OC Dave Brock Will Reportedly be Named Delaware's Head Coach

Rutgers' offensive coordinator Dave Brock will be named the next head coach at the University of Delaware later today, according to Kevin Tresolini of The News Journal. Brock will take over the Blue Hen program after the shocking dismissal of KC Keeler, and although he has no ties to the school, he was the logical choice for the job. He has plenty of familiarity with their football program from his time at Hofstra (they were in the same conference), as well as strong ties to the north east and a solid track record as an assistant coach and recruiter at both the FCS and FBS level. He also reportedly impressed Delaware AD Eric Ziaday while they were both at Boston College a few years ago, and that certainly helped in landing him this gig.

For Rutgers, this means they will have their fourth offensive coordinator in four years next season. It would have been nice to keep some continuity at a position that has had so much turn over recently, but this move is probably beneficial for all parties involved. The Scarlet Knight offense struggled mightily at the end of the 2012 season under Brock, but it's unclear how much of the blame falls on him. Kyle Flood wanted to have an extremely conservative offense and win with defense and special teams, and Brock never really seemed to make his mark on the offense. Maybe a coordinator who Flood doesn't have as much of a history with will take more control. Brock did have a few great games as a play caller against USF, Temple, and Arkansas, but he had some pretty awful games too, against Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Army. He also served as the wide receivers coach and did a pretty good job with that group this year. Good luck to him at Delaware.

(Rutgers' linebacker coach Dave Cohen was also a candidate for this vacancy.)

Recruit Profile: Lester Liston

Linebacker Lester Liston of Grand Blanc, Michigan (which happens to be the hometown of Twitter legend Karl Welzein) became Rutgers' 16th 2013 commit back in September. Liston committed Cincinnati in 2012, but he did not qualify and he had to attend Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia as a post grad this year. While in high school, he forged a strong bond with current Rutgers' linebacker coach Dave Cohen while Cohen was coaching at Western Michigan, and although he didn't pick the Broncos a year ago, he "wanted to play for him, but was not sold on Western." He committed as soon as Cohen made him an offer on the Knights' behalf. He had 98 tackles as a senior at Grand Blanc High.

Measurables: 6'2 215 lbs 4.94 40 yard dash

Stars:

Rivals	ESPN	Scout	247
3 star LB	3 stars, #50 OLB, #9 in MI	3 stars, #56 OLB	3 star ILB, #23 in VA

Offer Sheet: Liston also had offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, and Western Michigan. It's unclear how much his qualifying status effected his list of offers.

Scouting Report: Liston is a very physical player who has a thick, stocky build. He is a violent hitter, delivering some crushing blows while leading with his shoulder, but he needs to work on his tackling technique, as he hits high and does not always wrap up. He is very good at disengaging from blockers, using both his strength and his excellent hand work, allowing him to make a lot of plays. His hand work also makes him a good pass rusher, with the swim move being his go to technique. Liston has plenty of speed and athleticism, and thus is a very good player in space, capable of containing the edge. He also has great closing speed, allowing him to play sideline to sideline and catch ball carriers from behind. He has pretty good instincts diagnosing run plays, and he is instinctive and fluid when dropping into coverage.

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My Take: Liston is a very strong player with good size, and he probably will not need to redshirt, as he is enrolling early. He could contribute right away on special teams, and with Rutgers losing a bunch of guys at linebacker, he could also make the two deep. With his ability to disengage from blockers, play in space and cover, he should be able to play either middle linebacker or strong side linebacker. He is a solid all around player, and he could become a starting caliber player if he improves his tackling technique. Liston also marks Rutgers' first inroad in the midwest, an area that will be more accessible to Rutgers as they make the move to the Big 10 in 2014.

Recruiting Update: Florida Invasion?

National Signing day is just 27 days away, and although Rutgers has a pretty strong class so far, they must close strong in order for the 2013 class to match the great 2011 and 2012 classes they brought in. The stretch run until signing day has gotten off to a pretty bad start, with one of their top prospects decommitting and one of NJ's top recruits taking his talents to South Beach, but there are still plenty of prospects out there for them to get to significantly improve their class. The recent move to the Big 10 has put Rutgers on the radar of some national recruits, and the Scarlet Knights might be able to take advantage of the coaching carousel as well. One of the main reasons Kyle Flood was promoted to head coach was because of his recruiting prowess, and he's going to have to show it down the stretch.

