[GoRU]

Courier News Online - Two QBs commit to Rutgers

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano picked up commitments from two high school quarterbacks late Friday evening, with Winter Haven, Fla., product D.C. Jefferson and Ewing native Steve Shimko becoming the eighth and ninth players to pledge to the 2008 signing class.

Jefferson is regarded by scouting services as the more polished of the two, turning down scholarship offers from Boston College and LSU, among others. While Shimko had yet to receive an offer, John Otterstedt, a recruiting analyst for rivals.com, considers the strong-armed quarterback one of the hidden gems in New Jersey's rising senior crop.

"I've long said he's the kid with the highest upside of any of the unranked kids," Otterstedt said of the 6-foot-6, 200-pound Shimko. "He's probably one of the hardest-throwing quarterbacks in the country, but the thing that might've scared some college off right now is his accuracy."

Of Jefferson, Otterstedt said, "He's the national-level quarterback that Rutgers hasn't attracted yet. He has five or six offers right now, but if he was qualified (academically), he'd probably be one of the top quarterback prospects in the country."

And the fact that both stand 6-6 isn't a coincidence, according to Otterstedt. "I just think they're the perfect complement to the 6-8 monster linemen they've already recruited. You're not going to see 6-2 quarterbacks anymore."