Game 1: Fresno State

Rutgers will kick off the 2013 season tonight against Fresno State. This is a very tough match up for the team, since their young secondary faces Derek Carr, who is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Tim DeRuyter' squad has BCS aspirations this year, and this is their marquee out of conference game, so they should be fired up tonight.

Rutgers defense has to get a lot of pressure on Carr one way or another (their offensive line is very bad), and have some resemblance of a quality offense to win. But Carr against a young defense is a daunting task, especially since this is a late night game on the west coast. I want to pick Rutgers to win, but I think they will lose a tightly contested game tonight. Here's to hoping I'm wring.

If you missed it, I previewed every position group on Rutgers earlier this week. Read it. Also, I will have more on what I expect from the team this season and the remaining 2013 recruiting profiles next week after I finish this game review.

Rutgers 2013 Season Preview: Defensive Backs

Rutgers 2013 Season Preview: Defensive Lineman

The defensive line should be one of Rutgers’ biggest strengths this season. The Scarlet Knights not only have a talented starting four up front, but they have a ton of quality depth at the position, and that will be huge since they figure to face a lot of up tempo offenses this year. As usual, this group will be a bit undersized, but they will more than make up for any size deficiencies with speed and quickness. They should be a pain in the ass for opposing offenses to block, and also free up second level defenders to make plays.

Senior nose tackle Ike Holmes was outstanding last year while receiving his first opportunity as a starter, but his season was cut short after he suffered a wrist injury in the fourth game. When he is healthy, Holmes can provide some much needed size at the center of Rutgers’ defense. He is a very strong player who can hold double teams and fight through them, and that allows everyone around him to make plays. It is an unglamorous job, but it is vital to the success of the defense as a whole, and you won’t find a lot of guys in college who can eat up blockers as well as Holmes.

Starting next to Holmes as the three technique tackle is sophomore Darius Hamilton. The former 5 star recruit was involved in the defensive line rotation as a reserve last season, and he flashed his talent and made some plays. Hamilton is undersized for a defensive tackle, but he makes up for it with his technique that is second to none (having a father who played in the NFL probably helped a ton in that regard) and his quickness and burst off the snap. With Holmes eating up blockers next to him, Hamilton should be freed up to make a ton of plays in the back field.

Backing up at nose tackle is Kenneth Kirksey, who received a lot of praise from Kyle Flood during training camp. He would probably start on a lot of teams, and he is another big bodied guy who can take on double teams. Third string nose tackle Al Page is a talented player who should see some playing time as well, and he fits the same mold as Holmes and Kirksey.

Daryl Stephenson and Sebastian Joseph are listed as the co-backups at the three technique spot. The red shirt sophomore Stephenson is a quick player who missed all of last season with a lower body injury. Now that he is healthy, he should be a productive back up. Joseph is a true freshman, and he is quick off the snap and has a massive wing span on him that can not only combat blockers, but knock down some passes as well.

On the outside, Jamil Merrell starts at the strong side defensive end spot. He really broke out last year when moving inside to tackle, but he is a better fit on the end. He is capable of containing the outside and standing his ground against blockers, and he has tremendous quickness that allows him to make plays in the backfield. He is not an explosive pass rusher, but he is a very solid all-around player. Like his brother Jamal, he was named a captain and must take on a big leadership role on this defense.

Starting at the weakside end or “R” position is the senior Marcus Thompson. Thompson was effective last year in this position a year ago, and like Merrell, he is very strong against the run. It is tough to get outside of him, and he has the quickness to beat blockers off the ball and make plays in the backfield. He is also not a dominant pass rusher, but he will often drop back into coverage, as the “R” is considered a hybrid lineman/linebacker in the Scarlet Knights’ defense.

Backing up on the strong side are sophomores Djwany Mera and Max Issaka. They will both probably be utilized as situational pass rushers. At the “R” position, converted linebackers Dave Milewskki and Quanzell Lambert make up the second unit. Milewski missed all of last season with a knee injury, and he will finally get an opportunity to see the field after suffering multiple torn ACLs. Lambert came to Rutgers as a highly touted middle linebacker, but he is a better fit at end. He is quick to diagnose plays and is a very strong tackler. Red shirt freshman Julian Pinix Odrick would have been involved in the the line rotation, but he suffered a serious injury during spring able and will likely miss the entire season.

