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...

After yesterday's practice, Rutgers head football coach Chris Ash took some time speak with the media. The highlight of the chat was the announcement that senior graduate transfer Kyle Bolin was named the staring quarterback. This comes five days after Bolin was voted one of the team's captains for the upcoming season. Since that announcement, it seemed only a matter of time before the coaching staff tabbed him as the guy. Bolin is the most experienced QB on the team in terms of FBS action, having played in 16 games during his time at Louisville , as opposed to the 7 games Giovanni Rescigno has participated in. In addition, Bolin has thrown almost 80 more passes than Rescigno in collegiate action. When asked why the staff went with Bolin, Ash said they felt Bolin "executed," "made good decisions," and "understands the offense." As for Resigno, Ash said that he's "a team guy, he's a competitor" and "he'...

On Sunday, Rutgers head football coach Chris Ash took the podium for his Rutgers Media Day press conference. In what was roughly a twenty-minute update and chat with the media, he covered quite a bit of ground, shedding some light on some new faces that are making an impact, slight changes in look and strategy, and giving an updated timetable on the quarterback decision. On the overall vibe of training camp, Ash feels its been "very productive" and that Rutgers has "improved in all areas of our football team." As importantly, the "overall health is good," in the sense that there haven't been any additional significant injuries in the past week. If the team hadn't improved in all areas something would truly be amiss, so that's expected. I'm stoked to hear that the overall health of the team is good, as that could a big factor in determining the outcome of some of the competitive, but winnable games Rutgers has scheduled earl...

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...

Rutgers head coach Chris Ash took a few minutes to speak with the media after a wet and cloudy practice this past Monday. The main topics were the quarterbacks, running backs, and tight ends, as those are some of the major positions up for grabs, at least in terms of the pecking order. About the QBs, Ash stressed that Giovanni Rescigno, Johnathan Lewis, and Kyle Bolin "were all getting reps with the ls," and didn't seem to want to put anybody in the driver's seat at the moment. I would have to think that simply based on familiarity, if the season were to start tomorrow Rescigno would get the nod, because not enough time has passed to evaluate the other guys enough to firmly unseat him. We'll see what happens in a week or two after they get another scrimmage under their belts. Coach was a little more candid when discussing the running backs, singling out Gus Edwards in particular as someone who has stood out in practice. It's going to be interesting to s...

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....