Darius Hamilton was surrounded by Rutgers football coaches in the Don Bosco High School gymnasium as they waited for the head honcho to arrive.

In hindsight, that was the first warning sign. The punctual Greg Schiano was never late unless he was cancelling.

The plan for Schiano and staff to visit Hamilton's home and woo a five-star recruit fell apart when stunning news broke that Schiano was leaving Rutgers to become head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We all found out the same way," Hamilton said.

***

Chris Muller was in his fourth-period telecommnications class at his Pennsylvania high school when a UConn assistant coach called him.

Shock went through the four-star recruit's system.

"He just told me the news and I didn't believe him," Muller said. "I went on the computer and started researching. I called (Rutgers assistant) Brian Angelicho. I got confirmation from him and they knew just as little as us. It was kind of like, everybody figure it out for themselves."

***

Derrick Nelson was at school lunch when a UConn assistant coach who was at his Washington, D.C. high school to visit a committed teammate waved him over.

"He was like, 'You know your coach left, right?'" Nelson recalled. "I was like, 'Really? Nah, you're joking.' Then I had to look it up on the Internet on my phone - and lo and behold that happened."

***

Julian Pinnix-Odrick liked to hang out with the physical education teachers, including Montclair High School football coach John Fiore, during his free periods as a senior.

Schiano had just walked those same hallways two days earlier to check on Pinnix-Odrick, so, like many others in his shoes, Pinnix-Odrick thought it was a bad joke when he first heard.

"Then I see my head coach stressing about it on the computer, and he's like, 'No, no, they're actually serious,'" Pinnix-Odrick said.

"I was in my school and then I was meeting with coaches until 12 o'clock the next morning. Coaches found out -- and then recruiting started again."

***

The date was Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012.

Schiano's 11-year tenure rebuilding Rutgers ended in a flash and his best recruiting class was in danger of crumbling six days before Signing Day as vultures swarmed and bonds were tested.

"I was talking to Leonte (Carroo) and he was in Super Meltdown Mode because he hadn't taken any (other) visits," said Hamilton, who was deciding between Rutgers and Florida.

"The way the class rallied together was really something special. Once that happened, I knew where I was supposed to be."

Hamilton, Nelson, Muller and Pinnix-Odrick signed with Rutgers and now are the four redshirt senior co-captains who will lead the Scarlet Knights into No. 2 Ohio State at noon Saturday.

For the first time since then, Schiano, who was fired after two seasons in Tampa Bay, will be on the opposing sideline as Ohio State's defensive coordinator.

"You can't be mad," Muller said. "Coach Schiano got a great opportunity to coach in the NFL and that's what everyone dreams of. I wouldn't change anything for the world. I was happy for him then, and I'm happy for him now."

Mad? No. At a loss? Yes.

"I was somewhat distraught," Nelson said, "but at the end of the day I started to realize what I did it for -- and it wasn't for the coaches. It was for the players around me. The players we would become. I'm really happy that I stayed."

***

Muller kept part of the class glued together when he hosted fellow Pennsylvania commits Brandon Arcidiacono, Blake Rankin, Desmon Peoples and J.J. Denman at his house for a meeting of the minds.

"Even though there weren't a lot of spoken words about it, it was like, 'I think we're all going to stay. Let's just start reaching out to people and see what they are saying,'" Muller said.

Rutgers offensive linemen Chris Muller (70) and Derrick Nelson (69) went from Greg Schiano's recruits to Kyle Flood's signees to Chris Ash's co-captains.

While the others called Nelson, Muller called Carroo.

"Leonte was like, 'I'm staying, man,'" Muller said. "He started reaching out to other people. We were a close-knit group, it was close to Signing Day, and we wanted to keep what we had rolling and play together for the next 4-5 years."

Muller didn't put down the phone. Next up: Schiano.

"I called him like 50 times," Muller said. "I was an arrogant little kid. I was like, 'Alright, I'm just going to keep calling him until he picks up.' He finally picked up and I talked to him and I just wished him luck. He didn't have to explain anything."

In an effort to keep the class intact, then-athletics director Tim Pernetti got NCAA-certified as a recruiter and then rushed the hiring process.

When former Schiano assistant Mario Cristobal opted to stay at Florida International, Pernetti gave the job to offensive line coach Kyle Flood, who was acting as interim head coach.

The continuity was considered a victory ... and Rutgers signed 20 recruits, suffering just one de-commitment after Schiano's exit.

"I was just hoping that Coach Flood got the head coaching job," Nelson said, "because I believed in what he was going to do for the program and he'd keep it on the same path."

Hamilton's announcement on the eve of Signing Day solidified the class.

"We had guys reaching out and letting each other know that we really didn't choose this place for a coach," Hamilton said.

"We loved the atmosphere, we loved the thought of playing together and loved everything Rutgers had to offer. That's why we originally wanted to be there. Coach leaving wasn't going to change that -- and it didn't."

***

Flood went 27-24 in four seasons at the helm but was fired amidst an academic improprieties scandal and replaced by Chris Ash in December.

Just like that, for the second time in five years, those same recruits faced turmoil and were about to be asked to be building blocks ... again.

"I have no regrets," Pinnix-Odrick said. "It's a beautiful thing. I always tell people that I think me choosing Rutgers really reflects who I am ... in terms of always fighting for everything you want, and sometimes you are overlooked but you have to go out there and earn your respect."

Pinnix-Odrick doesn't think Schiano will remember him, but he remembers meeting Schiano when the coach visited Montclair during a poorly-timed fire drill in the rain.

"He came to the school in the special car," Pinnix-Odrick said. "Somebody was holding the umbrella for him and I'm like, 'Wow, this guy is the real deal.' It's like, 'Do you want to get in the car?'

"All my classmates are standing out for the fire drill and I'm like, 'Nah, I'll wait with these guys.' It was a little bit surprising when everything went down, but that's the nature of business."

Like most classes, the 2012 recruits talked about bringing championships to Rutgers.

Other than Hamilton, Carroo and former kicker Kyle Federico -- who contributed to a 2012 Big East co-championship team as true freshmen -- the highlight of their careers thus far is a surprise eight-win debut season in the Big Ten in 2014.

Ash has turned to the seven remaining signees -- including Denman, Carlton Agudosi and Quanzell Lambert -- to establish his culture.

"It's a great feeling knowing that we will set the ways for things to come and we were the first class to do it," Hamilton said.

"There is still a lot of football left to play, so we have to see how things pan out. I love these guys to death, and I couldn't be happier with what we've shown so far."

LISTEN: Episode 3 of NJ.com's Rutgers Football podcast

Rebuilding Rutgers: From The Ashes takes you inside the new football regime. This episode dives into Ash's recruiting efforts his first year on the job.

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.