Rutgers ramps up Jersey recruiting

The slogan is new.

The sentiment is old.

Every Rutgers coach for the last 50 years or so has preached the importance of persuading New Jersey's top football players to stay home and play for the state university.

Under new coach Chris Ash, the Scarlet Knights have summed up the strategy in three words, "Fence the Garden" - a clever Twitter hashtag and catchphrase that came courtesy of new receivers coach Zak Kuhr.

Rick Mantz, the program's new director of high school relations, said the new staff is determined to make inroads in recruiting the state's top players and establishing strong connections with coaches in South Jersey.

"Chris has been in the Big Ten," Mantz said of Ash, a former assistant coach at Ohio State. "He's seen players from Jersey on that team, on other Big Ten teams. He knows how important it is to try to keep those kids here in Jersey."

Ash and his assistants have made a strong push in the run-up to national signing day on Feb. 3 to persuade some New Jersey players who have committed to other programs to switch to Rutgers.

Camden senior defensive end Jamal Holloway, who has committed to Syracuse, said Tuesday that Rutgers coaches had visited him at the high school. Holloway said he was leaning toward staying with Syracuse.

Palmyra wide receiver Kelvin Harmon, who de-committed from South Carolina in December, has received three visits from Rutgers coaches, including a home visit from Ash on Monday.

Harmon plans to visit Miami this weekend but indicated via text that he is considering Rutgers.

"We'd like all of them," Mantz said of New Jersey's top players. "We know that's not realistic, but Coach Ash has made it clear that we're going to continue to meet with these top New Jersey kids right up until they sign their letter of intent."

Penn State has long plucked some of New Jersey's top players, going back to Moorestown's Dave Robinson in the early 1960s and Franco Harris of Rancocas Valley and Lydell Mitchell of Salem in the late 1960s.

South Jersey's two Heisman Trophy winners - Woodrow Wilson's Mike Rozier (Nebraska, 1983) and Overbrook's Ron Dayne (Wisconsin, 1999) - both left New Jersey to star at other state universities.

"The old Rutgers never offered two Heisman winners from South Jersey," Camden coach Dwayne Savage said.

Recently, Michigan has pushed hard into New Jersey, grabbing Paramus Catholic's Jabril Peppers - regarded as the top recruit in the nation in the 2014 class - and landing commitments from 2016 standouts such as Camden's Brad Hawkins and Ron Johnson, Cedar Creek's Ahmir Mitchell, and DePaul Catholic's Kareem Walker.

In addition, Michigan has offered scholarships to 2017 athletes Bo Melton of Cedar Creek and Markquise Bell of Bridgeton, who are probably South Jersey's top juniors.

"That's been a complaint - how is it that Penn State or Michigan gets in offers for New Jersey kids before Rutgers does," Mantz said.

Rutgers has offered Melton a scholarship, and his recruitment could be a key for creating a pipeline to Piscataway from South Jersey. Melton's father, Gary, played football at Rutgers, and his mother, Vicky, played basketball.

Shawnee coach Tim Gushue had a top player in the class of 2013 in lineman Jake Pisarcik, who was recruited by Oregon during Chip Kelly's final season and has been starting for the Ducks. Rutgers never made an offer to Pisarcik.

"I think there was some fallout about that," Gushue said of the previous Rutgers staff.

Gushue said Ash and his staff met with members of the state football coaches association on Jan. 4 and have plans to hold a social/clinic for high school coaches in February.

Gushue said Ash was a "high energy" guy who made a strong first impression with his intention to improve Rutgers' recruiting of New Jersey players.

Gushue also noted that many of Ash's assistants were unfamiliar with New Jersey.

"They were asking, 'Coach, where you from?' " Gushue said. "I would say, 'Shawnee,' and they would say, 'Where's that?,' and I'd say, 'Medford,' and they'd say, 'Where's that?' "

Mantz, a longtime head coach at three schools in the northern part of the state, said he was hired to serve as a "liaison" between the Rutgers program and coaches, players, and parents in the state.

Camden's Savage said Rutgers' new coaches seem committed to players in the state.

"They have recognized the talent pool in New Jersey is great," Savage said. "If they can keep everyone in-state, then Rutgers can compete at the national level.

"Since [Jan. 15], I have met with three different Rutgers coaches who are trying to flip my players, so they really are trying to put the fence up by actions and not just a slogan."

panastasia@phillynews.com

@PhilAnastasia

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