Philly region is key to Rutgers’ football rebuilding under Greg Schiano

Whether it is 2001 or 2019, for head coach Greg Schiano and Rutgers football, there is a consistent region that pops up in each signee class: the greater Philadelphia/South Jersey area.

“You talk about Philly, you talk about the city of Philadelphia, outside of the city and across the river, to South Jersey, that is such a fertile recruiting area and one that has gotten better, better, and better for Rutgers,” said Schiano, in the third year of his second stint as the Scarlets Knights’ coach.

Yes, there are six months until Rutgers travels to Boston College to open the 2022 season. But with the 2022 recruiting class already signed and after the NCAA recruiting quiet period took effect last Tuesday, it’s worth trying to understand why the Philadelphia and South Jersey regions are so important to Schiano and his coaching staff.

“Philly or Alaska, we are looking for guys that love football,” said Schiano. “And there are so many in the [greater Philly area].”

First, some history. Schiano, a Wyckoff, N.J., native, began his career as a graduate assistant at Rutgers and then Penn State. While at State College, Schiano said that recruiting the South Jersey and Philly region wasn’t “his area” of work. It wasn’t until he was hired as the defensive coordinator at the University of Miami that he recruited local talent.

“I knew that a lot of kids had left South Jersey and went on to have great success in other programs [across the country],” said Schiano.

Once he was hired, for the first time, at Rutgers before the 2001 season, he began to home in on the region.

“It took a while to crack, I’ll be honest with you,” said Schiano. “The first go-round, we were pounding away and finally we got some guys and then it became really fruitful for us.”

Some of those names included former Eagles tight end L.J. Smith (Highland Park, N.J.), three-star running back Jamar Brittingham (Langhorne), and Cincinnati Bengals tight end Clark Harris (Manahawkin, N.J.).

“When I first took over, my first go-round, the state of New Jersey was two separate states,” said Schiano. “And I’d like to think in my 11 years here the first time, we were a big unifying factor.”

From 2001-11, Schiano planted seeds in the Philly and South Jersey regions, slowly but surely getting players to not only enroll at Rutgers, but also to find individual success on the field.

“I think that the generation of kids now are probably too young to know what [Schiano] did at [Rutgers] in his first stint,” said Vernard Abrams, quarterbacks coach at La Salle High School and owner of ACE QB & WR. “But the parents of those kids are right around that age where they kind of knew what happened while he was at Rutgers [the first time.]”

When Schiano returned to Rutgers before the 2020 season, he wasted no time before returning to his hallowed recruiting ground.

“Once [Schiano] got to town [for the second time], he made his rounds almost immediately,” said Abrams. “When I say immediately, I mean the first day or two after he was renamed the head coach.”

Abrams said that relationships are what separate successful head coaches from the unsuccessful in recruiting. Relationships with the recruits, their coaches, teachers, the trainers — essentially everyone who comes into contact with Schiano.

“I’ve known some of the [Philly and South Jersey coaches and athletic directors] for a number of years, both on the Philly side of the river and the Jersey side of the river,” Schiano said. “My relationships with them go back a long time.”

When Schiano had his eye on one particular recruit, four-star running back Samuel Brown of La Salle High School, Abrams said he attended the meeting between Brown, Schiano, and now-departed Rutgers assistant coach Fran Brown.

“You know, the head coach, if they are not very familiar with you, they can big-time you, not really be genuine in terms of wanting to know who you are and a little bit about you and stuff like that,” said Abrams. “[Schiano] was very good at connecting with me, asking about me, where I am from, what I do, and relating stories to guys that we mutually knew.”

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Brown committed to Rutgers soon thereafter, joining four-star offensive lineman Jacob Allen (Princeton), four-star linebacker Anthony Johnson (Neumann Goretti), three-star defensive end Kenny Fletcher (Delran), and three-star offensive lineman Emir Stinette (Imhotep), among others, in the 2022 recruiting class.

In the 2021 recruiting class, four-star cornerback Alijah Clark (Camden High), three-star offensive lineman Tyler Needham (Penn Charter), and three-star defensive lineman Cam’Ron Stewart (Reading) were the South Jersey/Philly commitments.

“At Rutgers, you are appealing to the elite players in the area if you are able to give them the opportunity to play against the Michigans, the Penn States, the Indianas, and all of the Big Ten schools that get a lot of recognition, you tend to be able to pull some of those [recruits] away [from other schools],” said Abrams.

The connections established between Schiano and his recruits last long past signing day, even with some players who commit to other schools around the country. The transfer portal has been good to Schiano over the years, with some players he recruited in high school leaving their colleges to come to Rutgers.

“It’s not only guys that we recruit out of high school, it is also some guys that may show up in the transfer portal that we go after,” he said. “Once [the players] are in the portal, we are very aggressive toward the ones that we want to make a run at.”

Schiano added: “We are very particular in how we approach the portal. It has to fit a need for sure and it has to be a person that is a character and a cultural fit, because oftentimes, they don’t have a lot of time left. They are coming for a reason to fill a need. And they need to fit the culture when they get here. [Rutgers] has been very fortunate.”

Competing against Big Ten programs for these players is always a challenge, and Rutgers doesn’t get every player it pursues, to be sure. And losing Brown’s influence doesn’t help, either. So the head coach’s approach is more important than ever.

Abrams added: “If you treat those [Philly and South Jersey recruits] well, which Schiano does, you open your doors to those guys.”

The only class of 2023 hard commitment for Rutgers so far is three-star offensive lineman John Stone (Washington Township High). The word on the immense high school talent in the Philadelphia/South Jersey region, according to Abrams, is out.

For Schiano, as he continues to build his program, the realization is nothing new.

“Tradition is something that is passed down from player to player,” he said. “It’s not singing a song or touching a statue. It is that culture that gets passed down to our younger players in recruiting.”