The defensive line will be the backbone of Rutgers’ entire team. This position group has by far the most talent, depth and experience of any at Rutgers right now. The departure of Scott Vallone will certainly hurt, but this may be the best group Rutgers has ever had up front on their defense.

Rutgers 2013 Season Preview: Linebackers

It’s tough to replace players like Khaseem Greene and Steve Beauharnais. The two linebackers have been the heart and soul of Rutgers’ defense the last three years, making plays all over the field and providing important leadership and communication to the rest of the defense. Those two were a big part of Rutgers defense which was amongst the best in the nation the last couple years, and Rutgers defense won’t be the same without them. The current group of linebackers, however, is still very talented, and should be able to provide leadership to the rest of the defense.

Senior Jamal Merrell leads this current pack of linebackers, starting on the strong side. Merrell is a long, athletic player who can do a lot of different things for a defense. He can make plays outside in space, and take on the tight end one on one in coverage. He plays a lot up on the line of scrimmage, and he can hold the edge as well. As a three year starter, Merell must step up and take a leadership role on this defense. He is the most experienced player on this defense by far, and he was named a team captain.

Starting at weak side linebacker is junior Kevin Snyder. This is Snyder’s first crack at being a starter, but he has played a lot of football for the Scarlet Knights the last two years, backing up all three linebacking positions. He is a tough player who can stop the run on the interior, and he is also pretty athletic on the outside and in coverage. Playing on the weakisde, he should be freed up to make a ton of plays and be the unit’s top playmaker.

Taking over in the middle is red shirt freshman Steve Longa. Longa is interestingly enough from the same high school as Beauharnais (Saddle Brook), and he will have to make the majority of the defense’s calls despite seeing the field at the collegiate level for the first time. Longa is a very fast and athletic player, and he should be able to make plays all over the field. He is a bit smaller than a traditional inside backer, so it will be interesting to see how he handles blockers and fighting through trash.

Quentin Gause will back up on the strong side. He doesn’t have the length you usually see from Rutgers strong side backers, but he makes up for it with his burst and speed. He has some experience, but that has mostly come on special teams. True freshman LJ Liston makes up in the middle, and he is a big backer who can lay the wood on ball carriers inside. Davon Jacobs moves down from safety to back up the weak side, and he should be a very good player in coverage who can also make plays in space.

Rutgers linebacking corps lost two very special players, but this unit should still be very solid this year. Merrell should be able to take on a lot of that vacated leadership role, and Snyder will make a lot of plays on the weakside. Longa I very talented player who has a lot of potential, but he is a question mark right now since he hasn’t played at this level yet. He has to prove himself not only as a player at a new position, but as a signal caller as well. I believe in him, but it may take some time. Gause, Liston and Jacobs are youngsters at the position who should provide some quality depth behind these solid three starters. 

Rutgers 2013 Season Preview: Wide Receivers

Rutgers has a very rich recent history of producing quality wide receivers. Every receiver that moves on from Rutgers seems to catch on with an NFL team, and that even includes the ones who transfer out. The Scarlet Knights have traditionally preferred big receivers in their pro style of offense and this year’s crop of receivers fit that mold, and is a very exciting bunch. This group underachieved to a certain degree last year, but I think they will improve a lot this season. There are big play threats, reliable possession receivers, and some exciting freshman. This is a well-rounded group, and they should provide plenty of options for Gary Nova.

When you look at Rutgers roster, it’s easy to see who their very best player is. That would be red shirt junior wide receiver Brandon Coleman, who projects as a first round pick in this upcoming April’s draft. Coleman has drawn Plaxico Burress comparisons on the field, since he is a huge target on the outside who can outrun corners as a dangerous deep threat. Despite his tremendous size, Coleman is a true burner, and he is explosive with the ball in his hands as well. On top of all that, he can go up and get the ball with the best of them, and can provide some physicality. A staggering 23% of his catches went for touchdowns a year ago, and he will be the offense’s go to weapon. The biggest question about him will be his health (he is coming off knee surgery), but all indications are he’s ready to go. If they throw enough passes his way, he very well could earn All American honors.

