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Former Iowa Hawkeye turned Rutgers offensive line coach AJ Blazek is the father of four children. And while his son and three daughters have been with him the longest, Blazek will tell you that number is closer to 20.

Blazek treats his players like family, and the family grew by three on a happy Tuesday morning in the Hale Center. Three out of four early-enrolled freshmen for Rutgers football come in as offensive linemen. Blazek and the rest of the staff welcomed them warmly before day one of workouts.

“All three of these guys hit the ground running yesterday,” Blazek said. “There's always nerves involved. It doesn't matter how good or how highly recruited. There's nerves involved whenever you go to a new place just like when they get their chance to go to an NFL team three or four years from now. You want to get through that process. They attacked it. They've not been scared. They haven't been nervous. It's been fun to watch them get ready for this and their first day was fun to watch.”

Mid-year enrollees are moved in and ready to work ðŸ’ª #RFootball #RUK17IGHTED pic.twitter.com/gvP0690XIU

— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) January 17, 2017

Micah Clark, Jamaal Beaty and Samuel Vretman officially joined the Rutgers offensive line room. Defensive end Brendan Bordner rounds out the new scholarship freshmen on campus in a wave of additions that includes transfer Damon Mitchell and preferred walk-ons Cole Murphy and Sean Samuels.

Blazek's three linemen were among the most solidly-committed prospects for Rutgers, but an official move to campus is still cause for excitement after recruiting rules restricted interaction.

“It's the logistical things where I can call Mom now any time I want,” Blazek said. “They can stop over any time they want. It's completely different, and that's the part that lets the relationship build.”

Players Recruiting Players

While Clark earned the most attention as New Jersey's No. 1 recruit in 2017, all three join Rutgers as priority targets. Their commitments and enrollments, Blazek said, showcase the real story behind the scenes of head coach Chris Ash's long-term vision.

“This is just showing that you've got to find out what's going on inside our program,” Blazek said. “Kids are staying. Good players are staying. You're always going to lose a couple. What is it 68 kids from New Jersey are committed? You're going to lose kids. But the guys that are seeing what's going on inside are spending time with our players.”

http://www.scout.com/college/rutgers/story/1743092-the-next-step-brothers-move-on-to-rutgers

The three offensive-line additions represent the majority of a new wave to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have one more offensive lineman committed, multiple preferred walk-on targets and four hungry freshmen after red-shirt seasons.

Clark, Beaty and Vretman plan to compete as well.

“We lost three good seniors but we've got Dorian [Miller] back and some young guys who haven't played much,” Blazek said. “I'm really excited about our current group and then we get to go out and add some guys, who talent wise, are going to jump right in and be in the mix. The experience, the physicality, the tempo of things, they've got to adjust to but they have the talent and the ability. Our whole room has embraced it and our players can openly do stuff more with the guys now.”

http://www.scout.com/college/rutgers/story/1737823-vretman-all-set-for-rutgers-enrollment

Rutgers Football Family

Without a day of experience as a full-time Big Ten assistant coach before Blazek took the Rutgers job, he meshed immediately top offensive line targets. How did he attack the recruiting trail?

“I've got four kids of my own and I grew up in a football household with a dad who was a high-school coach,” Blazek said. “You want to take care of your kids. If that's your mentality and you're in it for the kids – Chris says it all the time. We work for these kids. Without them, there's no more job. There's nothing more gratifying as a coach than to get a wedding announcement. Hey I'm having my first son, coach. Coach, I need help getting a job. I've been doing it almost 15 years now and it's happened a lot more when I first got started.”

Blazek spoke with the families of Clark, Beaty and Vretman was much as possible in recruiting, he said.

“When you sit down with a family and you're talking passionately from your heart, they can tell that it's important to you,” Blazek said. “Whether that's Christer and Karin Vretman over there in Sweden, you find a way to communicate and answer all their questions. I've got four kids. If they get the opportunity some day, I'm going to make sure they're going somewhere where they know our whole family inside and out. I recruit the same way. Keith and Lorraine Beaty are unbelievable. To hear the story of how their family has grown with all of the cousins and nephews always at the house, that's a warm family. That's what we want in our locker room.”

When Clark and Beaty announced their verbal commitments, Clark explained how his relationship with veteran lineman Dorian Miller helped. Now, it falls upon the three new offensive linemen to pass on the same truths about a culture change in Piscataway.

“If you do it right, when you get recruits on campus and they spend time with your players, that's it,” Blazek said. “Every coach in the country is telling them how good they are, how they're going to fit in, what they have for them. But when they get around your players, your players tell the truth. Players don't lie to each other. I figured that out a long time ago. If you always have your players' best interest at hand, they're going to find that out the old-fashioned way.”

http://www.scout.com/college/rutgers/story/1663268-rutgers-scoutcast-episode-8

Neither brother actively competed on camp circuits after their commitment to Rutgers. Instead of opportunities for higher rankings and NIKE gear, they went on a family vacation.

“They were confident in who they were,” Blazek said. “That's the character piece. In this day and age, you've got so many kids that are chasing the stars. We've seen the stats that everybody puts out with this many Pro Bowlers and all that. But at the end of the day, it's about what's between guys' ears. There is so much video availability that you see enough film. You guys all have a better eye for talent now because there's more film out there. So a lot of those rankings, they are right. But the big thing especially in recruiting offensive linemen is being able to project a guy. It's not just psychically but mentally.”

Scouting Reports...

Blazek on Samuel Vretman – “He brings an athletic ability that we need to keep adding in our room. All three of them do. Sam might be the biggest and strongest of the group. We've got a great young nucleus in our offensive line.”

Blazek on Jamaal Beaty – “Jamaal brings a lot of football IQ. He's a really sharp guy. He's got great feet. His hips and his strength, that stuff is going to come. His body has got the size and the frame to build in the lower half. … Jamaal doesn't have all of the recognition but he has some stuff you see on film. You spend time with him and that man has a chip on his shoulder. Those are the guys that excel. Sometimes those four- and five-star guys, they've been told how good they are by 55 schools for two years. Then they forget you still have to go in that weight room and sweat. Those guys that have the chip on their shoulder, that's what we want.”

Blazek on Micah Clark – “You take Micah and I'm telling you, the biggest thing Micah brings is positive energy and excitement. I think he's a guy you can build a program around personality wise. With that, he's got to come in and he's got to get stronger. He's got the mindset to be 100 percent committed in the weight room.”

http://www.scout.com/player/195502-micah-clark?s=183

http://www.scout.com/player/205962-jamaal-beaty?s=183

http://www.scout.com/player/201924-samuel-vretman?s=183