Let the Flood Gates Open: Anthony Cioffi Commits to Rutgers

Kyle Flood and co. hosted some of the top junior prospects in the state last Sunday, on Junior Day, and they received their first verbal commitment for the class of 2013 in Anthony Cioffi. Coffi stars as a running quarter back and safety at Jonathan Dayton High, a group 1 school in Springfield, NJ.

Measurables- 6'0 175 4.4 (Height, weight 40 yard dash time)

Stars-

Rivals	Scout	ESPN	247
N/A Athlete	N/A Safety	N/A Athlete	2 stars, 78 rating, #19 All Purpose Back, #28 in NJ

I wouldn't be too concerned about his lack of stars, in all likelihood, the scouting services haven't even evaluated him yet, since he's from such a small school and an under the radar prospect. When they finally get around to ranking him, I will guess that he'll be a 3 star recruit.

Offer sheet: Rutgers was the first school to offer Cioffi, and according to the afore-linked Lucci article, he was receiving interest from Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Penn State,  Ohio State and Temple as well. If he goes to their camps this summer he will probably pick up additional offers.

Scouting Report: Cioffi is a running quarterback in a multiple offense, that uses pistol, wishbone, and single wing concepts. He has break away speed and makes defenders look silly with his ability to stop on a dime and make cuts. He doesn't have much of an arm and will end up either as a running back, wide receiver, or defensive back. I wasn't able to find a whole lot of video of him playing defense, but based on his speed, size, and Rutgers' depth at other positions, I think he ends up as a corner back who will contribute on special teams and as a kick returner.

Video:

My Take: Cioffi is an interesting athlete, who is versatile and a possible contributor in all three phases of the game. He is probably a bit under the radar since he's from such a small school, but he is a solid early pick up.

Scarlet Links 2/17/12

There's quite a bit of news coming out of the Hale Center today, here's the latest:

-Tim Pernetti has finalized a home and home series for this season and 2013 with Arkansas. The Knights will play in Fayetteville on September 22nd and the Razorbacks will make the return trip to Piscataway on September 21st next year.

This is obviously great news for the program, as these games against a premiere opponent will likely be televised nationally. Arkansas finished ranked 5th last season after beating Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, with their only two losses coming against the two national finalists, LSU and Alabama. They will likely begin the season ranked in the #10-15 range.

Bruce Feldman wrote about the Hogs in his mail bag today, saying:

 " I like the Hogs chances to be a top 10 team, but I don't like their chances to win the SEC West and compete for a BCS title. Reasons for a top 10 run: Tyler Wilson is back, along with Knile Davis and they do get LSU and Bama at home this year. Reasons why I don't think they can win the SEC: I'm not sold on the defense. It wasn't good enough in 2011 and they're losing most of the best players they had on that D to the NFL. "

Wilson is one of the best quarter backs in the nation, as he passed for 3638 yards (8.31 yards per attempt) with 24 TDs and only 6 interceptionslast season. He would have likely been a first round pick this April, had the rising senior declared for the draft. Davis missed all of last season with a  leg injury he suffered during training camp. In 2010 he ran for 1322 yards (6.5 yards per attempt) with 13 TDs. In addition to the losses on defense, the Hogs also lost three members of their very talented receiving corp to graduation.

If Rutgers is at least competitive in these games, it would do wonders for Rutgers' reputation and brand nationally.

-Defensive Back Jordan Thomas has left the program to run track at Binghampton, according to Jason Baum. Thomas was the Scarlet Knights' leading rusher in 2010, before moving to defensive back last season because he did not fit Frank Cignetti's pro-style offense. He was a big special teams contributor, returning and covering kicks, but he was unable to see the field on offense or defense, as Rutgers was loaded at wide receiver and defensive back.

Speculation is that he's ending his football career because of concussions. He suffered a pretty serious one during spring practice this year. This is a big loss, but it's probably for the best. What a shame, good luck to Jordan.

-Baum also tweeted that Nike will unveil a new Rutgers uniform in May. Hopefully this isn't a drastic change and is just a minor alteration or a new alternate uniform. I'm one of the few people under 30 who is a uniform purist, and this news is very concerning to me. Hopefully the changes are nothing crazy, like what Arizona State and Maryland did.

Bonus: Here's new Rutgers offensive tackle, Maryland transfer RJ Dill modeling one of the Terps' new uniforms last summer.

Coaching Staff Departures

Alex Marvez of Foxsports.com is reporting that Rutgers assistant coaches Frank Cignetti (OC/QB), Bob Fraser (DC), Brian Angelichio (TE) and Jeff Hafley (DB) are all leaving for NFL jobs. The latter three will join their old boss, Greg Schiano, in Tampa, while Cignetti is headed off to St. Louis to become Sam Bradford's position coach.* These departures were expected, but they still sting none-the-less.

