasquad scrimmage
Head coach Greg Schiano and his staff will conduct clinics and hold demonstrations that will include current Rutgers players, who will be in the midst of spring practice at the time. Those coaches attending the clinic will also be able to watch practice on April 9 and then the April 10 scrimmage set for Rutgers Stadium.
The clinic cost is $55 and includes lunch and dinner and a coaches' April 9 night social.
For further information, coaches can call (732) 445-6200 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Coaches interested in attending the clinic can receive further information and a brochure by calling (732) 445-6200 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
The clinic costs $55 per person and includes clinic materials, Friday's lunch and dinner and a coaches' Friday night social.
Rutgers considered to be a strong match for conference
Scarlet-White scrimmage will highlight campus-wide Rutgers Day event
Though the date of Rutgers' annual spring game has been out unofficially for a while now, the school made it official on Thursday by announcing the date as Saturday, April 24. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
Admission to the annual Scarlet-White game at Rutgers Stadium is free, with donations being collected at the game for the pediatric units of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick.
The spring game will be one of the highlights of a campus-wide Rutgers Day celebration, an event featuring performances, tours and exhibits on the Piscataway and New Brunswick campuses.
Following the spring game, players will be available for autographs. The school is also offering free 2010 schedule posters and t-shirts while supplies last.
The Scarlet-White game is the 15th and final practice of the spring. Spring practice begins Tuesday, March 23.
Melvin to coach defensive line, with Galiano taking over the tight ends
On a day that Rutgers coach Greg Schiano officially welcomed back two former assistants to fill the openings on his coaching staff, it was the void he chose not to fill that wound up being the big news.
Phil Galiano, 32, and Randy Melvin, 50, were formally announced Monday as additions to the staff -- the second go-around in Piscataway for both.
But neither will take on the added responsibility of recruiting coordinator, a role previously held by Joe Susan, because Schiano said there won't be one -- for the time being, anyway.
"Right now, none of the coaches are going to be named recruiting coordinator," Schiano said. "We're going to do it with myself and some in-house administrators and work that way. That doesn't mean we won't eventually (have a recruiting coordinator). It's just right now that's not where we're going."
Galiano, primarly a defensive assistant during his coaching career, will assume the role as tight ends coach (replacing Susan), after Florida International coach Mario Cristobal opted not to renew Galiano's contract this off-season. Galiano, who coached the defensive line and linebackers at Rutgers from 2003-06, was FIU's defensive coordinator the past three years.
Melvin, who spent last year as the defensive line coach at Temple, will assume the same responsibilities at Rutgers, replacing Gary Emanuel. He was the Knights' defensive line coach from 2002-04 before spending the next four years as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns.
"We're moving along just fine," he said. "We have a recruiting office, as I've said before. And between the assistant coaches that have been here, myself and the recruiting office, we feel like we've got a great jump on this year's recruiting class. We're going to keep moving forward.
"If it feels we need to have an assistant coach with that title we'll do it. That could be in a couple of weeks, it could be a year, it could be never. Right now, I'm comfortable with the way it is so we're not going to put any additional responsibilities on anybody."
Galiano and Melvin, along with recently hired wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck, fill out a revamped staff with the approach of the start of spring practice on March 23.
Their hirings cap an active off-season that saw the total of assistants leave in the past three years rise to 10. Schiano has seen 21 assistants leave as he heads into his 10th year.
Fleck replaced wide receivers coach Brian Jenkins, who became the head coach at Bethune-Cookman. Susan, who had been part of Schiano's first staff in 2001, took the head coaching job at Bucknell. Emanuel left to become co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Purdue.
Will fill voids created by recent departures of Gary Emanuel and Joe Susan
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano turned to a couple of familiar faces to fill the two voids on his football staff, welcoming back Randy Melvin and Phil Galiano on Saturday, according to ScarletReport.com.
A Rutgers official declined comment, saying the school had an announcement planned for Monday.
Melvin, 50, served as defensive line coach for the Scarlet Knights from 2002-04. He spent last season at Temple.
He is expected to step in for Gary Emanuel, who left on Feb. 4 to become co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Purdue. Emanuel had been Rutgers' defensive line coach the past two seasons.
Galiano, who coached the defensive line and linebackers for Rutgers from 2004-06 before leaving to become defensive coordinator at Florida International, returns to an as-yet determined role. He fills the staff void created when Joe Susan, the Knights' tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, recently left to become the head coach at Bucknell.
Schiano said in the immediate aftermath of Susan's departure that he might not hire a recruiting coordinator, possibly opting to make the job a collaborative effort with his staff.
