Rutgers reaches out of state again

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Greg Schiano has done it again. More than a month after landing quarterback Tom Savage from Eastern Pennsylvania away from power programs like Penn State, Georgia, Miami, Florida State and others, the Rutgers head coach has pulled another top prospect away from some big-time programs. And this time he did it in North Carolina.

Durham (N.C.) Hillside running back Desmond Scott chose Rutgers over offers from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, West Virginia and Tennessee on Wednesday at a 12:30 P.M. press conference at his high school. Hillside head coach Ray Harrison spoke to Rivals.com before his star player's commitment about why he chose the Scarlet Knights.

"It came down to a lot of things," said Harrison. "I think he felt he was getting the best of both worlds at Rutgers. He really liked the coaches, the facilities, the academics and the proximity to the city, it's close to New York city and has that city feel.

"He wants to major in Education and he likes the program at Rutgers and his dad really felt comfortable with the school as well. It came down to West Virginia and Rutgers which were the last two schools he visited and he liked both of them a lot. But I think he liked the fact that Ray Rice was a smaller back at Rutgers who had success and was the workhorse. Desmond is strong enough to be an every-down back and that was important to him as well, to get a chance to play."

Scott is ranked as the No. 2 all-purpose back in the country and is currently ranked at No. 104 in the Rivals250.

During his sophomore season at Southern Durham High School, Scott rushed for 1,265 yards and 15 touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 252 yards and a pair of scores. He transferred to Hillside for his junior year and rushed 140 times for 905 yards and 11 scores. He added 38 catches for 625 yards and three touchdowns.

Scott has a 3.7 GPA and will be a full qualifier.

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