Let's start with the bad news. Florida linebacker Skai Moore has decomitted from Rutgers, just a month after giving his verbal commitment. His family has apparently taken over his recruitment and they seem to be dead set on sending him to an SEC school. Moore was possibly Rutgers top recruit and losing him hurts a lot. He could have come in and played right away at a position of need for Rutgers. I wouldn't totally shut the door on him coming to the banks, but it is highly doubtful at this point. He canceled the official visit he was scheduled to take later this month.

Rutgers also lost out on Don Bosco defensive end Alquadin Muhammad. Muhammad picked Miami at the Army All American Game on Saturday, and in fact, he didn't even have a Rutgers hat on stage with him when he made his decision (in addition to Miami, he had a Notre Dame and Alabama hat up there). It was long beleived he was headed to Notre Dame, so him going to Miami is a bit of an upset. It seems like he never really considered Rutgers that strongly.

Now for the good news. Doug Marrone has accepted the head coaching position with the Buffalo Bills, and Rutgers now has the opportunity to poach some of Syracuse's recruits. The Orange have a pretty weak class overall, but one guy who has drawn interest from Rutgers is running back Augustus Edwards. Edwards is from Staten Island, NY, and he will visit Piscataway on January 25. He will also take visits to Miami and Florida State at some point. He is just "looking around."

With Moore out of the picture, Rutgers will probably go harder after another Florida linebacker, Jerod Fernandez. Fernandez was a high school teammate of Rutgers commit Taylor Marini, and he will be taking an official visit to Rutgers on January 25. He is currently committed to North Carolina State, but he is looking around after Tom O'Brien was given the boot in Raleigh. Fernandez reportedly said he would decommit if the Wolfpack fired their linebacker coach, Jon Tenuta, and although Tenuta was not fired, he recently left the program to accept the same position at Virginia.

The biggest prize left on the table for the Scarlet Knights is Florida cornerback Mackensie Alexander. Alexander is the 37th best recruit in the nation according to Rivals, and he recently named Rutgers as the co-leader for his services, along with Clemson. It is believed that he is a package deal with his twin brother, Mackenro, who is a safety, because their mother does not want to "have to go from place to place to see them play." They are both likely to make an official visit to Rutgers at some point. Mike Farrell of Rivals dubs Mackensie as "one of the most unpredictable prospects" and says "he may take things beyond signing day."

Other big names still considering the Scarlet Knights are Tampa, Florida tight end Travis Johnson and Immaculata (Somerville, NJ) defensive end Tashawn Bower. Johnson is the number 2 tight end in the country according to ESPN, and he is scheduled to make an official visit to Rutgers on the 25th. In addition to RU, he is considering USF, Cincinnati and Missouri. Bower will make an official visit on a date that has yet to be determined. He says he's still committed to Auburn after Gene Chizik was let go, but he is visiting Florida, Florida State, and LSU as well, and he may wait until after signing day to sign his letter of intent.

Rutgers has a solid recruiting class so far, but with the impending move to the Big 10, it needs to be better. There are a lot of talented players still interested, and Flood and the rest of the coaching staff must close strong down the stretch to get them on board. Signing day is fast approaching, and they must stop the bleeding and get this class up to the standards the last two classes have set.

Recruit Profile: Nadir Barnwell

Athlete Nadir Barnwell of Piscataway High School (Piscataway, NJ) became the 17th member of Rutgers' 2013 recruiting class back in September. Barnwell played both quarterback and corner back for the Chiefs, winning two state titles and throwing for over 3000 yard in his career, and he will play corner at Rutgers. Piscataway has produced a lot of defensive back talent recently in Malcolm Jenkins and Kyle Wilson, who are both in the NFL, and a lot of talent for the Scarlet Knights, most notably Anthony Davis, amongst many others. Rutgers has missed out on a number of New Jersey's top recruits this recruiting cycle, so Barnwell (who is the state's 7th best prospect according to Rivals) is a huge coup for Kyle Flood and his staff.

