Kyle Flood has been officially been named the head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program, and between Monday and 8 p.m. Tuesday night the former Rutgers offensive line coach has one job: make sure 5-star defensive end Darius Hamilton commits to Rutgers over Florida and Miami.
Hamilton (6-foot-4, 245-pound) is blue-chipper from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ and will announce his decision Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on MSG Varsity Network. It will also be streamed live on msgvarsity.com/quick60. Hamilton is the No. 11-overall ranked recruit by Rivals and is the third-highest rated defensive end, trailing Noah Spence (Harrisburg, PA) and Johnathan Gray (Aledo, TX). Hamilton, who's the son of former Pittsburgh Panthers All-American and New York Giants player Keith Hamilton, is predicted to chose Rutgers by SB Nation's Bud Elliot.
However, there's some concern that Rutgers will lose Hamilton because of the recent drama surrounding its head coaching position. Though, there's hope that its new head coach, Kyle Flood, who was an assistant/offensive line coach last season and an important recruiter in what could possible be the Scarlet Knights best recruiting class ever, could save National Signing Day 2012.
"I think in all-honesty he’s probably going to be the best damage control that could be done," said St. Peter's Prep coach Rich Hansen to The Star-Ledger's Monday. "At this point, that’s saying a lot because there’s been a lot of damage on a lot of fronts."
Already Rutgers is seeing recruiting results from the hire of Flood, as 4-star offensive tackles J.J. Denman (Fairless Hills, PA) and Chris Muller (Boyertown, PA) each confirmed their commitments after the official hiring of the new Rutgers headman.
And even some of the local media agree that the hiring of Flood really helps the chances of the Scarlet Knights landing Hamilton.
If Flood and the Scarlet Knights can land Hamilton it would more than likely vault its recruiting class of 2012 into Rival's top 30, possibly top 25 -- Rutgers is currently ranked No. 34. Can it happen? We will all find out Tuesday night.
For more updates on Darius Hamilton and Rutgers' 2012 Recruiting Class, check back to this StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's blog On The Banks has everything on the Scarlet Knights.