Scarlet Knights open at home on Sept. 2 against Norfolk State
Home games against North Carolina and Tulane, a meeting with Army at the new Meadowlands stadium and a regular-season finale against West Virginia for the third time in five years highlight the Rutgers football schedule that was released Wednesday.
The schedule includes nationally-televised games against Big East foes Connecticut, South Florida, Louisville and West Virginia.
Rutgers, coming off a 9-4 season, will open the season on Thursday, Sept. 2 at home against Norfolk State -- a stark contrast to last year's opener against eventual Big East champion Cincinnati.
The Scarlet Knights close the season with seven of their final eight games against Big East opponents.
The game with Army at the new Meadowlands stadium on Oct. 16 -- originally a Rutgers home game -- marks the Scarlet Knights' first appearance at the Meadowlands since 1996, also against Army.
Rutgers will play games this year on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The opener against Norfolk is a Thursday game, the Oct. 8 game against Connecticut at home is a Friday night game, the Nov. 3 game at South Florida is a Wednesday night game and Nov. 26 game at home against Louisville is a Friday night game.
The schedule (times and complete TV information will be released at a later date):
Sept. 2 NORFOLK STATE
The Spartans — 59-0 losers at Rutgers in 2008 — come off a season that saw them finish by winning their final four games.
Sept. 11 Florida International
Former Rutgers assistant Mario Cristobal has to replace starting QB Paul McCall while shoring up a defense that ranked 119th nationally in yards allowed.
Sept. 25 NORTH CAROLINA
A good news/bad news deal for coach Butch Davis. He has 19 starters back — but one of them is erratic QB T.J. Yates.
Oct. 2 TULANE
The Green Wave, 1-7 in the weak, woeful West Division of no-defense Conference USA a year ago, is hoping for major improvement.
Oct. 8 CONNECTICUT* (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.)
Huskies still lack star power on offense and still have uncertainty at QB with Zach Frazier and Cody Endres, but their defense will continue to carry them.
Oct. 16 ARMY (Meadowlands stadium)
A loss to Navy in the regular-season finale cost Army a .500 season and a bowl bid, but Rich Ellerson’s team made major strides last year.
Oct. 23 Pittsburgh*
If the Panthers find a replacement for Bill Stull at QB — Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri are the early frontrunners — they could start as the Big East favorites.
Nov. 3 South Florida* (ESPN2, 7 p.m.)
New coach Skip Holtz inherits a promising — and dangerous — QB in B.J. Daniels but the defense needs a major star overhaul.
Nov. 13 SYRACUSE*
Coach Doug Marrone has 1,000-yard rusher Delone Carter back, but with an unproven QB and a new offensive coordinator, the Orange are expected to undergo a major change on offense.
Nov. 20 Cincinnati*
First-year coach Butch Jones inherits plenty of leftover talent so Bearcats still figure to contend for the Big East title.
Nov. 26 LOUISVILLE* (ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC)
Hard to believe the Cardinals have fallen this far this fast. New coach Charlie Strong, who arrives from Florida, has to get this team to show more fight than it did most of last year.
Dec. 4 West Virginia* (ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC)
The decisions by Noel Devine and Jock Sanders to return, and the promise that QB Geno Smith offers, will make the Mountaineers a dangerous offensive team again.
Home games in CAPS
*Big East game
Rutgers will have multiple players at talent showcase for fourth straight year
Rutgers' streak of sending multiple players to the NFL Combine was extended to a fourth straight year when Anthony Davis and Devin McCourty -- as expected -- officially received invitations to the Draft showcase in Indianapolis Feb. 24 to March 2, it was announced Tuesday.
The 6-6, 325-pound Davis, rated one of the NFL Draft's top three offensive tackles along with Russell Okung of Oklahoma State and Bruce Campbell of Maryland, is the third straight junior to leave Rutgers for the Draft, joining wide receiver Kenny Britt (first round-pick last year) and running back Ray Rice (second round 2008).
Britt, selected 30th overall by the first round by the Tennessee Titans, is the only first-rounder Rutgers has ever produced. Davis is expected to join him and also to eclipse his status as the school's highest-drafted player.
Davis is projected as a top 15 pick by almost every mock draft site.
McCourty, who starred at cornerback and on special teams for the Knights, is projected as a possible second round pick, with the 5-11, 186-pounder improving his stock with a strong week at the recent Senior Bowl.
The NFL Draft will be spread over three days -- April 22-24 -- for the first time this year.
All Rutgers players eligible for the NFL Draft are expected to attend the school's Pro Day on March 10 on campus.
Ten full-time staffers have left since the end of the 2007 season
How much turnover is too much when it comes to college football coaching staffs?