One dimension Rutgers really lacked on offense last season was a reliable possession receiver who can work the middle and make the tough catches on third down. Mohamed Sanu’s early departure obviously played a huge role in that, but they appear to finally have a receiver who can do the things Sanu did ready to play. Red shirt freshman Leonte Carroo will be that guy, after a monster training camp. Carro played with Gary Nova in high school, so they have a natural connection, and he is a big bodied receiver with great hands and toughness over the middle.

Qurron Pratt seemed poised to step into that Sanu type role last year after a solid 2011 campaign, but he never really stepped up and was relegated to being the team’s fourth receiver. This year, he will have another opportunity to take on this possession receiver role, as the team’s third receiver. He has good hands and can find holes in the defense and get open over the middle.

Red shirt freshman Ruhon Pehlee will see a lot of time as well, as the team’s forth receiver. He is a much smaller receiver than Rutgers’ other receivers, but he is as explosive as they come, and he could be a big play target out of the slot.

At tight end, the Knights return Paul Carrezola, who has seen a lot of action as the team’s second tight end the past few years. He has not been much of a receiver, but he has been a pretty solid blocker, and he may catch more passes now that he doesn’t have to play fullback. The team’s second tight end will be Tyler Kroft. Kroft is on the smaller end of the size spectrum at the position, but he is a movable H-back type who has soft hands and can stretch the seam.

Carlton Agudossi is a huge target with some serious speed, and he seemed to have a chance of earning playing time early in camp, but he has yet to return from a hamstring injury he suffered during training camp. True freshman Janarion Grant is a smaller receiver, but he is as explosive as they come and should contribute right away as a kick returner. Andre Patton is a true freshman in the big, speedy mold that Rutgers prefers, and he and future slot receiver John Tsimis will redshirt.

Backing up the two tight ends are freshman Nick Ardiacono and Taylor Marini. Both player could see action this year, and they are both strong in-line blockers who will need a lot of work to become threats as receivers.

Junior wide receiver Miles Shuler decided to transfer from the school prior to the team’s Fresno State game week preparation. Shuler is a good kid and this is a very amicable split, but he saw the writing on the wall and decided to leave. He isn’t the kind of big receiver the Knights like and he was buried on the depth chart. It was a shame they never red shirted him or tried him out at defensive back. Early signs point to him transferring to California to play in Sunny Dykes’ air raid offense.

Rutgers proud tradition at receiver should continue this year, with their talented stable of receivers. Coleman may go down as the best receiver Rutgers has ever had, Carroo and Pratt provide solid possession options, and Pehlee and Grant provide plenty of game breaking explosiveness. Rutgers won’t be a pass first team this year, but they have plenty of weapons to attack defenses with when they do go to the air.

Rutgers 2013 Season Preview: The Offensive Line

Last season, the offensive line transformed from being Rutgers’s biggest problem in the previous two seasons, into being one of the team’s greatest strengths. The line allowed only 11 sacks all season, which was the ninth fewest in the nation, and they did a pretty solid job run blocking as well. Last year’s line produced two first team all-conference performers in Kaleb Johnson and Antwan Lowery, and sent RJ Dill to the NFL. This season, the Scarlet Knights return four of five starters and five of the seven players who received significant playing time up front, but there were still a lot of changes among this solid group. Kyle Flood has shuffled the line throughout spring practice and fall camp, and it’s still a bit unclear of how this unit will shake out this year, even though the depth chart has been released.

The lone constant on the offensive line has been Betim Bujari at center. The junior was rock solid in the middle for Rutgers last season, setting up protections, making calls and making double team blocks and scraping to the second level. He was named to the preseason Rimington Award watch list, and he should be able to keep his role as the line’s rock and be one of the best centers in the Big East.

