Recruiting Update: Florida Invasion?

National Signing day is just 27 days away, and although Rutgers has a pretty strong class so far, they must close strong in order for the 2013 class to match the great 2011 and 2012 classes they brought in. The stretch run until signing day has gotten off to a pretty bad start, with one of their top prospects decommitting and one of NJ's top recruits taking his talents to South Beach, but there are still plenty of prospects out there for them to get to significantly improve their class. The recent move to the Big 10 has put Rutgers on the radar of some national recruits, and the Scarlet Knights might be able to take advantage of the coaching carousel as well. One of the main reasons Kyle Flood was promoted to head coach was because of his recruiting prowess, and he's going to have to show it down the stretch.

Let's start with the bad news. Florida linebacker Skai Moore has decomitted from Rutgers, just a month after giving his verbal commitment. His family has apparently taken over his recruitment and they seem to be dead set on sending him to an SEC school. Moore was possibly Rutgers top recruit and losing him hurts a lot. He could have come in and played right away at a position of need for Rutgers. I wouldn't totally shut the door on him coming to the banks, but it is highly doubtful at this point. He canceled the official visit he was scheduled to take later this month.

Rutgers also lost out on Don Bosco defensive end Alquadin Muhammad. Muhammad picked Miami at the Army All American Game on Saturday, and in fact, he didn't even have a Rutgers hat on stage with him when he made his decision (in addition to Miami, he had a Notre Dame and Alabama hat up there). It was long beleived he was headed to Notre Dame, so him going to Miami is a bit of an upset. It seems like he never really considered Rutgers that strongly.

Now for the good news. Doug Marrone has accepted the head coaching position with the Buffalo Bills, and Rutgers now has the opportunity to poach some of Syracuse's recruits. The Orange have a pretty weak class overall, but one guy who has drawn interest from Rutgers is running back Augustus Edwards. Edwards is from Staten Island, NY, and he will visit Piscataway on January 25. He will also take visits to Miami and Florida State at some point. He is just "looking around."

With Moore out of the picture, Rutgers will probably go harder after another Florida linebacker, Jerod Fernandez. Fernandez was a high school teammate of Rutgers commit Taylor Marini, and he will be taking an official visit to Rutgers on January 25. He is currently committed to North Carolina State, but he is looking around after Tom O'Brien was given the boot in Raleigh. Fernandez reportedly said he would decommit if the Wolfpack fired their linebacker coach, Jon Tenuta, and although Tenuta was not fired, he recently left the program to accept the same position at Virginia.

The biggest prize left on the table for the Scarlet Knights is Florida cornerback Mackensie Alexander. Alexander is the 37th best recruit in the nation according to Rivals, and he recently named Rutgers as the co-leader for his services, along with Clemson. It is believed that he is a package deal with his twin brother, Mackenro, who is a safety, because their mother does not want to "have to go from place to place to see them play." They are both likely to make an official visit to Rutgers at some point. Mike Farrell of Rivals dubs Mackensie as "one of the most unpredictable prospects" and says "he may take things beyond signing day."

Other big names still considering the Scarlet Knights are Tampa, Florida tight end Travis Johnson and Immaculata (Somerville, NJ) defensive end Tashawn Bower. Johnson is the number 2 tight end in the country according to ESPN, and he is scheduled to make an official visit to Rutgers on the 25th. In addition to RU, he is considering USF, Cincinnati and Missouri. Bower will make an official visit on a date that has yet to be determined. He says he's still committed to Auburn after Gene Chizik was let go, but he is visiting Florida, Florida State, and LSU as well, and he may wait until after signing day to sign his letter of intent.

Rutgers has a solid recruiting class so far, but with the impending move to the Big 10, it needs to be better. There are a lot of talented players still interested, and Flood and the rest of the coaching staff must close strong down the stretch to get them on board. Signing day is fast approaching, and they must stop the bleeding and get this class up to the standards the last two classes have set.