In an exclusive interview, former Rutgers coach Chris Ash reflected on the job he did helping set the foundation for a team now playing in the Gator Bowl.
But he appreciates the irony that the Rutgers football program he tried to rebuild is now playing a marquee postseason game in his backyard.
“Chris did two things incredibly well: He recruited good, high-character, hard-working kids and he cared deeply about getting an education,” Hobbs told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday as the Scarlet Knights prepared to face Wake Forest in Friday’s Gator Bowl. “He and I would have regular conversations about that, and he was demanding about classroom performance. So Chris Ash absolutely deserves credit for this.
Not only did Rutgers finish 4-8 in 2015, more than two dozen of Kyle Flood’s players that year either were dismissed for legal issues or they transferred on their own. Recruiting momentum was slowed by the looming NCAA violations that would result in a two-year probation and some modest recruiting restrictions a year into Ash’s tenure.
“Going through the protocol of the NCAA, running through the list of teams that were 5-7 and had the highest APR rankings, it was a process that certainly the NCAA facilitated for us,’’ Gator Bowl president Greg McGarity said. “We had a lot of teams reach out to us. We did not have the right to invite anyone because the NCAA was going to determine that. But once Rutgers, which was at the top of the list, said they were interested, we were able to huddle and here we are with Rutgers.
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