Nick Arcidiacono Commits to Rutgers

Offensive/Defensive Lineman/Tight End Nick Arcidiacono of Archbishop Wood Catholic HS in Warminster, PA became the eighth class of 2013 prospect to commit to Rutgers, on Thursday. He attended the Big Man Academy at Rutgers a couple weeks ago and is from the same high school as 2012 signees Desmon Peoples and Brandon Arcidiacono, who is also his brother.

Measurables: 6'4'' 230

Stars:

Rivals	Scout	ESPN	247
2 star strong side DE	3 stars, #14 Center	3 stars, #26 Tight End, #29 in PA	3 stars, #43 Weak side DE, #32 in PA

Offer sheet: Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Kent State, and Temple were the other FBS schools to offer him a scholarship. West Virginia, Nebraska, Miami, Penn State, Maryland, Pitt, and UConn also showed some interest in him.

Scouting Report: Arcidiacono is a 2 way lineman at the HS level, but he will have to make the move to tight end because he is much too small to be a college lineman. He is a solid run blocker, as he fires out of his stance low, and gets good leg drive through the whistle, but he has a narrow base and doesn't rack up a ton of pancakes. He is very good at blocking the second level, displaying good balance and quickness, but he is at his best when he is pulling, thanks to his athleticism, even though he tips when he is going. He is a natural knee bender and slides well in pass protection with a good base and fit on the defender, but he does not deliver a particularly strong initial punch. He does not have a lot of experience playing in space and he will also have to totally develop his receiving skills from scratch.

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My Take: Rutgers is very thin at tight end and the few players at the position on the roster are upper class men, so it was imperative for them to add a tight end in this recruiting class. In fact, they'll probably need to add at least one more. In the offense Rutgers runs, the tight end is heavily involved as a blocker in the running game, so a former lineman like Arc should be a good fit.