Hafley was considered one of the best recruiters in the country, landing a number of top players from the North Jersey Parochial Powerhouses during his time at Pitt and Rutgers. His best work was mending the RU- Don Bosco relationship. He wasn't considered a great defensive backs coach while at Pitt, but he did help Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon earn all Big East honors last season. He obviously is good enough for former NFL DB coach Greg Schiano to hire him twice.

Angelichio was also an ace recruiter, making strong inroads for Rutgers in Eastern Pennsylvania. He was able to haul in two 4 star offensive tackles, Chris Muller and JJ Denamn from that area for the 2012 recruiting class. Unlike Hafley, he does have a good reputation coaching tight ends, turning raw, athletic freaks like Dorin Dickerson and DC Jefferson into solid blockers and pass catchers.

Fraser was not a star recruiter and Schiano ran the defense for the most part, but Fraser did a very good job coaching the Knights' defensive lineman and linebackers during his six seasons on Greg Schiano's staff

Cignetti drastically improved Rutgers' offense in his lone season On the Banks. His pro style offense was a much better fit for the culture at Rutgers after an incompetent Kirk Ciarroca almost ran the program into the ground with his no-huddle spread attack. Under Cignetti, the Knights controlled the clock with an inconsistent rushing attack and gave the defense time to rest. His passing game was solid, despite some quarterback controversy and too many drops from the receiving corps. He was not a super coordinator by any means, but he was solid and got Rutgers' offense back on the right track.

Tim Pernetti and Kyle Flood have some extra money to bring in new assistants, and it's absolutely imperative that they make good hires. They'll not only need two new coordinators and someone to coach DBs, QBs, and TEs, they'll need coaches who are great recruiters with ties to  North Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania as well. A head coach, especially a rookie one, needs to surround himself with a great staff in order to succeed.

*I guess this means that Gary Nova will be a Ram in 3 years.Yes this is a tongue in cheek comment

Rutgers Hires Damian Wroblewski as Offensive Line Coach

Kyle Flood hinted yesterday that he had hired a new offensive line coach and today Football Scoop is reporting that it is former Delaware offensive line coach/run game coordinator Damian Wroblewski. Wroblewski had just joined the coaching staff at Ball State, but he will instead take Flood's old position.

Wroblewski, a Rhode Island native, has very strong ties to the northeast having played at Lafayette and coached at Bryant (RI), Penn, Stony Brook (NY), Hofstra and Delaware. (Interestingly enough, Kyle Flood also coached at the latter two.) According to his bio on Delaware's website, he has done a lot of recruiting in the state of Maryland, which is a key battleground in the northeast recruiting landscape.

Flood spoke very highly of his new hire, saying: "I'm not ready to announce who our offensive line coach is just yet. But I know who I want and he is excellent. I really believe he's the best offensive line coach in the country."

Wroblewski's offenses have consistently been amongst the best in the Atlantic 10, utilizing a zone blocking scheme like Flood has used over the years. He even produced a starting NFL offensive lineman while at Hofstra, Willie Colon of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His past experience and ties to the northeast make him a very good first addition to Flood's staff.

Staff Shake Up Continues

 Greg Schiano was bound to bring some assistants from Rutgers with him to Tampa and it appears that defensive coordinator Bob Fraser and possibly offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti will head down to Florida. Fraser is already scheduled to interview (it's hard to imagine him not getting a job) and Cignetti is the front runner to run the Bucs' offense after former Rutgers offensive coordinator, John McNulty, did not receive permission to interview for the position from his current employer, the Arizona Cardinals. The Buccaneers are still trying to pry McNulty away though. (Interestingly enough, the New York Times reported that McNulty was a candidate to be Schiano's heir apparent at Rutgers.)

Wide receiver coach P.J. Fleck will also reportedly be leaving Rutgers to become the offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Norther Illinois. Fleck did a great job recruiting and developing wide receivers in his brief time On the Banks and he will be missed.

As for replacements, there are a lot of coordinator candidates potentially available who know the area, but I'm not going to pretend that I know who potential offensive line and wide receiver coaches are. Mike Teel could come in as a receivers coach or QB coach, (depending on who they hire as a coordinator) after spending last season as the quarterbacks coach at Kean University. But who knows, Schiano might bring him to Tampa as a practice squad player.

Defensive Coordinator Candidates

 Tom Bradley former DC Penn State
Bradley left Penn State after being passed over for the head coaching position and has supposedly already been named Rutgers' defensive coordinator. He has coached dominant defenses at Penn State since he started running the defense in Happy Valley in 2000, bringing  Joe Paterno's cover 3 defense  into the 21st century. He would also bring the added bonus of strong recruiting ties to western Pennsylvania. You can see more about him here.

