The Knights Watchman

First off, congratulations to Mike Teel on winning the Homer Hazel Award as the Rutgers football team MVP. There is no question that Teel's resurgence put the team in the position it finds itself now. Today, Kenny Britt was selected as a 3rd Team All-American by the Associated Press. That's quite an honor for Rutgers to have All-Americans in consecutive seasons (Ray Rice last year.) Will Britt follow Rice to the NFL? Hard to say. My opinion is that he should evaluate the other receivers coming out this year to determine where he might fit. Then he has to weigh that against the fact that Rutgers will have a new starting QB next year. I'm waiting until after the bowl game to make a prediction on what he'll do. Finally, the betting line currently has Rutgers as 7-point favorites over NC State. Considering that the Wolfpack was also hot coming into the game that seems a little high. But if if goes down to five I would take RU in a heartbeat.

The above link is to Rutgers President Richard McCormick's letter to Rutgers alumni. In it he mentions a nationwide search is underway for Bob Mulcahy's successor. He also says that phase 2 of the construction of the Rutgers Stadium expansion has been approved. The "revenue generating" features of the expansion, namely the additional seats and concessions will proceed within the $102 million budget. That makes complete sense to me. If most of the names on the season ticket waiting list remain signed up, those seats will pay for themselves within a few years. Especially with more concession stands added. Then the non-revenue generating parts of the stadium that are being cut can always be added at another time. McCormick's letter mentions a new locker room and media room. I'm still a little wary about Bob Mulcahy's dismissal and who may be on the shortlist for his successor. On the other hand , he showed no signs of slowing down, but one can assume based ...

Thank you to Bob Mulcahy for ten years of steadfast leadership as the RU Athletic Director. Regardless of the questionable things that have come to light in the media over the past few months, Mulcahy should be commended for having the vision to guide the football program to prominence as well as improving the visibility of Rutgers on the national stage. RU sports fans can only hope that his successor has the same energy and strength to push Rutgers to new heights. Thanks, again Mr. Mulcahy. Personally, I'm hoping they bring in someone with experience as an assistant or associate athletic director at a big school with a reputation for both strong academics and exciting sports. Perhaps a Michigan, Georgetown, Duke, California, or even Texas.

Excellent to see Rutgers land five players on the All-Big East first and second teams. Kenny Britt was a no-brainer as a first-team receiver. Courtney Greene rebounded from a tough first game or two to have another banner year as an intimidating presence in the Rutgers secondary. Both players have NFL futures. We can only hope that Britt decides to return for another season. Although with his QB graduating, I find that to be unlikely. Jamaal Westerman, Ryan D'Imperio, and Anthony Davis all made the second team. Westerman ended a stellar career on another high note, which is all the more remarkable considering Greg Schiano announced in his recent press conference that Westerman has been playing with a torn triceps for weeks. We'll miss him at the papajohns.com bowl. D'Imperio rebounded from injuries that slowed him early in his career. I'll be surprised if he isn't first team next year. Davis will be first team for the next two. Before he's done, he'll be rem...

I haven't had the chance to comment on the Louisville game, or even the Army game for that matter. The Louisville game a year ago was a heartbreaking loss at the end of the season. I remember that game putting me in a bad mood for days. The way the Cardinals were able to come back on Rutgers made me nervous heading into the Independence Bowl. The loss didn't have any effect on Rutgers' bowl standing, but it was the difference between ending the season 8-5 instead of 9-4. It was one of many games last year that it seemed RU should've won. Last year's game made the 63-14 final score all the more tasty. Blowing Louisville out was a statement game heading into next year. And I think it sent a message to the rest of the conference that Rutgers is still a program on the rise. To rehash the specifics of the game two weeks after the fact wouldn't make much sense. Instead, I'd like to point out a few things that were highlights for me. It was great to see Jourdan Bro...

Rutgers’ 49-16 dismantling of USF today was a resounding statement from a team that is clearly out to prove to itself that it is as good as advertised when the season began. Most preseason predictions had Rutgers at the tail end of the Top 25. Premature? Of course they were. The Scarlet Knights only needed to replace the best running back in school history and a handful of quality starters from both sides of the ball. At the same time, the University of South Florida Bulls were picked even higher than Rutgers in most of the preseason polls. The team’s seasons have become mirror opposites. While RU started 1-5, the Bulls rolled to a 5-0 record becoming for a short time the toast of the state of Florida. Since then, the Bulls have gone 1-4. Now they sit at a fairly respectable 6-4 but really not in a position to do much damage as far as qualifying for a major bowl. The Bulls are 1-4 in the Big East, so even finishing with 8 or 9 wins is unlikely to get them the type of bid that would ha...

