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Nadir Barnwell, an early enrollee at Rutgers from Piscataway, is considered by recruiting experts the standout in a strong Rutgers recruiting class.

(Photo by Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)

The standard football recruiting stops for Rutgers are all represented again this year. New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Delaware, Maryland. But look a little closer and you’ll see the first signs of a potential shift.

Lester Liston, a linebacker from Michigan, is expected to make his commitment to the Scarlet Knights official Wednesday, national letter of intent signing day.

As recently as Saturday night, Ade Aruna, a defensive end from Indiana, took an official visit to Rutgers.

Those are Big Ten mailing addresses — which is what Rutgers’ will be a year from now.

Yet as much as the recruiting experts believe that coach Kyle Flood and his staff will have no choice but to eventually branch out in recruiting once the conference change occurs, Flood isn’t sure it will be a seismic shift in philosophy.

"I still think our recruiting footprint is the right one, what we do now," he said. "What I think will happen, and maybe it’s the case a little bit already, is that kids outside of our recruiting footprint may be showing an interest in us because of the Big Ten. If they show a strong interest in us, we certainly will show a strong interest in them.

"Certain positions — quarterback, kicker, punter, the specialty positions — you always are searching nationally for. But I think for the most part our footprint will remain the same."

Unlike a year ago, when he was named head coach and had 48 hours to hold together the best recruiting class in school history — which he did — Flood’s challenge was different this year.

He was recruiting for both the present (the Big East) and the future (the Big Ten).

"From what I could see, it was business as usual for them," said national recruiting guru Tom Lemming of Max Preps and CBS Sports. "They stayed in the areas they’ve always done well in. But in the future, they’re going to be able to go into Ohio, come to Chicago, go to places they haven’t been to before because they’re in the Big Ten."

Depending on the measuring stick, Flood’s first full recruiting class — as of now 22 players are expected to sign letters of intent with Rutgers — is either very good or just average.

By Big East standards this is a top-notch recruiting class — the league’s best, according to the experts, if you don’t count ACC-bound Pittsburgh.

But when stacked against Big Ten schools, it’s a mid-pack collection of talent.

Scout.com ranks the class 30th nationally, No. 1 in the Big East (Pittsburgh, ranked higher nationally, is viewed an ACC football school now) and would rate it No. 4 in the Big Ten.

Rivals.com has it 41st nationally, No. 1 in the Big East and No. 6 in the Big Ten.

Lemming has it tops in the Big East "and in the 30s nationally and somewhere between fifth and seventh in the Big Ten." The rankings are subject to change until after signing day.

"I don’t know if the move to the Big Ten has had a major impact on kids and what they’re thinking just yet," said Rich Hansen, the coach at traditional state power Saint Peter’s Prep of Jersey City. "I think it’s a positive overall. But right now, maybe because it hasn’t happened, I don’t sense an extraordinary amount of buzz. I’m sure that will change when Rutgers is in the Big Ten."

Unlike a year ago, when five-star defensive tackle recruit Darius Hamilton was the headliner (he was the only player from that class to play on either offense or defense as a true freshman last year), the current class lacks a name that grabs immediate attention.

There are a couple of four-star recruits in cornerback Nadir Barnwell of Piscataway (he has already enrolled) and offensive lineman Dorian Miller of Metuchen. And Lemming says that 6-4, 195-pound wide receiver Andre Patton "is far and away the best player in Delaware."

But the class appears to be composed mostly of good, solid talent.

"Overall, I like the balance they’re bringing in," said Scott Kennedy, the national director of scouting for Scout.com. "They got a quarterback, a couple of receivers and corners and it’s strong across the defensive line."

"This class is made up mostly of three-star kids, which are usually good, solid program players," said Mike Farrell, the national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "Nadir Barnwell is obviously the headliner. I think he’s the most athletic player in the class. After that, there are bunch of guys with three-star ratings that I think will be impact players for Rutgers."

Farrell said he saw an extension of the Greg Schiano approach when it came to this recruiting class and Flood’s first full go at it as a head coach, saying "there wasn’t a sudden geographical shift."

But he’s also of the opinion that Rutgers will need to broaden its recruiting reach as a member of the Big Ten.

"I think they’ll have to start hitting a little bit more of the Midwest, maybe branch out into western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois," he said. "They’re going to be selling games against Big Ten opponents. They can go into some new states and tell players they’re going to be playing Michigan and Ohio State and maybe they can get a good player or two because of it. They can stick with the formula that has worked for them but I think they also have to throw their hat in the ring more in the Midwest."

Kennedy called this class "a very good follow-up to last year (the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history)," and said that finishing anywhere between fourth and sixth in the Big Ten is more than a respectable showing for Rutgers.

"You finish fourth or fifth in recruiting in the Big Ten and you’re playing on New Year’s Day against an SEC team (in a bowl game)," he said.

The players expected to sign national letters of intent with Rutgers on Wednesday:

PLAYER POS. HT. WT. HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL

Nick Arcidiacono, TE

6-5, 230

Holland, Pa./Archbishop Wood

*Dontea Ayres, RB

5-9, 205

Salisbury, Md./Wicomico

*Nadir Barnwell, CB

5-11, 190

Piscataway/Piscataway

Devan Carter, RB

6-2, 230

Rochester, N.Y./Brighton

Anthony Cioffi, DB

6-0, 180

Springfield/Jonathan Dayton

Justin Goodwin, RB

6-0, 180

Summit/Madison

Janarion Grant, WR

5-11, 170

Trilby, Fla./Pasco

Bryant Gross-Armiento, DB

6-1, 190

Sunrise, Fla./American Heritage

Nick Internicola, LB

6-3, 230

Pembroke Pines, Fla./University

Sebastian Joseph, DE

6-4, 270

Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg

Josh Klecko, DT

6-2, 260

Colts Neck/Red Bank Catholic

*Chris Laviano, QB

6-3, 200

Glen Head, N.Y./Holy Trinity

*Lester Liston, LB

6-2, 235

Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc (Hargrave Military Aacdemy)

Taylor Marini, TE

6-4, 225

Oviedo, Fla./Lake Mary Prep

Dorian Miller, OL

6-3, 295

Metuchen/Metuchen

Myles Nash, LB

6-5, 205

Sicklerville/Timber Creek

Andre Patton, WR

6-4,195

Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth

*Delon Stephenson, CB

5-11, 190

Sayreville/Sayreville (Milford Academy)

T.J. Taylor, DB

6-3, 190

Kendall Park/South Brunswick

John Tsimis, WR

6-0, 175

Harrington Park/Bergen Catholic

Kemoko Turay, DE

6-6, 220

Newark/Barringer

Eric Wiafe, DE

6-5, 250

Egg Harbor Twp./Egg Harbor Twp.

*Mid-year enrollee

Tom Luicci: tluicci@starledger.com; twitter.com/tomluicci