Measurables: 6'0'' 190 lbs 4.64 40 yard dash

Stars:

Rivals	ESPN	Scout	247
4 stars, #201 overall, #11 athlete, #7 in NJ	4 stars, #231 overall, #25 athlete, #9 in NJ	4 stars, #27 corner back	4 stars, #157 overall, #11 athlete, #8 in NJ

Offer Sheet: Barnwell has a very impressive list of offers, including ones from Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCLA, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Injury: Barnwell separated his right (non throwing) shoulder in a preseason scrimage, and it caused him miss a few games early in the season, but it should not be a problem going forward.

Scouting Report: Barnwell is a long, wiry athlete who already posses good size for the corner postion in college. He is a very tough, physical player who is adept at defending the run, as well as the pass. He has great speed,  loose hips, very good instincts and tremendous ball skills, so he has top corner potential. In man coverage, he can jam receivers at the line, force them off their route, and run with them down field. In zone coverage, he is quick reacting to routes out of his back pedal, and he is often able to get there to break up passes. His toughness makes him a great run defender, and he is a very good tackler who always wraps up and attacks ball carriers low. As a quarterback, he is a terrific runner who can make defenders miss in the open field. He has a very solid arm and can make deep throws and out routes to the wide side of the field, but he doesn't get great zip on his passes. He has escapability in the pocket, and he throws the ball accurately on the run.

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My Take: Barnwell is probably Rutgers' best commit so far, and he fills a position of need. He is a fast, physical corner with good size who is ready to play right away in college. I think he could conceivably play quarterback, but given the immediate need Rutgers has at corner, he should play there. The Scarlet Knights lost their top three players at the position from 2012, so I expect Barnwell to compete for a starting job right away. He is reportedly enrolling early, so he will be able to participate in spring practice and have a better chance of winning the starting spot in fall camp.

Jawan Jamison Declares for the NFL Draft

Rutgers' redshirt Sophomore running back Jawan Jamison will forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. Unlike Logan Ryan's decision to go pro, this one comes as a bit of a surprise, but Jamison may be looking to take advantage of a pretty weak running back crop in this years draft. And again, guys should go after the money that will be there for them. The story was first reported by Joe Schad, and Jamison was supposedly given a third round grade by the draft advisory board.

Jamison came to Rutgers as a 3 star recruit out of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, and he became Rutgers' first running back since Ray Rice to rush for over 1000 yards in a season this year, as he earned second team All Big East honors. Jamison emerged as Rutgers' lead back at the end of 2011, and he ends his career On the Banks with 1972 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns.

There aren't any running backs projected to go in the first round of the draft, but there are about a dozen backs projected to go in the 2nd to 4th round range. Giovanni Bernad appears to be the top back right now, and Marcus Lattimore should be another top back if his medicals check out. After that, things are jumbled. Jamison will be vying for position with guys like Andre Ellington and Kenjon Barner to get drafted by teams who run a zone heavy scheme or need a change of pace back. The third round is the median range of where he'll get drafted, and he could go as high as the 2nd or as low as the 4th.

Rutgers should still be alright at running back next year with out Jamison. Savon Huggins will take over as the lead back, but they will need a back up to emerge and take the load off Huggins and help in the passing game. Desmon Peoples figures to get the first crack at that role. It will still hurt losing a player of Jamison's caliber though.

Logan Ryan Declares for the NFL Draft

Rutgers corner back Logan Ryan has decided to forgo his senior season in Piscataway and enter the 2013 NFL Draft. The redshirt Junior was recently named a first team All American by Pro Football Weekly, and he is projected to go in the second round, according to most draft prognosticators. Any player who is projected to go that high should absolutely make the jump and maximize their earning potential, but his departure leaves a pretty big hole on Rutgers' defense.

Ryan came to Rutgers as a 4 star recruit out of Eastern High School in Vorhees, NJ and he more than lived up to that billing. In addition to being named a first team All American by PFW, he was an All Big East selection by the coaches in both of his two seasons as a starter, recording 170 tackles, 31 passes defended, and 7 interceptions in his career as a Scarlet Knight. Devin McCourty mentored him, and Ryan carried on the torch from him as Rutgers top shut down corner.

