The Knights Watchman

The Scarlet Knights take on the Cornhuskers today in Lincoln , Nebraska , in what is the Big Ten opener for both teams. A few hours before game time, Nebraska is an 11 point favorite over visiting Rutgers . In many ways the Cornhuskers season has mirrored that of the Scarlet Knights. Both teams are 1-2, with Nebraska having won a close opener vs. Arkansas State and then having dropped two close games to Oregon and Northern Illinois . Unaccustomed to a 1-2 start, Nebraska fans are calling for the head of Coach Mike Riley, and the school's athletic director was shown the door yesterday. The Rutgers coaches, in their media appearances this week, stressed the importance of continued improvement. Last week's 65-0 blowout victory over Morgan State allowed the Scarlet Knights to send 71 players out to see some action, especially many true and redshirt freshmen who logged their first bits of playing time. Obviously, the most impressive of the freshmen was quarterbac...

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...

Rutgers wideouts coach Jafar Williams spoke with reporters during practice last week. He gave an update on some of the players who were banged up, as well as a preview of what fans can expect from some of the newcomers. Overall, Williams thinks "we're a little bit more explosive" than last season in term of the athleticism of the unit. On what we can expect out of Janarion Grant, Williams said "everything." Damon "Duwop" Mitchell is "a guy right now that's going out and leading by example." Mitchell's brother, Ahmir has "been great" as he recovers from injury. He's an "energetic and very passionate person." On the freshmen: Hunter Hayek "goes out there and makes a lot of plays." Everett Wormley "came in physically able to compete." Bo Melton has a "feel for the position." Shameen Jones "got hurt early in camp" but is "going to be a go...

The crew at BTN Live stopped by Rutgers' Busch Campus Piscataway on Tuesday, August 8, to do their summer preview. They got to take a gander at the new Marco Battaglia Practice Complex, and they seemed to come away rather impressed with that and the other upgrades that have been taking shape on campus. There are a number of links to videos at scarletknights.com showcasing different interviews and commentary from their visit. Much of content features BTN Live's panel of Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo, and Howard Griffith. Among those interviewed were Chris Ash, Sebastian Joseph, Blessuan Austin, Tariq Cole, and Jerry Kill. I watched most of the content and found some high points that piqued my interest, so I'm going to jump around a bit and share those. Offense Ash on the QBs: "I like the way they're competing. They've embraced the competition." DiNardo on the QB competition, which he felt was mainly between Rescigno and Bolin: "Giovanni and Bol...

From the press conferences and through various news outlets, here's a quick recap of some of the recent roster changes for Rutgers football and a couple comments. Tyreek Maddox-Williams I'll start off with an unfortunate development, Keith Sargeant of NJ.com reported that sophomore linebacker Tyreek Maddox-Williams will miss the season with a knee injury sustained in practice. An All Big Ten Freshman team selection at linebacker, Maddox-Williams will certainly be missed and I hope he has a speedy recovery. The Scarlet Knights are in a much better position than last year to absorb his loss, as the linebacker corps is a deeper group going into the season. First reported by the Pardon My Take podcast, quarterback Tom Flacco has transferred to Rutgers from Western Michigan University . Flacco has been added to the official roster at ScarletKnights.com . The brother of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, Tom is considered a dual-threat quarterback who will ...

This past Monday, Rutgers offensive coordinator Jerry Kill took the mic for his first press conference of camp. Here are the things that struck a chord with me: It bodes well that Coach Kill is seemingly impressed with the freshmen. He said he's been, "pleasantly surprised with the young kids," saying that they are "smart kids that learn very fast." He feels the newcomers have made the team, "more athletic in the skill positions." Hopefully the athleticism will translate into the Rutgers offense being able to stretch the field. Last year it seemed that once Janarion Grant went down, Rutgers had a difficult time connecting on enough deep passes to keep the defenses from stacking the box. The increase in athleticism can also lead to mismatches causing the need for the opponent to double team, facing more zone coverage, and other things that will open up the field. Regarding the quarterbacks, Kill felt he has a "good room," as op...

Rutgers football head coach Chris Ash met with the media on July 31st, for his first official press conference of training camp. This is what stood out to me: It's only fitting that Gio Rescigno started with the first team and received the most first-team reps. Gio finished the spring as the starter and he should start training camp as the incumbent regardless of there being an open competition. Kyle Bolin also received first-team reps, but both Ash and offensive coordinator Jerry Kill have stated that at least four of the quarterbacks (Johnathan Lewis and Zach Allen as well) will get chances with the first team as they determine the starter. Asked about the quarterback competition, and whether the fact that Rutgers is opening against a very experienced and heavily favored Washington team would factor into who gets the opening night start, Ash responded by asserting that the opponent doesn't matter. On who will play Sept. 1, "It's who we feel gives us t...

Rutgers' @CoachChrisAsh fields questions from the media as @RFootball gets ready for the 2017 season. #B1GMediaDay https://t.co/M2IX2sjkur — Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) July 25, 2017 Rutgers head football coach Chris Ash took the podium on Wednesday for his Big Ten Media Day press conference and a sit-down interview with the BTN Live team. The above link from BTN.com has the complete video of the press conference. At the end of this article, you'll find the link to the BTN Live interview. The complete text of the press conference can be found at Scarletknights.com These were the things that stuck out to me: In his opening comments, Ash said that 2016 "was awful. But we've moved on." Moving on and "hitting the reset button" were common themes that Ash was imparting to the media. Ash mentioned the facilities, particularly the Marco Battaglia Practice Facility which will aid in both "recruiting and player development....

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...

On Monday, December 19, head coach Chris Ash made the rumors of the past couple of days official when he held a teleconference formally naming Jerry Kill the new offensive coordinator for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team. Follow this link for the official press release on scarletknights.com. Most recently an associate athletic director at Kansas State, Kill is best known as having been the 2014 Big Ten Coach of the Year during his almost 5-year stint at the University of Minnesota. Kill has a reputation of turning around struggling programs, a feat he accomplished at Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, and most notably with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Having to leave Minnesota for health reasons, much has been written about his bouts with cancer and epilepsy. About his health, Kill said, as written in Ken Corbitt's Topeka Capital-Journal  article ,    “I needed some time to get it situated and see the right people and get on the right diet and right ...