Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Biggest of Fishes

During his tenure at Rutgers, Greg Schiano has done a lot of great things including turning the Scarlet Knights into a bowl team every year. But with the success their has been some disappointment one of the most glaring was that he failed to get the top kids in the state of New Jersey to stay at home. But on Friday that all changed when St. Peters Prep running back Savon Huggins committed to be part of Schiano's program.

This is the first time that Schiano or any other Rutgers coach has gotten the top ranked player in the state, the closet anyone has gotten was when Anthony Davis committed to the Knights. This year Schiano has managed to get with Huggins and recieved Miles Shuler two of the top three players in the state. Which is no small feet. That number might increase to three of the top four if DL Marquise Wright picks the Knights on National Signing Day.

Huggins feels that he is going to have an impact right away: “Marcus Lattimore (of South Carolina) did it. Reggie Bush did it at USC. If you stay home and bring the program to different heights, it will be better than if you do it out of state. Yes, it would be nice (out of state). But if you do it in your own state, it has a lot more meaning, ” Huggins told NJ.com

Last year the Knights running game was almost useless but with Huggins on board that could all change. Take a look at what Marcus Lattimore did at South Carolina. Lattimore was a must get for Steve Spurrier, alot of people thought that his job depended on it. Just like Huggins was for Schiano. During his first season at USC, Lattimore, you could make the argument that he was most important running in SEC, lead the Cocks to the SEC Title game.

While I'm not saying that he is going to have the same impact as Lattimore, Huggins is going to make a huge impact both on the field and off the field. Huggins committing to the Knights shows that you can be the top player in the state and stay home. Maybe Huggins commitment will be felt for a long time as more and more top players choose the Knights.

No comments: