Greg Schiano has found his next quarterback of the future, and he’s the son of an Ivy League head coach.
A 6-2, 205-pound junior with an accurate arm, timing, leadership qualities and a thickly built lower half, Notre Dame high school junior A.J. Surace checks most of the proverbial boxes required to play quarterback. And he will keep his talents home, in New Jersey, the state he knows best. Surace announced his commitment on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.
The maestro of the Irish spread offense which features RPOs (run-pass option plays), zone reads and read option, Surace will lend his arm to Rutgers’ newly-hired offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, who’s built a strong bond with A.J. and his dad, Bob — longtime colleague and coach of the Princeton Tigers.
A three-star recruit, A.J. has a preexisting ties to ex-Rutgers OC Sean Gleeson, who coached under Bob, before stops at Oklahoma State, and ultimately, Rutgers, where Gleeson was fired on Oct. 9.
Rutgers’ chances to sign Surace decreased once Gleeson left town. But, after some thought, the junior will walk his own path, Rutgers’ O in tow.
“There was definitely a time when I wasn’t sure who the offensive coordinator was and I wasn’t as consistent in my communication with Rutgers,” A.J. told NJ Advance Media on Sunday. “Obviously, I’m really grateful for coach Gleeson. I see him as a mentor and I’m sure wherever he goes next, he’ll be successful. So, there was a little bit (of tension when he was fired). But when they hired coach Ciarrocca, and I got to communicate with him, I fell right back in love.”
A.J. grew up around the game and knows what he wants in a school, which allowed him to navigate a busy college recruitment, featuring teams from the Big Ten and ACC, and Schiano’s nemesis from the from the SEC.
“Being around football since I was five definitely grooms you,” A.J. said. “Learning how guys do everything. How they practice, how hard they work, how they lead, it definitely rubs off.”
A.J. accepted Schiano’s offer on Sunday after becoming one of Rutgers’ top priorities in June. Schiano now has a face for his 2024 class, which includes Detroit Country Day (Franklin, Mich.) four-star, two-way athlete Gabriel Winowich, and Delran (N.J.) three-star offensive tackle Kenny Jones, who will join ex-Bears teammate Kenny Fletcher, a four-star freshman edge rusher, at Rutgers next year.
Schiano can build the class around Surace, a processor and leader by example, who Rutgers beat out Tennessee, Boston College, Duke, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Pitt, Temple and Toledo, for.
A member of the NJ.com Top 50, Surace completed 131-of-231 passes for 1,737 yards, 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions last fall for the 6-4 Irish despite being knocked out of the season-opener and missing two games due to a leg injury. Schiano is banking on that toughness when Surace arrives at the Hale Center next year.
Surace will join a quarterback room at Rutgers which could include, at least, three other scholarship quarterbacks — rising sophomore Gavin Wimsatt and rising junior Evan Simon, who split time with graduating senior Noah Vedral, and struggled to a 4-8 record last fall. Ajani Sheppard, who completed enough high school credits to graduate from Iona Prep (New Rochelle, N.Y.) last fall, arrived on campus at Jan. 21.
Surace has thrown for 3,645 yards and 43 touchdowns, and rushed for 361 yards and six additional scores, over his three years at the Lawrence Township-based school. He broke out as a freshman, completing 18-of-35 passes for 259 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers in spot duty, and never looked back. Surace trains to become bigger, faster and stronger each day, and plans to use his legs more, in addition to his accurate arm, next fall during his final high school campaign.
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Todderick Hunt may be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com.
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