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...