The announcement on Thursday that Rutgers defensive line coach Gary Emanuel was leaving the Knights to become the co-defensive coordinator at Purdue marked the third assistant to bolt the staff this off-season -- and the 10th in the past three years (not counting graduate assistants).
As Greg Schiano begins his 10th year on the job, he will have had to replace 21 full-time assistant coaches after he fills the two openings on his current staff.
Here's the year-by-year list of full-time assistants since Schiano took over at Rutgers in 2001:
2001
Offensive coordinator: Bill Cubit
Defensive coordinator: Paul Ferraro
Recruiting coordinator/running backs: Mike Miello
Defensive line: Ben Albert
Offensive tackles/tight ends: Mario Cristobal
Linebackers: Mark D'Onofrio
Wide receivers: Darrell Hazell
Secondary: Scott Lakatos
Offensive line: Joe Susan
Lost after the season: Miello, Albert
2002
Recruiting coordinator/linebackers: Mark D'Onofrio
Defensive line: Randy Melvin
Running backs/special teams: Darren Rizzi
Lost after the season: Cubit
2003
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: Craig ver Steeg
Defensive coordinator: Paul ferraro
Offensive line: Mario Cristobal
Tight ends: Joe Susan
Lost after season: Hazell, Cristobal, D'Onofrio, Lakatos
2004
Asst. head coach/special teams: Darren Rizzi
Recruiting coordinator/tight ends: Joe Susan
Secondary: Chris Demarest
Linebackers: Phil Galiano
Offensive line: Rod Holder
Wide receiver: John McNulty
Lost after season: Ferraro, Holder, Melvin
2005
Asst. head coach/special teams/linebackers: Darren Rizzi
Offensive line: Kyle Flood
Wide receivers: John McNulty
Running backs: Robert Jackson
Defensive line: Cary Godette
Defensive ends: Phil Galiano
Lost after season: None
Note: Schiano took over as defensive coordinator
2006
Asst. offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/wide receivers: John McNulty
Running backs:Robert Jackson
Lost after season: Galiano
Note: Schiano served as defensive coordinator
2007
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: John McNulty
Wide receivers: Robert Jackson
Offensive line/run game: Kyle Flood
Running backs: Craig ver Steeg
Associate head coach/linebackers/special teams: Darren Rizzi
Inside linebackers: Bob Fraser
Lost after season: Demarest, Godette, Jackson, Rizzi, ver Steeg
2008
Offensive line/assoc. head coach: Kyle Flood
Wide receivers: Kirk Ciarrocca
Special teams: Chris Rippon
Defensive line: Gary Emanuel
Linebackers: Bob Fraser
Secondary: Ed Pinkham
Cornerbacks/nickels: Chris Hewitt
Lost after season: McNulty, Rippon
2009
Co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks: Kirk Ciarrocca
Co-offensive coordinator/assoc. head coach/offensive line: Kyle Flood
Wide receivers: Brian Jenkins
Co-defensive coordinator/linebackers: Bob Fraser
Co-defensive coordinator/secondary: Ed Pinkham
Special teams/outside linebackers: Robb Smith
Cornerbacks: Chris Hewitt
Lost after season: Emanuel, Jenkins, Susan
Note: Randy Trivers (running backs) and John Harakal (assistant defensive line) were graduate assistants
2010
Recruiting coordinator/tight ends: TBA
Wide receivers: P.J. Fleck
Defensive line: TBA
Coach Greg Schiano now has two openings on staff to fill
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is in the market for yet another assistant this offseason.
Gary Emanuel, the Scarlet Knights' defensive line coach since 2008, was announced late Tuesday afternoon as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Purdue by the Big ten school.
Emanuel, 51, served as a Purdue assistant from 1997-2004 and held the titles of assistant head coach and defensive line coach the final two years with the Boilermakers.
Schiano still has not found a replacement for recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Susan, who left a week ago to become the head coach at Bucknell. Susan and strength and conditioning coach Jay Butler had been the only holdovers from Schiano's first staff at Rutgers in 2001.
Shortly after Rutgers beat Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 19, wide receivers coach Brian Jenkins left after just one year on the job to become the head coach at Bethune-Cookman. He was replaced by P.J. Fleck, who previously served as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Northern Illinois.
Scarlet Knights make inroads in Jacksonville, Daytona Beach and Tampa areas
Larry Blustein isn’t surprised that the 25-player football recruiting class Rutgers unveiled Wednesday features as many players from the state of Florida (nine) as it does from New Jersey.
“Look back and you’ll see that’s how Greg Schiano first turned the program around,” said Blustein, who specializes in Florida recruiting for Elite Scouting Services. “I think they got away from that and Greg sat down and said, ‘Let’s get back in there.’
