The Knights Watchman

Rutgers running backs coach Lester Erb took a few minutes to meet with the press at Friday's practice. He mainly discussed the attributes of some of the running backs who have stood out in camp. Sophomore Trey Sneed has been "playing with confidence" and has "really done a good job throughout camp." True freshman Raheem Blackshear is "mature, really picks things up well...He brings a different skill set to the unit." Graduate senior Gus Edwards "can run. You wouldn't expect a guy of his size to have the speed that he does and the quickness that he does." Senior Robert Martin "has had a tremendous last couple days of camp." "He doesn't make many mental mistakes." Senior Josh Hicks "is having a good camp. He's been limited a little bit." In terms of allocating playing time, Erb said, "whoever has the hot hand has the hot hand and everyone understands that." The coa...

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...

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...

I'm finally getting around to posting my take on the RU/Maryland tilt that took place last Saturday. In my preview, I felt that the key to the game for Rutgers was slowing the Maryland rushing attack, particularly Ty Johnson. Well, the Terrapins rushed for 318 yards in the game, with Johnson racking up 168 yards on just 11 carries, good for over 15 yards a clip. Their No. 2 back, Kenneth Goins, was also unstoppable, gaining 81 yards on just 10 carries. As a team, Maryland rushed for 7.1 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns in the 31-13 victory. On the bright side, the RU defense didn't allow a touchdown through the air, but Maryland only threw 16 times. Brandon Russell got his first career start at linebacker and led the team with 12 tackles. Another bright spot was that the Rutgers defense recorded 4 sacks and 9 tackles-for-loss. And I thought Julian Pinnix-Odrick and Darius Hamilton both finished their careers with strong games. JPO had five tackles, inclu...

The Scarlet Knights will head to College Park , Maryland to take on the University of Maryland Terrapins at Noon this coming Saturday. Heading into this final game of the season, Rutgers currently sits as a 13.5-point underdog. This is despite the fact that Maryland has lost 4 straight and 6 of its last 7 contests. Although Rutgers is on the road, this looms as a winnable game, provided that Rutgers can get something going on offense and plays a mistake-free game. If the Scarlet Knights can pull off the upset, winning their first Big Ten game of the year would be a nice way to close out the season, giving the team momentum heading into the offseason program and the coaches momentum heading into the next recruiting cycle. Maryland is somewhat unsettled at quarterback. Like Rutgers , the Terrapins have played four different quarterbacks this season, some of that necessitated by injury. Freshman Max Bortenschlager played most of the reps last week in the Terps loss to ...

Senior Day at High Point Solutions Stadium will feature the Penn State Nittany Lions, currently the No. 8 team in the country. Penn State has a ton to play for as they are still very much in the mix to win the Big Ten East Division. Rutgers has the opportunity to play the role of spoiler against a recruiting nemesis, and send three-time captain Darius Hamilton and the other seniors out in style. Apart from it being Senior Day, the school will also honor the undefeated 1976 team during the first TV timeout from what I've heard. As far as the importance of the game, head coach Chris Ash simply stated that Rutgers is "playing to try and get better"  and "we're playing for our seniors." Asked about Hamilton specifically, the coach stated "people listen to him" and that Darius buying into what the new coaching staff was trying to do "meant a lot." Another senior discussed was Janarion Grant. The coach mentioned that Janarion...

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've had a few days to recover from and digest the Rutgers 14-7 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. I correctly picked Rutgers to cover the 13.5 point spread, but I certainly didn't anticipate how close the game would actually be and that Rutgers , in my opinion, should have won the game. Before I get into breaking down what I thought were suspect decisions, I want to take a moment to express my well wishes to Janarion Grant and Quanzell Lambert, after both sustained season-ending injuries in the game. They will both be missed and were having excellent seasons to this point. Chris Ash mentioned in his Monday press conference that Rutgers will petition the NCAA for another year of eligibility for both men. Let's hope we see them back on the banks. But if not, thank you for everything! Despite having the team well-prepared, I believe this loss was on the coaches. Rutgers came up empty on three of the four trips to the red zone. On the first trip, Chris Laviano back pedale...