It's been a few days since the thorough dismantling of Syracuse, but that doesn't make it any less sweet. Aside from the two big plays, Hogue's run and the blocked punt, there really wasn't much reason to cheer if you are a Syracuse fan. Greg Schiano outcoached Robinson, once again making him look ridiculous in the process. I know a lot of RU fans can't wait to see Robinson get fired because of the disparaging and dismissive comments he's made about Rutgers in the past. But I hope the Orange keep Robinson and give him an extension. I figure that as long as he's there it means more wins on and off the field for Rutgers. Congratulations to Kordell Young on being named Big East Offensive Player of the Week. That's a nice honor for someone who has worked so hard to get himself back into shape after knee surgery. Jamaal Westerman also had a dominating game for Rutgers on the defensive line. Today it was announced that Westerman has made the midseason li...

The time is nigh for the Rutgers-Syracuse showdown on Saturday. As is his usual course of action, Schiano downplayed the significance of the match-up. At the weekly press conference he alluded to the idea that the players and coaches prepared the same way for this game, with the exception of having a buy week, as they have for every other game this season. Yet we all know the stakes are higher when the Orangemen come to town. First off, a Rutgers win continues to allow the Scarlet to out recruit Syracuse in New York and New Jersey. It’s no secret that the rise of Rutgers over the last few years has coincided and come at the expense of the Orange. Schiano also stated that there is no added incentive for him to beat Greg Robinson, regardless of the disrespect Robinson has shown toward the Rutgers program in the past. I have a feeling that on camera it’s one thing but on Saturday the RU coaching staff will aim to ram it down Syracuse’s throat. This game will pretty much determine the e...

Congratulations to Mike Teel on being named the National Collegiate Offensive Player of the Week. After his amazing performance against Pitt, he surely deserved the honor. I believe with that one game he's cemented his status as the Scarlet Knights starting QB for the remainder of the season. Quite simply, no one else on the roster is currently capable of that kind of performance. Their are QBs on the roster talented enough to play that well, but factoring in the experience and understanding of the playbook, Teel gives RU the best chance to win. I've been tough on Teel all year because it seemed as though he wasn't playing up to his capabilities and in the process holding the team back from winning games that they could have. With one performance, he and the team as a whole have elevated themselves to a position where this season could still turn out to be a success. It's a huge win to defeat a ranked team on the road. Schiano seems to have Wannstedt's number ...

Homecoming was exactly what it needed to be. It was a beautiful day that I enjoyed with my wife and daughter. It also having been the first game that my daughter has attended. She looked so cute in her RU cheerleader's uniform. What else would she be wearing? At first I was a bit concerned with the attendance. At kickoff the stadium was only about half filled. I figured that a lot of the students and alumni wear waiting it out in the parking lot to see if the game was going to be a close one before deciding whether to make the trek inside. With a great party going on in seemingly every parking lot, I can't say I blame them. In most cases a close game is a good game, although this one was frustrating at points. From my vantage point it seemed that RU should have gotten credit for at least one of the two safeties that weren't called. Yet I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before they got one. With the exception of the big-play reception for the touchdown, the RU ...

Tom Luicci of The Star Ledger has written an insightful article/interview featuring Tiquan Underwood. It's nice to see Underwood be some realistic about the sad-sack season he and the Rutgers offense are having. He's a team player saying all the right things. Sure, he's missed some opportunities, but the fact is that the ball is simply not coming his way the way it was last year. A big part of that is simply that that the team isn't running enough plays for everyone to have success. Hopefully Underwood will grab a few balls over the last half-dozen weeks and have a strong finish to his career. What concerns me more than Underwood not being a featured part of the offense is the inability of the defense and special teams to force any turnovers. If you think about it, just one turnover could have been the difference between winning and losing each of the Navy, WVU , and Cincinnati games. One turnover instead of an opponents score and one score for RU on the resulting po...

Another hard-fought loss. That really sums up the Cincinnati game. Losing by 3 on the road to a good team is nothing to be ashamed of. But the losses, whether the games are close or not, are starting to pile up. The offense is still sputtering. The return of Kordell Young was welcome. But he had perhaps the toughest 78 yards I've seen in a long time. Actually, considering that RU had 2 yards rushing in the first half, Young finishing with 78 yards is quite impressive. The sad fact is that the reshuffling of the offensive line bore little fruit. Regardless of whether it was Young or Brooks running the ball, neither seemed to be able to break through the swarming Cincy D-line. Perhaps it was the lack of a running game, but Mike Teel had another mediocre day behind center. He made some good throws but couldn't hit his open receivers with any consistency. Tiquan Underwood finishing the game without a catch is a travesty. You can't tell that he was taken out of the game on e...

