The Knights Watchman

scarletknights.com Rutgers University has released more information regarding the "War Before the Shore" promotion slated for the 9/1/17 opening night home game against  Washington . There will be some pretty neat giveaways and entertainment options for fans going to the contest. The most talked about part of this promotion has been the announcement that there will be a Jacuzzi atop the Rutgers student section above the South end zone. While this has been widely lampooned in the media, I believe those in charge of hospitality and promotions should be given credit. First of all, it has generated publicity. Second, they knew going in that they would face an uphill battle to get fans to attend the game on the eve of Labor Day weekend. They've created a game atmosphere which should be fun and exciting and worth sticking around for. If the team is competitive in the game, this could be a night to remember. In player news,  Keith Sargeant of NJ.com reported...

Rutgers defensive coordinator Jay Niemann took a few moments last week to meet reporters for a quick interview. Here are what I thought were the highlights, as well as a few comments: Niemann was asked about the season-ending injury to Tyreek Maddox-Williams and how it will affect the defense. He responded, "It's hard. We're making some adjustments within the linebacking group...That'll go on until towards the end of camp." He mentioned that Eric Margolis, T. J. Taylor, and a number of the freshman have been, and will continue to be, rotated in until they can determine a two-deep. With the move of Ross Douglas to linebacker, the incoming freshman, and assuming that Deonte Roberts and Trevor Morris remain healthy, the Rutgers linebackers are a much deeper group than last season. Maddox-Williams is no small loss, but my hope is that Tyshon Fogg and the other recruits can step up and fill the gaps. Margolis and Taylor have both seen the field quite a bit, whethe...

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 ...

I've decided there's really no point in breaking down the Michigan loss. It's simply best to leave it in the past. After facing three Top 10 teams in the first six games, Rutgers fans can look forward to the upcoming schedule of good, but not great teams. Of course if the Scarlet Knights play they way they did Saturday, I'm not sure the opponent matters. But I'd like to think the future showings will be closer to the effort put forth against Iowa, which means that Rutgers has a chance to be competitive in each of their remaining home games and a couple of the road contests. Another thing in Rutgers favor right now is that area football fans are reeling over the Jets and Giants both having losing records. It helps take negative attention away from Rutgers and focus it on the pro teams. Head coach Chris Ash confirmed the news this week that starting strong-side linebacker Greg Jones is lost for the season to a neck injury and that his football career is over...

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...