WITH JALEN BERGER’S COLLEGE ANNOUNCEMENT JUST 1 DAY AWAY, WHICH SCHOOL WILL N.J.'S TOP FB RECRUIT PICK? RUTGERS, WISCONSIN OR UCLA?

Don Bosco (Ramsey, N.J.) running back Jalen Berger’s college announcement is just one day away as he’s scheduled to name the school he’ll play the next four-to-five years for on Saturday during NBC’s broadcast of the All-American Game. Berger is N.J.'s No. 1 football recruit as he’s accumulated over 30 offers throughout his high school career. But with one day left to decide, which schools stand out most to the 6-foot, 200-pound senior running back/wide receiver hybrid? Berger recently told 247Sports.com director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong that he was down to two schools: Wisconsin and UCLA -- the two schools he’s taken official visits to. However, Berger’s father confirmed with NJ.com Thursday that Rutgers is still heavily in the mix due to the life Greg Schiano has instantly injected into a program that provides access that no other school can -- a 30-minute ride from Newark. Let’s break down these three schools to predict where Berger will land. Wisconsin: The Badgers don’t have a running back committed to its 2020 class and has apparently held the spot for Berger. Hence, if Berger were to sign today, I believe it would be with the Wisconsin Badgers. No other team in the country has as good of a current example of what it can do with N.J. running backs as Salem native Jonathan Taylor’s numbers stack up favorably against any college back who’s ever played the game. The Heisman Trophy finalist, two-time consensus All-American, and two-time Doak Walker Award winner is just the second player in NCAA history to produce back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons (joining Iowa State RB Troy Davis, ’94-'97) and Berger got to interact with him while on his official visit to Madison the weekend of Nov. 9 while Rutgers was still in search of its next head coach. Former Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne -- college football’s all-time leading rusher with 7,125 yards -- also played in Madison before being drafted with the 11th pick in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. The Pine Hill (N.J.) native played at Overbrook high school, where he starred on the gridiron as a 270-pound running back and on the track and field where he won the Meet of Champions in both the shot put and discus. Rutgers: There’s a chance Berger won’t announce Saturday and will hold off in favor of taking a couple more official visits before traditional signing day. That strategy would likely help Rutgers the most as Berger hasn’t visited the school since the Rutgers 7-on-7 last summer. And it’s tough to see a recruit picking a school he hasn’t taken an official visit to. He’s received in-school and in-home visits from Schiano and Fran Brown but Saturday games at Don Bosco and the long, drawn-out coaching change from Chris Ash to Schiano, impacted his ability to get on-campus around Rutgers’ new staff which is still under construction. Schiano, Nunzio Campanile, and Brown have all played key roles in his recruitment though he’s begun to gravitate mostly to Brown who he can relate most closely with. Although Berger isn’t one to talk much with recruiters, his parents have been highly-responsive with Rutgers in general. But the one thing Rutgers can offer that no other school can is the ability for his family to watch him play each week. So, even if he does announce to another school Saturday, I’d expect Rutgers to utilize its access to recruit him until he puts pen to paper and signs his national letter of intent. That could occur as soon as traditional signing day arrives on Feb. 5, though the period spans until April 1, buying him even more time if he should need it. UCLA: UCLA is a beautiful school on a beautiful campus, but it’s on the complete opposite side of the country and could be a culture shock for a kid from Northern New Jersey. Also, Chip Kelly doesn’t seem like the best personality fit for Berger, and you can’t disregard the vast amount of elite skill talent that comes out of California each year. However, Berger has officially visited the school and recently named it one of his top two finalists, so its gravitational pull is greater than the fit seems on paper. Also, Berger is used to being away from home for large periods of time as he spends four-to-five weeks at a football camp in Vermont each year. The program also got the chance to leave the most lasting impression as Berger officially visited the weekend of Dec. 13. Others: LSU and Penn State are the two other teams in his recently-announced top 5 as the Tigers were Berger’s favorite college team growing up while Penn State is known for poaching top players from New Jersey that the school recruits hard. Plus, Berger has unofficially visited the school numerous times. If either of the two schools pushes for an official visit and lands one, they can become formidable down the stretch. And I’d expect even more programs to roll into Don Bosco in January looking for a missing piece after taking a full inventory of their rosters following the early signing period. Berger’s announcement is scheduled to take place during NBC’s broadcast of the All-American Game held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. ET.

WITH JALEN BERGER’S COLLEGE ANNOUNCEMENT JUST 1 DAY AWAY, WHICH SCHOOL WILL N.J.'S TOP FB RECRUIT PICK? RUTGERS, WISCONSIN OR UCLA?

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