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Rutgers’ top recruit decommits
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The climb just got a little steeper for Chris Ash.
After officially locking down his first recruit, the newly hired Rutgers coach got some unfortunate news on Tuesday morning. His top recruit, three-star safety Patrice Rene, announced his decommitment from the program via Twitter.
— Patrice Rene ⁶𓅓 (@PatriceRene_) January 19, 2016
The Alexandria, Virginia native had actually been recruited by Ash when he was an assistant at Ohio State. Rene committed to Rutgers before the start of the season in August, but several players have since been kicked off the team for off-the-field issues, and Kyle Flood was fired at season’s end.
The news came after Rene took an official visit to North Carolina over the weekend. He also visited the likes of Boston College and Wisconsin in the fall.
The Badgers are still looking to name a new defensive coordinator after the departure of Dave Aranda to LSU.
Ash no longer has a safety signed among his 12 2016 commits. With National Signing Day just over two weeks away, he and his new coaching staff will look to rebound from the loss of Rene.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.