The quarterback position has been unsettled at Rutgers ever since Mike Teel played his last game in 2008. Tom Savage was supposed to be the future of the position after unseating Dom Natale as the starter in '09, but he threw a wrench into that plan when he transferred following the '10 season that saw him get replaced by Chas Dodd. Dodd was thought to be the long term solution by some, but he was not a great fit for the pro style offense the Knights were transitioning back to, and Gary Nova pushed him for playing time in training camp and took over as the starter midseason. The constant reshuffling has caused Rutgers to have a QB controversy three years in a row, with a true freshman getting the majority of playing time in all three seasons. You can't continuously deal with the growing pains, inexperience, and uncertainty at the most important position on the field. You need to just pick one quarterback and stick with him. That's exactly what Kyle Flood is finally doing, as he has stated over and over again he is a one quarterback coach. After a long off season and training camp battle, he has decided on his one QB: Gary Nova.
Gary Nova displayed flashes of brilliance last year, but he probably was not ready to play as a true freshman, and he made some poor decisions that resulted in a lot of turnovers. He relinquished the starting spot back to Dodd late in the year, but he has worked enough this off-season to win the starting spot back, and I think the coaching staff made the right decision in picking him for this year and the future. Nova is a pro style passer who is a good fit for the system Rutgers runs. He has decent size with a great arm and feel for the pocket. With a bunch of big play receivers at his disposal, he should be able to make the most of his arm strength and beat defenses with the deep ball, especially off of play action. Mobility is another one of his strong suits, and he can make throws on the run off bootlegs and scramble for yards when necessary. The two main things he needs to improve on are accuracy and of course decision making. His accuracy issues on short and intermediate routes may be due to his sometimes wonky mechanics that cause him to "shot put" the ball. This is something that can be improved through coaching, but it takes time. His decision making, theoretically, should improve this year as he has more experience under his belt. If he just takes care of the ball better he will be much improved from last year.
Backing up Nova you have an experienced and capable quarterback in Chas Dodd. He won't blow you away with his skill set, but he knows the offense, knows the personnel, and does a good job distributing the ball to his receivers. He's had his moments (when he was able to scramble away from pass rushers behind a porous line), doing some damage out of spread sets, like he was recruited to do, but he is not a great fit for Rutgers' new/old philosophy on offense. Dodd is a tough competitor and it's nice having him in the program as a safety net in case something happens to Nova. He's a back up in name only, he could start at some FBS schools.
Red shirt freshman Mike Bimonte will be the third string quarterback, and he has some interesting tools to work with, including a great arm and great size. He is a bit raw though, so hopefully he won't need to see the field this year. True freshman Blake Rankin also brings in an interesting, but different, set of skills. The Big 33 game MVP on the Pennsylvania side is a duel threat quarterback who can really zip the ball in addition to being a great runner. For such a young quarterback he has surprisingly mature pocket presence, as he is able to elude rushers while keeping his eyes down field. He was a very underrated prospect and he's worth keeping an eye on after he redshirts this year.
New QB coach Rob Spence will be able to focus solely on QBs, unlike most QB coaches who usually double as offensive coordinators. He has a mixed track record producing QBs, and he will be given a few talented players who need a great deal of work. The one main thing he's stressed with Nova through out camp is throwing the ball away when nothing is there. Hopefully he's trying to clean up his mechanics too. Rutgers' offense will feature a lot of play action fakes and he needs to work with these guys on their fakes and reading the defense after turning your back to them. It is extremely difficult to do and a bit of a lost art.
I'm cautiously optimistic about Nova this year. With more experience and more coaching, I think he will be pretty good with the nice group of receivers he has to throw to. Hopefully he is able to hold down the job all year. Dodd is a nice back up to have, and he's trustworthy as a game manager type. Bimonte and Rankin offer raw talents that can turn into something in a few years. I think QB play could be the difference between another 8 win season and something better. Nova has the talent, he just needs to refine his game.
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