The Knights Watchman

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.