Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has plenty of connections to Berkeley Prep. After all, his son played at the private school . And Schiano spent two years volunteering with the football program following his departure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Those ties have paid off in recruiting. Two years ago, Schiano, then an assistant head coach at Ohio State, was instrumental in getting five-star Berkeley Prep offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere to commit to the Buckeyes. When Schiano began his second stint taking over the Scarlet Knights this offseason, he landed another former Berkeley Prep standout in Mayan Ahanotu, who transferred from Minnesota.
Now, add Austin Dean to the list.
The Berkeley Prep linebacker/defensive end Austin Dean announced on Twitter that he has committed to Rutgers. Dean picked the Scarlet Knights over offers from Florida Atlantic, Harvard and Yale.
The decision was made in large part because of “the culture that coach Schiano’s building.” Dean, a rising senior, recorded 40 tackles and six sacks last year. He also was stellar on special teams with three blocked punts and a blocked field goal. His commitment to the Scarlet Knights’ is the second from an area player within the week. Tampa Bay Tech defensive lineman Henry Hughes decided on Rutgers this past weekend.
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“I didn’t get to talk to (Hughes) before the decision, but we’ve texted since my announcement,” Dean said.
This marks just the second time in the past 20 years the Scarlet Knights have had multiple area players commit in the same recruiting class.