Certainly, it's a tough season. Much tougher than anyone expected. But I want to assure everyone that my lack of recent posting has nothing to do with my disappointment in the season. I'm not jumping off the bandwagon when things are going rough. It's like I told a colleague of mine: I rooted for them for fifteen years when they weren't any good and I'm not going to stop now. Other things have kept me from posting: family-related obligations, an illness I've had difficulty shaking, and a recent surge in activity for the band that I'm a part of. Yet I'm hoping that this post will get me back on the horse so to speak. Since my last post the UNC game, the Navy game, Morgan State, and yesterday WVU have came and went. I'll keep my posts about the first three of those games very brief. UNC : RU's rushing defense was great in the first half. Offense stunk. Special teams pretty bad with the exception of the kicking game. Teel played the worst game I...

There's really no way to sugarcoat it. The 24-7 loss to Fresno State today was a horrible showing. I'm still reeling from the entire day, really. It started off promising enough. My parking assignment was upgraded this year so that we now have a spot on Busch campus. It's nice not having to take the bus after the game because we can avoid those long bus lines. Also, I parked next an alum from Don Bosco and had a good football conversation with him and his friend. One of the best things about the start of September is all the college football talk. Sitting on the east side of the stadium, the sun was brutal today. The 4-7 time slot is really the worst for the people sitting on my side of the stadium when the weather's warm and the sun's out. But perhaps on a cold day the extra sun will be a godsend. Some of the things that concerned me today other than the fact that we lost: Our punt returns still have the butterfingers: a few of the punts were bobbled, but luckily...

I haven't commented on the Rutgers/SNY deal, but from where I sit I can't see anything but positives coming from that. I don't know about you, but before the past two seasons it was difficult to catch an RU game on television. That always drove me nuts because I felt that even if the team wasn't good, as the State University they should have had at least some sort of regional exposure from all of the cable companies operating in the state. The SNY deal is huge because win or lose kids from all over the area will grow up watching Rutgers football. Gone are the days of having to watch the game 4 hours after it was played or straining to view it on the Internet. It seems one of Rutgers 2009 recruits, Mark Brazinski, has de-committed. I was sorry to see that, but almost immediately Rutgers added two more offensive line recruits. I'm going to comment less on the recruiting efforts from now on. It just seems to me that recruits give their verbals too early in the year to ...

It seems Schiano's salary and the perceived shiftiness by the RU athletic department and administration has made front page news in New Jersey and mention in sports sections nationwide. I wish the naysayers would give it a rest. When you make a commitment to have a competitive Division I football team you need to retain a top-flight coach, and that costs money. Bob Mulcahy came up with a creative way to supplement Schiano's base salary, which quite possibly could have been the difference between Schiano staying or bolting for Miami or Michigan in each of the past two years. By having that marketing company pay his salary, the money was at no extra cost to NJ taxpayers or the students who currently attend Rutgers. The bottom line is this: after reading the article in the Star-Ledger my boss passed me in the hallway and said, "You're a Rutgers football guy. How come the coach makes 3 million a year and you don't?" My response, "because I don't fil...

Congratulations to RU defensive lineman Jamaal Westerman on being named to the watch list for the Hendricks Award. Named for former University of Miami and Oakland Raider Defensive End Ted Hendricks, the award is given to the best collegiate DE in the nation. Hopefully, with Schiano's aggressive blitzing defense, Jamaal will put up the kind of numbers that will put the trophy on his shelf. Fear the Stork!

Congratulations to Mike Teel on being included in the Davey O'Brien Award watch list for 2008. The O'Brien Award is perhaps the most distinguished position award that can be given to a college quarterback. There's quite a bit of competition, of course, but Teel should have a prolific season, giving him a sporting chance. Good luck, Mike.

On Scarletknights .com , RU has posted a vid of Bob Mulcahy serving as a kind of informational tour guide for a gaggle of reporters as they examined the stadium work zone . He led them through the area that will be the club seats, what he refers to as Phase 1. Then there were camera shots of Phase 2, which is the construction taking place in the South end zone . It was smart on the part of the University to have him do this guided tour and press conference to counteract some of the negative press the school had been getting. Some of the highlights... Thankfully, and of utmost importance, seven minutes into the video, someone asked about the canon. Mulcahy said, he's resolving that and that he "gets a lot of questions about it." Hallelujah!! The club seats and lounge project is on time to be completed before the Fresno State game and on budget. Some reporters were getting testy while quizzing the AD on the need for the expansion. Mulcahy pulled out some interesting fa...

