Michigan, Rutgers staking out recruiting turf on Twitter

Former Rutgers coach Kyle Flood used to talk about the importance of keeping the best players from the state of New Jersey at home, but he usually failed to do so. 

Current Rutgers coach Chris Ash -- hired in December after Flood was fired -- not surprisingly wants to reverse that trend for his Scarlet Knights program. 

"I want to build a first-class program here, a program that the university, the State of New Jersey, high school coaches and high school players can be proud to say that this program is theirs and they want to come here and be a part of it," Ash said at his introductory press conference. "We don't need New Jersey kids and players going to other programs. We need to keep them here at home at Rutgers and be the best that we can be here." 

NJ.com reports that RU wide receivers coach Zak Kuhr started the hashtag "FenceTheGarden" to help promote those efforts, and that has already been noticed by a conference foe that has made a habit of pulling prized recruits away from home: Michigan. 

Jim Harbaugh's first Wolverine roster had six players from New Jersey, including Big Ten freshman of the year Jabrill Peppers. 

Four members of the 2016 NJ class are pledged to be Wolverines, including early enrollee Kareem Walker of Wayne De Paul Catholic, and Jim Harbaugh and staff are still in pursuit of more stars, including national No. 1 prospect Rashan Gary, a defensive tackle from Paramus Catholic in New Jersey. 

Chris Partridge, who was Gary's coach at Paramus Catholic before joining Harbaugh's staff last year, already fired off a not-even-thinly-veiled shot at the Rutgers hashtag. 

Ash ultimately might not be able to keep Gary home, but it will be interesting -- not to mention vital to his success -- to see if he can stem the flow of talent going elsewhere in the coming years.