Kaleb Johnson performed very well at left tackle last season, and I believe he did not allow a single sack while protecting Gary Nova’s blindside a year ago. Although he performed well enough to stay at left tackle a year after performing well at right tackle, the coaching staff felt his best position is inside at guard, and he will open his junior season at left guard. Johnson is an athletic lineman who can also move people, so although I’m not exactly happy about this move, it should work out. He’s more than powerful enough of a run blocker to handle big defensive tackles, and he’s athletic enough to pull or scrape to the second level in on zone plays. He is Rutgers’ best lineman and one of their best players overall, so another all conference caliber performance is to be expected.

At right guard, incumbent Andre Civil hung on to his job over last year’s starting left guard Antwan Lowery and highly touted redshirt freshman Chris Mueller.  Civil is a bit undersized at guard, but he was okay last season in this spot since he is moves very well, but I’m not estatic in him starting. Lowery was fantastic last year, and he is massive and powerful and a more traditional guard. He was set back in camp by an ankle injury and that appears to have cost him the opportunity to compete for this spot. Mueller may be the most talented lineman Rutgers has, but I guess the coaching staff isn’t ready to have him start just yet. He offers the best blend of size, athleticism and power of any of Rutgers’ offensive lineman, and Kyle Flood says “he will play a lot of football for us” this year, despite being listed as a backup.

Taking over at left tackle is redshirt sophomore Keith Lumpkin. Lumpkin came to Rutgers from St. Peter’s Prep with his high school teammate Savon Huggins, and he was viewed as a high ceiling player. Listed at 6’8’’, he has tremendous length and his basketball background made him an outstanding athlete for someone of that size. It will be interesting to finally see how his technique and strength have improved –those were always the questions about him—because he is capable of being a special player.

Book ending the line at right tackle is Taj Alexander, who received a lot of playing time at right guard a year ago. He is a similar player as Andre Civil, as they are both converted defensive lineman who move very well, but are a bit undersized. He has held this position down without much competition throughout the offseason and training camp, so the coaching staff must have a lot of faith in him,

 The reserve guards are Marquise Wright and Derrick Nelson. Wright began his collegiate career on the defensive side of the ball, but he was always viewed as an offensive lineman long term. He isn't athletic enough to play on the defensive side of the ball at Rutgers, but he could be a very good guard. He is a very strong, physical player who has a low center of gravity and should be able to knock people around inside. Nelson is a physical player who plays with a mean streak, and he impressed during practices while redshirting a year ago. He looks to have a future role on the team, and he might be the backup center this year.

Rounding out the rest of the roster on the offensive line is JJ Denman, Ryan Brodie and Brian Ardiocono, who were part of the “fab-5” group of lineman brought in a year ago, true freshman Dorian Miller and veterans Dallas Hendrickson, Chris Fonti and Bryan Leoni.

Rutgers offensive line should be another one of the team’s strengths again this season. They have a very athletic group starting, led by Johnson who might be the very best offensive lineman in the conference, and they have two reserves in Lowery and Mueller who would both be starting at a lot of places. The future at this position should be very bright as well, with Mueller leading the “fab-5.” I’m not in love with a lot of the position changes and how the depth chart shook out with in this unit, but with Kyle Flood, Ron Prince, Damian Wroblewski, Norries Wilson, and Darnell Stapleton on the coaching staff, you have to trust that they made the right decisions. They know offensive lineman as well as anybody.

Rutgers 2013 Season Preview: The Runningbacks

Savon Huggins is probably the most important recruit in Rutgers history. He was the first #1 player in the state of New Jersey to commit to the Scarlet Knights, and that got the ball rolling for Rutgers to establish themselves as an emerging recruiting powerhouse in the north. Thus far into his college career, however, he hasn't lived up to his five star billing on the field. He probably wasn't ready physically to play as a true freshman, but the team lacked a true lead back and that forced the coaching staff’s hand into giving him an opportunity. He never really got going as a freshman, and he missed the last four games with a knee injury. Last season, Huggins played second fiddle to Jawan Jamison. He was a serviceable back up early on, and he had a huge break out game against Cincinnati, rushing for 179 yards while Jamison was out.

