The Knights Watchman

Last week was the fourth and final week of preseason games for the NFL. Not long after those games were completed, players faced final cut-down day, as rosters needed to be trimmed to 53 men on Saturday, September 2. Yesterday, teams began signing some of those released players to their practice squads, or in some cases, claimed players off waivers. A number of former Rutgers football players were affected. Here is the recap from the past week: George Johnson assisted on 2 tackles, but was released by the Buccaneers. Carlton Agudosi (azcardinals.com via Twitter) Carlton Agudosi had 2 catches for 16 yards. He was released by the Cardinals on Saturday, but then singed to Arizona 's practice squad on Sunday. Congrats to Carlton on making the practice squad. Quentin Gause was in on 2 tackles for the Denver Broncos, but was released on Saturday. Kevin Snyder had 1.5 tackles for the Broncos, but was also released on Saturday. Leonte Carroo had 1 catch for 12 y...

Jason McCourty (nfl.com) A number of former Rutgers Scarlet Knights had good weeks recording stats in the second week of NFL preseason action. The standout may have been Browns defensive back Jason McCourty, who recorded 4 tackles and recovered a fumble. Other contributors included: Anthony Cioffi had two tackles and a forced fumble for the Oakland Raiders on what was a highlight-reel hit. Brandon Coleman had a catch for 8 yards for the Saints. Marcus Cooper recorded 2 tackles for the Chicago Bears. Jonathan Freeny and Devin McCourty were both in on 3 tackles for the Patriots. Tom Savage completed 8 of 9 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown for the Texans. Quentin Gause and Kevin Snyder each had a tackle for the Broncos. Steve Longa recorded 3 tackles for Detroit. Logan Ryan had a tackle and a forced fumble for the Titans. Mohamed Sanu snagged 2 catches for 25 yards for Atlanta.

There are a significant number of Rutgers players currently on NFL rosters. It's preseason, and there's a chance not everyone will stick, but it's still exciting to note the progress that Scarlet Knights are making in the pros. This is a list of many of the guys who recorded stats or found themselves in the news this past week. Kenny Britt: caught 1 pass for 4 yards Leonte Carroo : caught 1 pass for a nifty 33-yard TD Brandon Coleman: 3 catches for 23 yards Mohamed Sanu: caught 1 pass for 5 yards Anthony Cioffi: recorded 1 tackle Marcus Cooper: recorded 1 tackle Jonathan Freeny: recorded 4 tackles Steve Longa: recorded 4 tackles Jason McCourty: recorded 1 tackle Logan Ryan: recorded 3 tackles Kevin Snyder: recorded 4 tackles In addition, wide receiver Andrew Turzilli was signed this week by the New York Giants. And in a surprise move, center Jeremy Zuttah was released by the San Francisco 49ers. Zuttah had been slowed a bit with a leg injury, but this was...

Michigan State 49, Rutgers 0. I almost didn't post a recap of this game simply because I would prefer not to think about it. Although there was not much positive to take from the game, there were a few interesting things that came out of the post-game comments and the Monday press conferences. A clearly agitated Chris Ash took the podium in East Lansing . You can tell that he was frustrated by the performance even before he spoke. He mentioned that Rutgers "struggled to get anything going" and that the team was distracted "talking back and forth" with some of the Spartans. Michigan State "dominated us up front, that's what happened." And of the quarterback play, he simply stated that Gio Rescigno "wasn't good today" but that "we still feel he gives us the best chance to win." In terms of preparation, Ash felt the team had a good week of practice leading up to the game and he said, "I would not have thou...

This weekend the Rutgers Scarlet Knights head out to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans. Both teams are still searching for their first conference win of the season. Despite having identical 2-7 records, the odds makers have Rutgers as two-touchdown underdogs. Head coach Chris Ash recapped the Indiana loss in his opening remarks during this past Monday's press conference, pointing out some encouraging signs. He "thought it was one of our best defensive efforts in terms of stopping the run," and that the "linebackers played their best game of the year." He was also happy with the three takeaways and two blocked kicks. He also said that at one point he looked out on the field and noticed that 9 of the 11 guys playing were guys who are returning next year. My thought on that is that it's good if those guys continue to improve, which under this coaching staff I believe they will. I think with some players it seems that they plateau in t...

I picked Rutgers to beat what went off as a 39-point spread. After one quarter I was feeling pretty good about that, with OSU on pace for about a 24-point victory. Then the second quarter happened and it never got any better. The Positive Greg Jones is okay and most of the steps taken on the field that made things look so ominous were precautionary. Chris Ash said that Jones was actually walking around on the sideline by the end of the game. Jones's replacement, Tyreek Maddox-Williams, ended up leading the team with 11 tackles. Kiy Hester and Deonte Roberts also racked up double-digit tackles (10 apiece). Hester was all over the place again. But then again, when the other team runs so many plays, some guys on defense are going to put up numbers. Rutgers had been getting its doors blown off in the first quarter during the first three games. This is two games in a row where the game was close after Q1. So, they're starting better. Concerns These are things...

The Iowa Hawkeyes swoop into High Point Solutions Stadium to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, September 24th, kicking off at high noon. Rutgers opened as a 14-point underdog at home, but as of this writing the line has dropped to 13. But it's still expected to be Iowa by two touchdowns. I however, feel that the game will be much closer. The Scarlet Knights have enough talent on the offensive and defensive lines to keep the game fairly tight. If I was a betting man, with that spread I'd take RU. Iowa is coming off an upset loss to North Dakota State . Due to the quality of the North Dakota State football program, I'm not sure them beating anyone is an upset. Nonetheless, there's been a lot of speculation that Rutgers could use the blueprint that North Dakota State has laid out if the Scarlet Knights want to defeat Iowa . There's some truth to that I'm sure, but the reality is that Iowa is also very aware of how they were beaten, a...

Monday, September 12, brought the usual game-week press conferences from Rutgers head coach Chris Ash, his coordinators, and the Rutgers players. Ash started the conference by announcing Janarion Grant's selection as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. Interestingly enough, Grant was not named the Scarlet Knights internal special teams player of the game. That honor went to freshman Larry Stevens, who among other things made a phenomenal tackle on the opening kickoff. It was revealed when the weekly depth chart was released that Jawuan Harris is now listed as one of the starting receivers alongside Janarion Grant and Carlton Agudosi. Harris is the first Rutgers player since 1989 to have slugged a home run and scored a touchdown in the same calendar year. The head coach had this to say about Harris, "he's in that top group of guys we need to get the football to." Ash also mentioned that free safety Saquan Hampton will miss significant time with an inj...