Dave Curtis of The Sporting News has featured Kordell Young in a list of comeback players to watch for the upcoming college football season. Check out the article here . Young is a supreme talent, who if healthy, has the chance to be a special back. Although, there will be a heated competition during Summer practice. Personally, I expect Rutgers to use anywhere from 3-5 backs throughout the season depending on the situation and the opponent.

Rutgers fan favorite and St. Louis Rams fullback Brian Leonard is hosting an instructional summer football camp on the grounds of the College of New Jersey in Ewing Township. Joining Leonard will be former Rutgers standouts Ray Rice, Jeremy Zuttah, and Manny Collins. The camp's official Web site is www.leonardcamps.com .

It’s been widely reported that some sobering news is emanating from New Brunswick and Piscataway regarding the Rutgers Stadium expansion plans. The Newark Star-Ledger has been keeping a close eye on the story over the past couple days, and today reported that some of the bids have come in as much as $18 million over budget especially due to rapidly rising fuel and construction costs. As a result, Rutgers officials are trying to come up with creative ways to keep as much of the original expansion proposal intact. Mainly, if cuts to the scope of the project need to be made, they are still hoping to construct all of the added seats while possibly sacrificing some of the other amenities that had been planned. I think it’s a little premature to take a “sky is falling” attitude toward the stadium-expansion project, as many people have, from what I’ve seen in online comments. I think it’s a given that most construction projects go over budget with all of the variables involved in pulling off ...

Congratulations to Courtney Greene on being named to the Jim Thorpe Award watch list. Really no surprise there, but it's nice to see an RU player get recognized. Amusing news about them unearthing the old settlement and tavern underneath the old South entrance to Rutgers Stadium. I think that in honor of it they should erect an outdoor lounge/bar restaurant to commemorate the spot. That would be pretty sweet, no?

A quick note that Rutgers has secured another verbal for 2009. Abdul Smith, a highly rated safety from Pennsylvania says he's coming to the Banks. Smith has been offered scholarships by several schools including Boston College, Pitt, and Penn State.

Scarletknights .com has reported that four more Scarlet Knights have been named to preseason awards watch lists . Junior receivers Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt have been named to the Maxwell Award watch list , awarded to the best football player in the country. Both guys should have big seasons, but in a situation like this, I think being on the same team hurts them. And of course, last year's winner Tim Tebow will be tough to unseat for both the Maxwell and the Heisman. The Maxwell Football Club has also released the watch list for the Bednarik Award, given to the best defensive player in the country. Courtney Greene and Jamaal Westerman are in the running. I think Greene will have a huge year, but I think it would be tough for a safety to win it because they don't usually have the opportunity to pile up big stats other than for tackles. It's unlikely opposing quarterbacks will test Greene too often when he is matched up with a receiver. Westerman has a shot at g...

Rutgers recent recruiting successes are already garnering attention on the national level. In a his recent blog post on ESPN.com, senior writer Bruce Feldman was asked to field a question about Rutgers ability to spread its wings and recruit outside of its usual safety zone. I agree with Bruce that Desmond Scott chose Rutgers because of the success of Ray Rice, a back with a similar build. But keep in mind that coming from New Rochelle, Rice was kind of a local guy. Regardless of the success of Rice, I don't think it hurts that Rutgers has had recent contests vs. UNC . By continuing to play Big Ten and ACC schools Rutgers can have success on national and regional television, thereby increasing its visibility outside of the Mid-Atlantic region.

I was away from home and without a computer for over a week, so I'm catching up on my Rutgers football news and hoping to update you in the process. I'm going to follow up this post with a series of quick posts until I catch up. Rutgers picked up three verbals between June 21 and June 25. They are three New Jersey boys: Linebacker Gerald Hodges, Cornerback Logan Ryan, and Wide Receiver Shawney Kersey . Hodges in particular is very highly rated, scout.com ranking him the third best player at his position. But if the measurements are correct I'm also very impressed with the speed of Ryan and Kersey . Three great additions to what is shaping up to be a stellar class.

Scout.com's State of Rutgers page has sent notification that RU football received three more verbals today, highlighted by four-star cornerback Duron Harmon from Caesar Rodney High School in Delaware. The other two verbals came from the lips of highly regarded tight end Malcolm Bush from Hackensack, NJ, and Fullback Robert Joseph from Brooklyn. Click on the link embedded into the title of this post to find out more about these athletes.

