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By
Todderick Hunt | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The Star-Ledger
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on March 03, 2016 at 11:45 AM, updated March 03, 2016 at 12:27 PM
Standing 6-6 and 310 pounds,
Passaic Tech (Wayne, N.J.) offensive tackle
Carter Warren has slowly but surely become one of N.J.'s top recruits as he's grown, gained experience and developed over the past two seasons of play.
His junior year culminated in a North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5 title,
a first-team all-state bid, as well as a plethora of offers, forging him into a top regional recruit. And the new
Rutgers staff has certainly taken notice.
"Everyday, man. Everyday a coach from Rutgers tells me things about the school. They are talking to me right now on Twitter — coach
(A.J.) Blazek," said Warren, Wednesday evening. "He just sent me the top 10 facts why I should go to Rutgers."
Head coach
Chris Ash has also paid Warren special attention.
"I love the new staff. Chris Ash is my guy right there," said Warren. "I talked to him on Sunday. I was texting him. Great coach. He was talking about getting me back down there for the spring game and catching up."
Warren attended Rutgers junior day on Feb. 13 and came away impressed by the ambition of the new Rutgers staff, and their plans.
"I went up there to junior day, too. It was good," he said. "I liked how it was a presentation about academics. And then they were telling us about life after football. They are trying to put a program together, like say you don't make it to the NFL, you'll have a job right after football and be able to start your career, which was amazing."
However, 13 programs besides Rutgers have also offered the mammoth offensive tackle, including Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Pitt, Michigan State, UNC, South Carolina, Syracuse and others.
And Warren visited Penn State Saturday and Pitt Sunday as he settles into taking off-season visits.
"Those places were beautiful," he said. "It's gonna be a hard decision."
Warren plans to also visit North Carolina, Maryland and Syracuse, although the dates have yet to be determined. And he has yet to decide whether he'll stay home or attend school out of state.
"I had a talk with my mother the other day, talking about going somewhere far. She said, 'You wanna leave your mama, man?' So I don't know, now. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be a real hard decision."
But he does have in mind a date to make his collegiate intentions public.
"Right now, I'm thinking about my birthday — January 19th," he said.
In the end, Warren's decision will be determined by which school emanates the strongest family atmosphere.
Todderick Hunt and Keith Sargeant analyze the 2016 Rutgers football recruiting classNJ.com Rutgers reporters Todderick Hunt and Keith Sargeant analyze the 2016 Rutgers football recruiting class.
"I'm still looking for the family home, that's it," said Warren, who plans to major in computer graphic design, but also has hopes to become a music producer. "That's what my decision will be based off. (I grew up) in the house with both of my parents, man. That's the life right there."
Rutgers, Penn State and Syracuse are teams currently recruiting Warren, that are also recruiting his teammates
Jermaine Wilder and
Rhazeer Jones — something he admits could also play a factor in his decision.
But overall, Warren says Rutgers, Pitt, Penn State, North Carolina, Syracuse, Maryland and South Carolina are the schools recruiting him hardest. And after a slow academic start, Warren is putting himself in place to take advantage of such opportunities.
"(I've been on the) honor roll back-to-back marking periods," he said. "Coming off a rough freshman year, I've been doing my thing with the books. And I'm gonna keep going at it. I'm studying hard for this SAT. I haven't taken it yet, but I'm working towards it."
Warren credits lacrosse, which he plays during the football off-season, for his increased agility, which has morphed him into a top prospect.
"It got me faster, I would say. Definitely, I would recommend it to a lot of people. I try to get some football players but they aren't trying to hear it — swinging sticks around. They are trying to disrespect my second sport," he said jokingly.
Meanwhile, he's also honed his skills at
Pro Edge, one of the top off-season lineman training programs in North Jersey. And he's looking forward to proving himself throughout camp season — at Rivals and The Opening N.J. Regional, specifically.