11/18 Recruiting Update

Did Miami get to Malcolm Bunche?

Newark (Del.) offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche has informed Rutgers coaches that he was decommitting.

The 6-foot-6 prospect is now considering the Scarlet Knights, Miami-Florida, West Virginia, Connecticut and Maryland. He does not expect to make a final decision until national signing day.

Among Bunche’s other offers are Illinois, South Florida, Tennessee and Syracuse.

Scout.com has an update on Gerald Hodges:

On why he originally committed with the Knights, Hodges said he was impressed with the solid recruiting class Schiano was compiling.

“I liked the players they had coming in,” he said. “I also had a good relationship with Coach Schiano.”

Besides Tom Savage who’s in contact with almost every Rutgers prospect, Hodges has been in contact with Aaron Hayward, Shawney Kersey and Logan Ryan. All of them except for Kersey have been nudging him to stay in Jersey.

“There trying to except for Shawney Kersey,” he said. “He’s kind of stayed by my side. Me and him are close friends so we’re trying to pick the same school basically.”

While it’s between Rutgers and Penn State, Hodges said he will probably takes official visits to Iowa and Maryland. He will make a decision on where he’s going to commit for sure by January because he’s going to college in the spring.

With Andre Civil and Michael Larrow long in the fold, it’s no surprise that RU dropped their pursuit of Hoboken DE Bernardo Nunez.

So with distance being such an important factor for Nunez, why isn’t Rutgers on his list? “They were my first offer,” he said of the Scarlet Knights.

“But I wasn’t getting the right vibe from them,” Nunez said. “They’ve got a lot of commitments on defense already and I want to make sure I go where they actually need me.”

Is RU going after another JUCO lineman?

OL Jeff Vinson (6-8 315) of Lackawanna JC, PA had drawn some interest from South Carolina, but he’s been told the university can’t take some of his grades. “They’ve told me I can’t qualify for them,” Vinson said. “I talked to coach Rychleski about two weeks ago. That’s when he broke the news to me.” Vinson has offers from Oklahoma, Rutgers, South Florida, Illinois State and Jackson State.

Splitting hairs

Here is Monday’s presser transcript (video). Apparently I’m asking questions now (making light of my proclivity to make silly errors).

South Florida’s Carlton Williams was quoted as being upset with you because you completed that 93-yard pass to Britt in the fourth quarter when you already had a 42-16 lead. Was that an issue in your mind?

That TD put RU up 42-16, as passing is still an option at 35-16. Williams was complaining about the passes after that TD.

Keith Sargeant is getting the scoops you crave:

Based on multiple conversations with bowl officials the past two days, the Gator will indeed take Notre Dame if it beats Syracuse (forget about Big 12 supremacy; Irish fans definitely will travel to Jacksonville and the Gator desperately wants a sellout); the Meineke is eyeing West Virginia (nobody travels better than Mountaineer fans and it’s a short 6-hour trip to Charlotte) or the Cincinnati/Pitt loser if it can pluck North Carolina as its ACC representative. The International Bowl would love to have Pitt but will settle for UConn; the PapaJohns.com gets Pat White’s homecoming if West Virginia loses two of its final three; and St. Petersburg wants 7-win South Florida above all else but the more than 7,500 fans traveling to USF “definitely” made Rutgers an attractive consolation prize.

No doubt, Tampa would be the nicest realistic option. Let’s see how it all plays out.

The sky is blue, water is wet, and other Big East coaches don’t want to see Greg Robinson fired. Ever.

Now the press is turning on Seton Hall’s Bobby Gonzalez.

Tuesday Anecdote

There’s an interesting phenomenon occurring before the start of every Rutgers football home game, and I’m not talking about Mike Teel being booed mercilessly.

Rather, during the pregame video montage, the player getting mercilessly booed is Philadelphia Eagles Tight End L.J. Smith. Obviously, all the Giants fans in attendance boo him because he plays for the Eagles. Of course, all of the Eagles fans in attendance boo him because he plays for the Eagles too.