This season, Huggins will be Rutgers undisputed number one back, and quite frankly, he needs to really break out and be that guy he was against Cincinnati week in and week out. The Scarlet Knights figure to be a run heavy team this fall and there aren’t exactly a lot of appealing options at the moment behind Huggins. He needs to take his game to another level (which I think he is more than capable of) and finally live up to expectations everyone had for him coming out of high school.

Being forced into the lead back role should be a benefit to Huggins. It very well just may be conformational bias, but I think he is a back that needs a high volume of carries to be effective. He is the kind of bruising back that can wear a defense down and get stronger as the game goes along. He kind of reminds me of Marion Barber in that regard. He is at his best when running downhill, and even though Rutgers runs a zone scheme, getting downhill is one of the points they emphasize with their backs. I also think we may see some more man blocking schemes with Ron Prince in the fold, and I think that would very much benefit Huggins running style. Savon has not shown a lot of burst or wiggle at Rutgers yet, so hopefully he either improves in that regard or gets stronger in order to break more tackles. He should stay on the field for third down as well, since he is a capable receiver and blocker.

Backing up Huggins is junior Paul James. James has a similar running style as Huggins, and he should get quite a few carries throughout the season. True freshman Justin Goodwin has had a strong camp and could see the field as a change of pace back to Huggins and Goodwin, since he is a quick back.

Desmond People seemed to have the upper hand in the battle for the backup running back position before camp, but he suffered an injury early on during camp and never really emerged. He is a small, speedy type back who would have been a perfect complement to the bruisers. Rounding out the stable of tailbacks is freshman Dontea Ayers, who is a strong between the tackles back who will redshirt.

Rutgers most underrated player is probably fullback Michael Burton. Rutgers is offense is one of the very few left that actually uses a fullback, and they have a very good one on their hands. Burton was a dynamite lead blocker, and the offense was much worse off without him after he suffered a season ending injury in the fourth game of last season. His backups were never able to replicate his punishing blocks on the force players (usually a safety or OLB, depending on the scheme) and the running game suffered. On top of the tremendous blocking, Burton is also a sneaky good runner on fullback dives, and able to catch passes out in the flat. I’d go as far as to call Burton Rutgers most indispensable player this year.

Backing up Burton is Sam Bergen, who saw some action against Connecticut immediately following Burton’s injury, but he was replaced after getting called for a holding penalty. Freshman Devon Carter will redshirt, and he projects to be a solid all-around fullback.

Savon Huggins has a golden opportunity to become one of the biggest break out players in the entire country this year when you consider his talent and all the carries he will receive Rutgers’ run first offense. I really think he will improve by leaps and bounds this season, but if he doesn't Rutgers may be in trouble. Their backs behind him are pretty much completely untested at the college level. Fullback Michael Burton’s presence should help the run game significantly improve over what it was last year, and the two juniors could be a dynamic rushing duo as the team moves to as the team transitions to the Big 10.

Rutgers 2013 QB Season Preview: Quarterbacks

Last season, Gary Nova was Rutgers' greatest enigma. The then sophomore experienced some of the highest of highs (397 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT against Arkansas) and some of the lowest of lows (6 interceptions versus Kent State) a quarterback can go through, while taking the team on the roller coaster with him. Nova started the season on fire, throwing 15 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions during the team's 7-0 start, but he began to falter big time down the stretch, starting with that disaster game against Kent State. He seemed to rebound in the regular season finale against Louisville where he would have led the team to a Sugar Bowl berth if not for a couple huge dropped passes and blown calls, but he followed that up with another terrible performance in the bowl game against Virginia Tech.

Coming into 2013, there are two different perspectives you can take in evaluating Nova going forward. You can view him as a talented passer who took major strides forward between his freshman and sophomore campaigns, or you can view him as the guy who really regressed during the second half of last season. As a more optimistic fan and a big believer in Nova, I tend to view him as the former.