Ron Vanderlinden Penn State LB coach
The former Maryland head coach has been Linebacker U's LB coach since 2001. He was also the coordinator for Northwestern's 1995 Rose Bowl team and Colorado's 1990 national championship team.

Larry Johnson Penn State DL coach
Johnson has been at Penn State since 1996 and has produced a number of all American defensive lineman. He was a legendary high school coach in Maryland prior to that, and is the best recruiter in the state of Maryland.

Randy Shannon former Miami Head Coach
He did a solid job as Miami's defensive coordinator before flopping as a head coach. He has reportedly turned down other coordinator offers, so it's a mystery if he's even interested in getting back to coaching.

Scott Shafer Defensive Coordinator Syracuse
Runs a heavy pressure defense, similar to Schiano. On the Banks suggests just buying him from Syracuse.

Dave Wannstadt Assistant Head Coach Buffalo Bills
One of Greg Schiano's mentors, but I don't think he has the right personality for college ball. He does knows defense and knows the Big East after a some what successful tenure at Pitt though.

Offensive Coordinator Candidates

Mark Whipple QB Coach Cleveland Browns
Whipple was a highly successful FCS head coach at UMass, and he has bounced around the last several years with the Steelers, Eagles, Miami (Hurricanes not Dolphins) and now the Browns. He likes to sling the ball deep (sometimes at a fault) and is supposedly kind of difficult to work with.

Ralph Friedgen Former Head Coach Maryland
Fridge was inexplicably fired from Maryland  after a 9-4 2010 campaign. He runs a pro-style offense and was a very successful coordinator at Georgia Tech before he took over at Maryland.

Herb Hand Offensive Line Coach Vanderbilt
Hand is from up state New York and has previously coached in the Big East, serving as Rich Rodriguez's tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. His background is completely in the spread offense and he was Tulsa's co-offensive coordinator with Gus Malzahn in 2007.


Tim Albin Offensive Coordinator Ohio 
Albin was one of Frank Solich's assistants at Nebraska, and he followed him to Ohio, serving as offensive coordinator. Albin's offenses at Ohio have been very good, utilizing the pistol offense, which combines both pro style and spread concepts.

John McNulty Wide Receiver Coach Arizona Cardinals
Hey, why not? He did a great job the first time around, why not try to relive the magic? I'd imagine he's pissed off at the Cardinals any way.

Jeff Zagodzinski Former Head Coach Boston College
Zagodzinski served as an NFL assistant for 8 years before getting his first head coaching gig at Boston College in 2007. In is brief two year stint, he won two ACC Atlantic division titles and groomed Matt Ryan into a top 5 pick. He was fired for interviewing for the Jets head coaching job in 2009 and has bounced around since. He has a good track record as a play caller, running a west coast system.

My preference is that Bradley gets hired to coach the defense and Cignetti ends up staying at Rutgers. If Cignetti leaves...I'd take Jagodzinski.

h/t to @ruscoop for the links

Irrelevant List of Other Candidates I Wrote Up

So it looks like Kyle Flood will be named Rutgers' new head coach today or tomorrow. I wrote up a bunch of other guys as potential candidates, but never finished/published it. So here it is anyway.

Al Golden Head Coach Miami

The Colts Neck, NJ native has a lot of similarities to Greg Schiano. Golden is a great recruiter, a fine defensive mind, and a Joe Paterno disciple. He also lead one of the biggest turn arounds in college football, building Temple, possibly the worst program in the country, into a consistent winner. Golden has a pretty good job right now with the Hurricanes, but would Rutgers be able to lure him back to his home state? Probably not. He already turned down inquiries from his alma mater, Penn State*, but Tim Pernetti should at least make a phone call. Miami isn’t a top tier job any more. They have piss poor facilities, a fickle fan base, and have that whole Nevin Shapiro scandal on their hands.

Golden had no knowledge of the Shapiro scandal before taking over in Corel Gables, and he is certainly in a tough spot. NCAA sanctions might loom in the near future, would he really want to stay through a possible post season ban and loss of scholarships? I could see him taking a job that’s a step up and I don’t think Rutgers is one of those jobs. At best it’s a lateral move and at worst it’s a major step down, mostly because of the current state of the Big East.

  *Do yourself a favor and watch the linked video

K.C. Keeler Head Coach Delaware

Keeler has been a small school head coach in the north east for 19 years now, leading both Rowan (A Division 3 school in South Jersey) and Delaware to multiple playoff appearances. He has an overall head coaching record of 167-69-1, has won 7 conference championships and 1 national championship.