On Tuesday, stateofrutgers.com posted that Mark Harrison, a wide receiver from Bunnell High School, in Stratford, Connecticut, had given a verbal commitment to Rutgers for 2009. You can view his specs and statistics at this location. The Connecticut Post has also posted an article about his verbal. Today, Rutgers landed the No. 15 RB in the nation, according to Scout.com’s rankings. Aaron Hayward from New Jersey’s Penns Gove High School has given a verbal commitment to come to the banks. Some reports mention that he could see action as a wideout. It seems as though the 2009 will be heavy on out-of-state recruits, but light on recruits from the State of Florida. The dip in Florida recruiting is understandable. For one thing, each year that Schiano is at Rutgers he becomes another year further removed from his tenure as defensive coordinator at the University of Miami. A case of out of site, out of mind. Coupled with that is the reality that the area high school coaches that Schiano k...

It’s been a hectic week for me, and a fairly busy week in the news for Rutgers football. Watch lists, camps, recruiting commitments, and in some cases, recruits choosing to go elsewhere. Why mention the recruits going elsewhere? Well, the guys getting away are going to school that Rutgers would’ve had no business competing with just a few years back. Some recent examples include Auburn and Notre Dame. Of course, more exciting are the commits the Scarlet Knights have continued to bring in. Mark Brazinski, a center from Immaculata High right here in Jersey chose RU over Boston College. It’s always a nice plus to take one away from BC. Rutgers then got a verbal from Steven Beauharnais, a highly-touted linebacker from Saddle Brook. You can learn more about both commits at stateofrutgers.com . New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and State Senator Raymond Lesniak are combining their efforts and reaching into their own pockets to gather the funds to support the Rutgers Stadium expansion project. ...

Congrats to RU Athletic Director Bob Mulcahy on being named Northeast AD of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors. Read the article from scarletknights .com HERE. Yesterday, New Jersey won the showdown between the best high school football players from New York and New Jersey. Formerly known as the Governor's Bowl, it is now the NY-NJ All-Star Classic. Eight RU recruits were on the team that manhandled NY, 33-22. More details can be found in this article from the Newark Star-Ledger. I saw the highlight of RU-bound Quarterback Mohamed Sanu connecting on a 55-yard touchdown bomb, and I was impressed with his arm strength on that throw. (Although it is believed that his future on the banks will be at safety.) Only other thing I have to add is now that New Jersey has a commanding lead in the series, can we please change the name to the NJ-NY Classic? Former RU offensive line coach Mark Deal, who served during the Graber administration, has joined the...

Scarletknights.com has reported that the RU/Fresno State game on Labor Day has been moved up to 4:00 from 4:30. I don't see any negative to this as I'll be off from work anyway and will have been lounging in the RAC parking lot long beforehand. Only detriment is that if it is a hot day it will obviously be warmer at 4 than 4:30, and I'd like to see part of the game under the lights.

Although it's the off season, there seems to be plenty of Rutgers football action going on in Piscataway. About a month ago, us season ticket holders received a packet in the mail trumping the new additions to the stadium, along with the opportunity to get in on the premium seating. Unfortunately, I am not yet in the income bracket that would allow me to watch the game in those kinds of luxuries, but I'll have to say that if I did have that kind of bank it would be very tempting. A big time college football program should have big time amenities. The money the premium seats will bring in will only help to improve the program and the school in general. For the past few weeks, it seems I've been getting daily e-mails from Scout.com listing yet another stellar recruit that Schiano has waiting in the wings for 2009. Much has been made about the verbals from Tom Savage and Desmond Scott. but there isn't a player on the list so far that isn't either highly rated or has e...

Just renewed my season tickets and parking pass today which got me started thinking about the upcoming year. So, I checked out scartletknights.com and caught Schiano’s spring press conference. You can watch the press conference by logging onto the site or clicking here: http://www.scarletknights.com/vision/football/2008/spring1.html As with any spring preview not much in the way of insightful information came out of the press conference. Not many jobs are up for grabs in the spring, but coach was able to give an update on some guys who could prove to be a key to the next season. For starters, there have been a lot of changes on the coaching staff. I won’t go into the names, but there are five new coaches on the staff. I can understand some people feeling that the number of new coaches could translate into a slow start to the season. I don’t buy it, though. Since John McNulty is back as offensive coordinator and Schiano is once again pulling double duty as defensive coordinator, there s...