Playing as a true sophomore last season, Nova was still pretty young for a starting quarterback. In a lot of situations, quarterbacks don't take the reigns as a starter until their third year on campus, and in a perfect world, that would have been the case for Nova (with Tom Savage starting the last two years for Rutgers in this perfect world). Considering this, his performance was......I wouldn't say par for the course, but it was pretty normal. He displayed a lot of positive signs, especially early on, but he still made a lot of mistakes because of his youth, leading to an overall uneven performance on the year. Even through it wasn't always pretty, I think there has been a lot more good than bad. That, along with all of that experience (18 career starts) he has under his belt, is encouraging going into his junior season. This is when we should start seeing the growing pains pay off.

When you compare Nova's sophomore season to Mike Teel --the last quarterback to stabilize the position at Rutgers— Nova was a bit better. Nova had a much better touchdown to interception ratio, while the two Don Bosco alumni had similar completion percentages and yards per attempt as second year signal callers. Teel took his biggest strides between his sophomore and junior seasons, and I expect Nova to do the same. He appears to have worked extra hard this offseason to make sure that happens, as evidenced by his weight loss. Even though I don't think his weight was really a problem last year, it does at least give us some tangible evidence of the work he put in during the offseason.

Nova will be playing under his third offensive coordinator in as many years this season, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. He and Dave Brock never really seemed to be in the same page last season, so hopefully Ron Prince will be able to get a better read on him. Second year QB coach Robb Spence could do a better job this year as well. He seemed to leave Nova unprepared for some games (it’s like they didn’t expect to see any zone blitzing against Kent State!) last season, and that needs to not happen anymore. Even with the coordinator change, Rutgers will still have the same philosophy offensively, with a run first, pro-style attack (the only difference may be terminology, but I don't know if that was changed or not).

Nova is a good fit for this style of play. His greatest attribute is his strong arm, and he can use that to push the ball down field to the big play receivers he will have at his disposal.  In the pocket, he has good awareness of his surroundings, and he generally gets rid of the ball quickly, sometimes to a fault. One area where he could improve is by throwing the ball away (or simply just taking a sack) rather than forcing it and turning the ball over when under pressure. He was able to fit passes through tight windows over the middle last season, and hopefully we will see more of that this season. His accuracy sometimes suffers from his poor mechanics on such passes, but when he just lets it fly, he can put it on the spot. If Rutgers is able to establish a strong run game, I think the play action could be another great weapon at Nova’s disposal. Nova was athletic enough to escape pressure or throw passes outside of the pocket before, and now that he dropped some weight, I expect that to improve.

Backing Nova up is senior Chas Dodd. Dodd has plenty of starting experience, and he's not someone you would have to worry too much about taking the field if Nova were to get hurt. Dodd has proved himself to be a very competent quarterback, but he is not an ideal fit in a pro-style offense, taking snaps under center and standing in the pocket. Remember, he was recruited to play in a spread offense, and he is at his best slinging short passes around out of the shot gun.

Waiting in the wings as Rutgers "quarterbacks of the future" are red shirt sophomore Mike Bimonte, red shirt freshman Blake Rankin and true freshman Chris Laviano. Bimonte has good size and a strong arm, but he was raw coming out of high school. Rankin is an interesting duel threat quarterback with explosive tools, and Laviano is a polished quarterback with a solid all-around game. These three will share practice squad duties before competing for the backup job next season and the starting job in 2015. I am a big Laviano fan, for what it's worth.

Gary Nova is going to need to take on a much bigger role if Rutgers wants to be successful this season. He was relegated to being a game manager last season, and I think it's time to finally set him loose. He has the tools needed to be a very good quarterback in a pro-style offense at the college level, and now that he has a lot of experience and hopefully receives better coaching, he is ready to take that next step and become a guy they can rely on to win games for them week in and week out. He must take on a bigger leadership role this year as well, especially since he was named a captain. Behind him, Chas Dodd is a very good back up, and Bimonte, Laviano and Rankin have talent and will compete for the starting job after Nova graduates.