Among the large group of recruits who visited Rutgers on Tuesday when the men’s basketball team blew out the Penn State Nittany Lions, 65-45, were multiple blue chips who played together on the same youth football team in Newark. Jaylen McClain, a four-star junior defensive back at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, played wide receiver, defensive end, and cornerback as a youth, while Kaj Sanders, a physical, four-star athlete from Bergen Catholic in Oradell, played running back and linebacker back then.
“I think both of our strengths was our speed,” McClain, whose father, Maurice, played at Syracuse, told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday.
Yasin Willis, a four-star power running back at St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, joined his old teammates on Tuesday where they visualized a future together at Rutgers.
“I’ve always been high on Yasin,” said Nasir Gaines, general manager of the Brick City Lions. “When he was a kid, we used to call him O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson the way he would just run past you, stiff arm you or run you over.”
Each is a national recruit with 20-plus offers in tow. But, for a few hours, the trio lost themselves in the hometown Scarlet Knights.
“We spent time at the basketball game and then we did the photoshoot,” said McClain who hears mostly from coaches at Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, USC and Rutgers. “We spoke about (playing together at Rutgers) a little. We played for Brick City together in eighth grade and kept that connection going, so it was cool to be on a visit with him and get to talk to them. Especially at Rutgers, our home state school.”
Added Sanders, who plays up to four positions on both sides of the ball at an elite level: “It was a lot of my old teammates there, so it was really fun being in a college atmosphere with them.”
All three have been offered by Penn State, which McClain and Sanders hold in high regard, so they could team up there, too. Or, each recruit could take his own path. But Rutgers’ close proximity provides an edge that competing schools don’t have.
This was Sanders’ second Rutgers Junior Day visit this month and McClain has been on Rutgers’ campus more times than he can count. Willis, who runs with a chip on his shoulder and who can also play linebacker and safety in college, has seen Rutgers numerous times, too.
It’s all part of Greg Schiano’s plan to get top local players on campus and build relationships that will give Rutgers a chance to keep them home in the end. Despite the gaudy offers from more established Power Five programs, Rutgers must be in it to win it. And after signing 14 four-stars from the transfer portal or out of high schools since returning to Rutgers in December of 2019, Schiano won’t back down from any school.
The trip also brought players from South Jersey and/or surrounding states. Like Salem (N.J.) sophomore linebacker Cameron Smith, a member of “the Next 25,” who recognized plenty of young, up-and-coming recruits at the game.
“The atmosphere was exciting and the fans and culture were appealing,” Smith said. “I spent time with Lotzier Brooks (from Millville) and the Sabb brothers (who have both been offered by Rutgers). I also saw John Stone (a class of 2023 OL from Washington Township), who enrolled early.”
Incoming Glassboro (N.J.) freshman Xavier Sabb was one of six recruits to earn offers from Greg Schiano that day. Despite having yet to play his first high school snap, Sabb is an Under Armour All-American, who will also play point guard on the hardwood.
“We hade a meeting with coach in his office,” Sabb, whose two other brothers were/are also highly-touted, said. “This was my second time meeting him after meeting him back in November. He told us about “Culture, Family, Trust” and said he likes my talent and wanted to offer me a scholarship.”
Millville junior quarterback Zacob Zamot, who throws to, arguably, the best wide receiver tandem in the state, sounds close to earning an offer after his latest trip to Piscataway.
“I had a good talk with Coach Ciarrocca for a while,” said Zamot who also talks to coaches at Penn State, Syracuse, UCF, UConn and Temple, in hopes of earning his first offer. “I love his knowledge of the game and I’m excited to be able to work with him in the future. He loves my arm strength, athleticism and decision making.”
Zamot analyzed his two biggest playmakers who have each been offered by Rutgers, beginning with Ta’Ron Haile, who earned his on Tuesday after adding weight since his last trip to the Hale Center.
“Ta’ron has the size and speed,” Zamot said of his classmate. “He’s very strong so he’s a great blocker for the run game and screens. He has great hands as well and can catch in traffic.”
Greg Schiano was the first coach to offer Millville speedster Lotzeir Brooks in August, 2021, and Rutgers is still in the mix.
“Brooks is very special, a generational player,” Zamot said. “He has speed, tremendous athleticism and great hands. He’ll catch a brick if you throw it at him and he’s extremely difficult to cover because he’s such a great route runner. He has the it factor. He demands a double-team and he’s beaten double coverage a lot.
“They both are humble and pretty quiet guys, but they are tremendous athletes and great teammates.”
Teammates who Greg Schiano hopes will one day be Scarlet Knights. If the student section at Jersey Mike’s Arena, which serenaded the recruits as they entered the gym on Tuesday, has anything to do with it.
“Jaylen, Kaj, Yasin, those guys are special,” Gaines said. “I pray that they can play together in college. That’s a good combo.”
MORE FROM TODDERICK HUNT
- The NJ.com Top 50 list of football recruits, January 2023
- Being in the Big Ten is a recruiting blessing for Rutgers
-Pipeline to Piscataway, Pt. 1: How Brooklyn’s Erasmus Hall became ‘Rutgers Prep’
-Pipeline to Piscataway, Pt. 2: When Erasmus players join Rutgers’ family
-Recruiting Black football players to Rutgers during America’s fight for social change
-Cameroon, Canada, CHOP: He took the long route to Rutgers, but now he’s ‘home’
-Family, football & NFL dreams: N.J.’s top DBs, teammates & best friends — Bellamy & Gould
-How Rutgers lured Kentucky’s Gavin Wimsatt, Greg Schiano’s star QB coup
-Destiny, despair and perseverance: The story of Newark’s Shaquan Loyal
-Courage in the face of Camden Violence: ‘I have to get my mom & family out of here’
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Todderick Hunt may be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com.
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