Back in February, Rutgers and head football coach Chris Ash offered Tottenville (NY) athlete Tim Barrow his first scholarship. Since then, he has added offers from Buffalo, Boston College, Monmouth and UMass and has seen his recruitment pick up.

However, Barrow, who is being recruited by Rutgers as an athlete, formally committed to Rutgers on Thursday after naming the Scarlet Knights his leader a few months ago.

The talented athlete caught up with 247Sports following his commitment.

"I choose Rutgers because it is close to me and I love the atmosphere there," Barrow told Rutgers247. "I love the coaching staff and I love what Coach Ash is doing to the program and how he is bringing the Ohio State culture to Rutgers."

However, what ultimately made Barrow choose Rutgers was the family atmosphere and how welcoming the staff made him feel.

"The staff made me feel like Rutgers was home and they basically made it like a second family for me," Barrow said. "They did a great job recruiting me and I have a great relationship with Coach Busch."

Barrow continued his effusive praise of defensive backs coach Bill Busch.

"Coach Busch was great during my recruitment," Barrow said. "Him and the coaching staff never rushed me and they told me to enjoy the process but at the same time, Coach Busch and the staff let me know how much they want me at Rutgers."

Another factor that played into his decision was the academic side of things and how Rutgers can help prepare him for life after football.

"They have my major (business) and the academics at Rutgers are really great," he said. "The coaching staff told me they can help me prepare for life after football which was big for me as well."

Barrow made his commitment now so he can devote his full attention to his senior season.

"I told my teammates I wouldn't let this be a distraction and Rutgers felt like home so I wanted to commit now," he said. "It'll now take some stress off of me and I'll be able to commit myself to helping my teammates accomplish our goals next year."

Barrow is the ninth commitment in the class of 2017 for Rutgers and the first out-of-state commit for Ash and his staff. While he will continue to let schools recruit him out of respect to those programs, Barrow emphasized that he will not take any visits to other programs.

With the commitment of Barrow the Rutgers class of 2017 now ranks No. 29 on 247Sports Class Rankings.