The Knights Watchman

The Nebraska game has been in the books for almost a week now, with the Scarlet Knights having come out on the wrong end of the 27-17 score. This was a strange game to watch. Going into the game, I felt it would be a winnable contest, especially with Nebraska program seemingly reeling from its 1-2 start. On the other side of the equation was the reality of an equally struggling Rutgers team taking a fairly young roster on the road in front of 80,000 Cornhuskers fans desperate for a win. Then you have to add in that Rutgers would be without Janarion Grant, the team's top playmaker. As a Scarlet Knights fan it was frustrating to watch in the sense that the win was there for the taking, but Rutgers was unable to connect on enough plays to win the day. The Scarlet Knights simply didn't score enough to win the game, or make enough first downs to keep the Nebraska offense off the field in the second half and give the defense a rest. In addition, it seemed Rutgers shot themselves ...

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights kick off the season at home against the University of Washington Huskies in the "War Before the Shore," paying homage to New Jerseyans' time honored tradition of heading for the coast during Labor Day weekend. A rematch from last year's 48-13 thrashing, this revamped Rutgers team heads into the contest as 27.5 point underdogs. I'm not sure what exactly to expect out of Rutgers on Friday night. As Coach Ash said in his game week press conference, "this is a different football team." Half of the Rutgers team has changed over since the end of last season. Counting Justin Davidovicz, who the coaching staff announced will be handling kickoffs, there are twenty-four new faces on the Rutgers two-deep. That includes true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and transfers. But that does not include a few other players who may see the field on special teams units or as part of certain offensive or defensive packages. As an examp...

The media had the chance to pepper Scarlet Knights Special Teams and Tight Ends coach Vince Okruch this past Friday. Okruch provided them with some personnel news as well as some insights into the teams overall preparedness as they close out training camp. Senior graduate transfer Ryan Anderson has won the job as the starting punter over Michael Cintron. Okruch explained that Anderson "has greater distance; kicks a deeper ball." True freshman Justin Davidovicz will handle kickoffs. The placekicking competition is ongoing between transfer Andrew Harte, a former recruit of Jerry Kill's at Minnesota , and last year's starter, David Bonagura. Whomever shows the most consistency will get the job. There is also an ongoing competition at long snapper, with returning starter Alan Lucy trying to hold off freshman Bill Taylor. Okruch said the team "could have a lot of freshman covering kicks." As an example, Okruch mentioned Edwin "Tank...

UMASS Added to the 2019 Football Schedule A couple weeks ago, Rutgers announced that a faceoff with UMASS will round out the 2019 football season. The Scarlet Knights and Minutemen will do battle on August 31st. It will be the first time the schools have met on the gridiron since 1978. Harte Adds Depth to Kicking Competition It appears Andrew Harte has joined the football team as grad transfer kicker from the University of Minnesota . Recruited while Offensive Coordinator Jerry Kill was head coach of the Golden Gophers, Harte has seen action mainly on kickoffs, specializing in onside kicks. It is likely that Harte is joining the team as a walk-on, with Coach Ash recently stating that the team is at the scholarship limit. Click here for more information from onthebanks.com. Michael Burton Released by Lions NJ.com is reporting that former Rutgers fullback Michael Burton has been released by the Detroit Lions. Although it's never pleasant to hear of a Rutger...