Replacing Michael Burton

Fullback Michael Burton will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a "lower body injury" against Arkansas on Saturday. This is a big blow to Rutgers' much improved offense, as Burton is a powerful run blocker who was doing a tremendous job leading the way for Jawan Jamison, and a threat to both run and catch the ball out of the backfield. You have to feel really bad for any kid that suffers a season ending injury, especially a fan favorite like Burton, but Rutgers must find some way to replace him. That will not be an easy task, as Rutgers is pretty thin at fullback after a few years of recruiting for a spread offense, so a "fullback by committee" approach will be utilized, according to head coach Kyle Flood.

Redshirt freshman fullback Paul Canevari transferred this summer, and that left converted linebacker Sam Bergen as the only other fullback on the Scarlet Knights roster. Bergen will supposedly be part of the mix replacing Burton, but he did not see any action against Arkansas after Burton went down. That struck me as a bit odd, considering he's the back up on the depth chart, and it made me wonder. Did the coaching staff not want to throw him right into the fire? Do they want to get him some reps with the first team offense first so he's more comfortable with them and does not throw off their continuity? Or does the coaching staff not feel comfortable using him at all? I guess we'll find out next week.

Tight end Paul Carrezola took over as the fullback last Saturday, and he is a very good blocker who has enough speed to lead the way for the ball carrier. He's obviously a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield too. After he missed the first two games with an injury, DC Jefferson appeared to overtake him as the starting tight end, so it is very possible that Carrezola will be Burton's primary replacement. I think he's the best man for the job. Tyler Kroft was also mentioned as part of this committee, but he is more of a receiver than a blocker, and Beau Bachety, a walk on tight end, will get a shot as well.

Ultimately, I think we will see Rutgers run more three wide receiver sets and more two tight end sets. They can still run their zone run plays out of these personnel packages, and they have a boatload of talented receivers, and three very good tight ends. Carrezola and Kroft could be used as an H-back type player too. When the Knights do go to their two back sets, I expect Carrezola and Bergen to split time leading the way for the tailbacks. Replacing Burton will not be easy, but using these four players to split his workload could get the job done.