At Delaware Keeler’s teams ran a no huddle spread offense, and I’m not sure if he would bring that to Rutgers. That offense didn’t work too well at Rutgers with former Blue Hen offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarroca, but who knows if it was the offense or just Ciarocca’s ineptitude. I really have no idea how hands on Keeler is with his offense and/or defense, but he was a linebacker in his playing days and an offensive assistant as a coach. It’s always nice having a head coach who knows what he’s doing on both sides of the ball. He has a good track record as a head coach and ties to the north east. He is a rock solid candidate.

Darren Rizzi Special Teams Coordinator Miami Dolphins

I didn’t know who Rizzi was before Thursday, but I saw Bruce Feldman and Aditi Kinkhabwala mention him a possibility on Twitter. Rizzi served as Greg Schiano Special Teams coordinator from 2002-2007, He also held various other roles on the staff, before becoming the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. Rizzi had a disastrous tenure there, finishing 3-9 in his only season. He has spent the last 3 years coaching special teams for the Dolphins. His other previous head coaching experience was at New Haven from 1999-2001, where he went 15-14.

His head coaching track record isn’t great, but he has been a solid assistant, knows the culture of Rutgers football, and knows the north east.

Tom Bradley Former Defensive Coordinator/Interim Head Coach Penn State

Bradley was long believed to be the successor to Joe Paterno at Penn State, but once the Jerry Sundusky allegations rocked the program and university to its core, Penn State decided to bring in an outsider to run the program. Bradley was a Penn State lifer, playing under and coaching with Joe Paterno from 1977-2011. It is believed that he turned down head coaching opportunities on the past to stay at Penn State (Including UConn, Pitt and Temple last year), in hopes of one day succeeding Paterno.

Bradley is as responsible as any one for turning Penn State into Linebacker U, recruiting and coaching the likes of Shane Conlin, LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny, Dan Coner, and Sean Lee. He has as much clout as any recruiter in Western Pennsylvania, but he has not really recruited eastern PA or New Jersey. It is very possible that he would keep Cignetti, Haftely and Angilico on staff, due to their ties in the area. “Scrap” has all of 4 games of head coaching experience, but he is a great defensive mind who learned under the best coach of all time, and is well respected by basically everyone.

Tim Murphy Head Coach Harvard

119-59 at Harvard, winning 6 Ivy League titles

 Joe Susan Head Coach Bucknell

Rutgers' tight ends coach from 2001-2009. 17-15 as a head coach.

Frank Cignetti Offensive Coordinator Rutgers

Pretty good coordinator ready for a head coaching job.

Greg Roman Offensive Coordinator San Fransisco 49ers

South Jersey native, was at Stanford under Harbaugh.

Non Serious Candidates

Greg Toal Head Coach Don Bosco
Too big of a jump. See: Faust, Gerry.

Jim Tressel Former Head Coach Ohio State
He would still be under NCAA sanctions. His best bet is in the NFL.

Charlie Weis Head Coach Kansas
Just took the job at Kansas, but Rutger is his "Dream Job"™, since he is a Jersey native and coached at the HS level in NJ.

Jon Gruden Former Head Coach Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It’s obligatory that he is mentioned in every head coachingsearch.

FWIW, my initial wish list went like this: Golden, Cristobal, Addazio, Franklin, Bradley, Keeler, Murphy, Flood, Cignetti, Diaco, Roman, Flarhety, Rizzi, Susan, Weis, Toal, Gruden, Tressel.

Cristobal Backs Out of Deal At Last Minute.

Six Hours ago, it appeared that Tim Pernetti's four day coaching search was about to end as well as it possibly could have, with Florida International coach Mario Cristobal coming to New Jersey. The story was first reported by Keith Sargeant and confirmed by Tom Lucci, but the deal fell apart during negotiations, and it appears that Kyle Flood will succeed Greg Schiano.

Reasons why Cristobal turned down this job are hopefully a matter of outside circumstances, and not a reflection of his thought's on the state of Rutgers' football program. Did Pernetti force him to retain assistant coaches? Did his wife want to stay in Florida? Does he think he could get a better job if he waits another year? Could he, like Greg Schiano, not take another college job because he couldn't abandon his players and leave home? Who knows.

Cristobal's reputation will almost certainly sour amongst Athletic Directors around the nation after backing out of consideration for this job and the Pitt job as well. If he wants to stay in Florida, it looks like he'll be at FIU for a while. Jimbo Fisher has Florida State headed for a bright future, Al Golden just received a contract extension through 2020, and Will Muschamp will probably get  at least 3 or 4 more years at Florida. Would he even be interested in South Florida if Skip Holtz is run out of town? With USF likely stuck in the watered down Big East it doesn't seem likely.

I'm absolutely baffled that he backed out of the deal. I was so excited to have him aboard, he seemed like a great fit. You can say he is a Schiano clone. This day has some ho managed to be more shocking and bizarre than Thursday. But Rutgers should be alright under Kyle Flood.