By Bob Badders - Senior Writer
Growing up watching the best college football teams in America take the field every Saturday, Wall senior Tim Wright scanned the landscape and dreamed of a college he would love to suit up for one day. Rutgers was not on that list.
"When I was younger everybody watched the big teams, but as they got older and more mature they started to look at more," Wright said. "They looked at the system, the brotherhood that's being built, the academics. Rutgers has all that now."
Not to mention a nationally-ranked football program.
When team New Jersey takes the field today at Rutgers Stadium for the New York-New Jersey All-Star Classic, it will sport six of New Jersey's top seniors that will be playing for the Scarlet Knights this coming fall. It's a stark contrast to just a few years ago when not many top players were going to Rutgers, and few from New Jersey were continuing their football career in their home state. Success cures all ills, however, and since Rutgers began winning consistently and climbing up the Top-25 poll, the pipeline of players has flown much easier to Piscataway.
"I figured, 'What can't I get in my own state that I can get anywhere else?' It's a program on the rise with a great coaching staff and a great education," said Winslow Township senior Brandon Jones. "And it's only an hour away from home. How can I go wrong?"
The Rutgers recruits have used this week's preparation for the New York-New Jersey All-Star Classic as a chance to bond and build relationships they hope will hold strong for the next four seasons. Four seasons they plan on filling with BCS bowl appearances, Big East titles and even a national championship.
"It's a great bonding experience," Jones said. "It's good because when we come into camp we can hit the ground running instead of taking baby steps. We can go hard right away."
"The past few days we've really built great relationships," said Teaneck's Rashad White. "We've been letting loose, hitting hard and getting to know each other."
They're not trying to act like a clique, but everywhere they go, whether it be lunch, a team activity or even in practice, the Rutgers recruits can be seen together, moving as one.
"All of us are getting along pretty well," Wright said. "We're trying to work out the chemistry and get along for the next four years. I like the bonding that's going on. We hang out every night laughing and joking around. We're just having fun."
The biggest draw of going to Rutgers for these exceptional athletes, though, has been the chance to stay home. Playing in front of friends and family every Saturday for what has become one of the more exciting programs in the country was something that was impossible to pass up.
"That's the best feeling," White said. "Knowing that you're 45 minutes to an hour away from home and you can build a great relationship with all your teammates, getting to know what towns they are from and staying close to teammates you'll have for the next four years."
"I'm a Jersey boy and I'm always going to be a Jersey boy," Jones said. "So why not play at a Jersey college? I can't wait. I'm so excited."
Even though plenty of their focus was on forming strong bonds with their future teammates, the Rutgers recruirts weren't losing sight of the immediate task at hand: beating New York.
"We're going to bring it regardless," White said. "So New York better be ready."
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