“It’s a smart approach any year, but especially in a year when the talent isn’t a deep as it usually is in New Jersey.”
Consider these numbers: Florida had 440 players sign FBS scholarships during letter of intent day Wednesday, according to Blustein. New Jersey will have approximately 50.
So why not go where the players are?
Not only did Rutgers have a major presence in Florida again -- defensive tackle Antwan Lowery was the only Florida recruit the Knights signed a year ago -- it did so in areas of the Sunshine State that haven’t served as pipelines to Piscataway during Schiano’s first nine years here.
Complete list of Rutgers' 2010 recruiting class From the Jacksonville area, he plucked four-star cornerback Rashad Knight, who chose Rutgers over Michigan, and standout running backs Jawan Jamison and Casey Turner. The latter decommitted from North Carolina in favor of Rutgers.
Schiano had never landed a Jacksonville-area player before.
His first recruit from the Daytona Beach area is also in this class: powerful defensive tackle Kenneth Kirksey.
And from Tampa, an area Rutgers has been trying to make a breakthrough in, Schiano lured wide receiver Jeremy Deering, a three-star recruit who chose Rutgers over Florida State on Tuesday, and standout linebacker Fred Overstreet.
“We’ve always effectively recruited Florida, but we’re kind of spread out and recruiting more areas in the state of Florida,” said Schiano. “Now we’re recruiting really the entire state other than the Panhandle. We’ve been able to do it very well.”
Blustein, who also hosts a sports talk show on WKAT in Miami, said he had Schiano on as a guest recently and that “he said he wanted to make a point to get back to Florida.”
Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports said the late flurry of commitments to Rutgers -- which was really fueled by several highly rated Florida players -- is the reason he is higher than most on Schiano’s class. He rates it “in the 30 to 40 range, and closer to 30” nationally and third in the Big East behind Pittsburgh and West Virginia.
“If they win a Big East championship, I don’t think Rutgers fans will care where the players come from,” said Lemming. “But it makes sense. You compete in a league that recruits heavily in Florida and you have connections in the most talent-rich state in the country. So why not take advantage of them?”
Rivals.com and Scout.com weren’t as impressed with the class, however.
Rivals rates it 63rd nationally and fifth in the eight-team Big East. Scout has it checking in at No. 48 and fourth in the league.
Schiano shrugs off the assessments of others -- good and bad.
“I will never -- nor will our staff -- ever fall victim to people doing our evaluating,” he said. New Jersey, he said, remains the starting point for all recruiting, but there are times like this year when the state simply doesn’t yield enough talent. It is expected to have a banner season next year.
“On Sept. 1 we sent out a bunch of offers to juniors through New Jersey,” he said. “(Recruiting) works its way out (from Jersey). It will always be the hub.”
Tom Luicci may be reached at tluicci@starledger.com.
Courtesy of the Tampa TribuneWide receiver/safety Jeremy Deering, a three-star prospect out of Tampa, Fla., chose Rutgers over Florida State.
VIDEO: Schiano discusses 25-member recruiting class.
Rutgers received signed letters of intent from 25 football recruits Wednesday. The list:
Latest Florida additions raise recruiting class to 24 players on National Letter of Intent signing day today
Nigel Cook/Daytona News-JournalDefensive tackle Kenneth Kirksey signed today to play football at Rutgers.
Rutgers' whirlwind recruiting activity the past four days -- particularly in Florida -- continued right up until National Letter of Intent signing day today when defensive tackle Kenneth Kirksey and three-star running back Casey Turner committed to the Scarlet Knights.
Their commitments raise the recruiting class that Rutgers will officially announce at 4 p.m. today to 24 players. Nine are from Florida after Rutgers landed just one Florida player (Antwan Lowery) last year.
Kirksey, a 6-1, 273-pounder from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Fla., drew a variety of interest from major schools, though many -- including Florida State -- backed off because of eligibility concerns, according to ScarletReport.com.
The speedy Turner, a 5-11, 195-pounder from Ed White High School in Jacksonville, Fla., capped a wild recruiting roller-coaster ride. He originally committed to Florida International, then switched to Rutgers on Dec. 7. He then committed to North Carolina before switching back to Rutgers.
Turner, rated as a three-star player by Rivals.com, rushed for 2,400 yards and 31 TDs as a senior.
Rutgers' recruiting class is currently at 22 players
For more signing day coverage: Rutgers football class of 2010 Rutgers New Jersey football recruits Rutgers out-of-state recruits NJ football recruiting videos List of NJ high school football players headed to BCS schools
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