Recent Rutgers Football News--QBs and OC
Two of the big pieces of Rutgers news the past two weeks have been the QB transfers and the resignation of OC Drew Mehringer. Here's my take:
Quarterback Transfers
Chris Laviano, Hayden Retting, and Michael Dare have each
decided to transfer out of Rutgers in search
of more playing time and a system that better fits their pro-style skill set.
Laviano saw action in 24 games for Rutgers ,
finishing with 21 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. Overall, he completed
almost 56% of his passes. I'll remember Laviano mostly for his toughness, as he
showed a willingness to fight for the tough yardage on keepers and stand in the
pocket long enough to take some big hits if it meant completing a long pass. He
came in this year, got the support of his teammates, and learned a new
offensive system. Unfortunately, the results just weren't there. It's been well
documented that the fault was hardly all his, but head coach Chris Ash decided
to make the move to give reps to QBs that are seemingly a better fit for the
power spread. Thank you Chris for your toughness and effort during your time on
the banks!
Hayden Rettig played in four games during the 2015 season,
having started the one game that Laviano was suspended against Norfolk State Rutgers
fans for the controversy that came as a result of then-coach Kyle Flood not
wanting to bench Chris Laviano when it appeared Laviano was struggling. Rettig
has a cannon arm, and will surely find a place where he can show off his
talents as he seeks his graduate transfer. Retting was a class-act in his tweet
announcing his impending transfer. Thank you Hayden, and best of luck to you!
Michael Dare's transfer is the one that I feel the most
badly about. This is a guy who stuck with his state school at a time when
recruits were jumping ship on the former coaching staff left and right.
Unfortunately for Michael, he got caught up in this coaching and system change
and had little chance of playing as the Ash staff began to recruit players more
suited for the power spread. Hopefully Dare can find a place where he will get
the chance to excel. At 6'5" and 220 pounds he has the type of size that
coaches look for in a pro-style quarterback. Regardless of where he goes, I
plan on checking in to see how he makes out.
Mehringer Leaves for Texas
Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer moseyed on down to Texas not long after his
mentor, Tom Herman, was named the Longhorns head coach. I have mixed feelings
about this. On the one hand, Rutgers has to
seek its eighth offensive coordinator in as many years. The other side of this
is that the offense struggled mightily last year. Much of that was due to
personnel, sure, but it was historically bad. It could've been that Mehringer
was slightly overwhelmed in his first year as OC. But I also feel that he
would've grown into the position and eventually Rutgers
would've put up big numbers executing his plays.
I also find it interesting that Coach Ash has stated in the
past that he asks assistants to give him a two-year commitment. Yet he was
seemingly fine with letting Mehringer walk after one. I think part of that is
certainly Ash's own relationship with Herman, who recommended Mehringer for the
Rutgers job. The other part of that is why
would you hold an assistant to a second year and force him to continue in a
position that you know he doesn't want to be in. There's just too many
potential negatives.
I'm anxious to see if Ash goes with someone with previous OC
experience at the FBS level, or will he find a position coach from a successful
school and give him a shot at moving up to OC. There are many names being
bandied about. These are a couple articles from onthebanks.com that list some
interesting names:
Regardless of the timing of his departure, I wish Drew Mehringer the best at Texas. While the Rutgers offense may have been tough to watch at times this year, he began the transition to the power spread, and was instrumental in getting some good recruits interested in coming to play for Rutgers.
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