Even though he is projected to go in the second round, it is very possible he could sneak his way into the first round. This year's corner back crop is pretty thin, and the position is always at a premium in a pass happy NFL. Right now, Dee Milliner of Alabama is the only sure fire first round pick, and Ryan will compete with Mississippi State's Johnathan Banks, Florida State's Xavier Rhodes and Oregon State's Jordan Poyer to be the second corner off the board come April.

With Ryan's departure, Rutgers has another void to fill in their secondary that was already decimated by graduation. They will have to replace their top 3 corners and 3 of their top 4 safeties next year. Tejay Johnson and Sheldon Royster are two talented players who will likely step into the starting lineup, but they have limited experience. Jeremy Deering also figures to switch to the defensive side of the ball next year, and some youngsters are going to have to step up and provide some depth. Ryan will be greatly missed.

Defensive Domination Not Enough For Rutgers in the Russell Athletic Bowl

Against Virginia Tech in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Rutgers' defense played their best game of the season, and perhaps their best game in over a decade. They limited the Hokies to just 196 yards, including only 3 on the ground, recorded a season high 4 sacks, limited the opposition to just one touchdown (on a drive that went all of 21 yards), and scored a touchdown of their own. This was a historically good group who played their hearts out, and quite frankly they deserved better. They, in no way, shape or form were responsible for this loss at all. That blame falls squarely on the shoulder of the incompetent offense that mustered a measly 3 points and 196 total yards. It's really easy to place all the blame on Gary Nova, and he did play maybe the worst game I have ever seen a QB play at the college level, but this complete offensive failure goes way beyond him.  The team had been able to overcome poor game plans and poor play calling on the offensive side of the ball all season, but it really blew up in their faces in this game.

The Scarlet Knights got off to about as good of a start as you can hope for. After the Hokies received the opening kick, Rutgers showed heavy pressure up the middle on the second play of the game. This caused Virginia Tech's center to panic and snap the ball before QB Logan Thomas was ready for it, and the ball bounced into the endzone. Thomas initially recovered it, but Khaseem Greene stripped the ball out of his hands and picked it up for a touchdown to give Rutgers a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game. Following the ensuing kick off, Virginia Tech was able to advance the ball to middle field on a Thomas pass and a reverse, but that's as far as they would advance in the first three quarters of the game. Marvin Booker eventually over powered Tech's tight end to record a tackle for loss and Logan Ryan broke up a deep pass on third down to force a punt.

Rutgers' offense did not look awful on their first possession of the game. Jawan Jamison ran for 6 yards on his first carry and Nova completed a quick out to Quoron Pratt for a first down. Miles Shuler then took a screen pass 9 yards on first down, but they were unable to pick up the extra yard to move the chains and had to punt for the first of many times. The defense continued their torrid start, as Marcus Cooper delivered a big hit in the backfield to blow up an option play,  leading to a three and out to get Rutgers the ball right back. Savon Huggins took a pitch on the second play of the series to the outside for 17 yards behind RJ Dill and Andre Civil, and since the play worked so well, it was never called again. The drive ended shortly after that with a punt. On the next defensive series Jamil Merrell power bombed Thomas for a sack, and Virginia Tech returned serve with a punt of their own.

Rutgers next offensive drive was their only one that resulted in any points. Miles Shuler took a double reverse 25 yards, setting up an eventual 36 yard field goal from Nick Borgese to give the Knights a 10-0 lead. And of course, since he was playing well, Shuler didn't touch the ball again. The two teams then traded three and outs, highlighted by Marcus Thompson and Jamal Merrell combining for a sack and Nova missing Huggins on a screen that probably would have been a touchdown with Antwan Lowery out in front, to end the opening quarter.

The defense started the second quarter with another bang, making some plays in the backfield. Greene sniffed out a screen to record a tackle for loss and Duron Harmon delivered a big hit to force another punt. The following Rutgers drive got off to a promising start after the Knights were handed bad field position. Brandon Coleman made another big reception, taking a slant 43 yards, and a 9 yard run by Jamison set up Nova to sneak his way for another first down in Hokie territory. Nova followed up one of his few positive moments by forcing a pass down field that should have been intercepted, and the Knights eventually turned it over on downs when Nova forced another throw down field, when it appeared he may have been able to pick up the first down with his legs (I don't think he would have got it). The Hokies then went three and out yet again, thanks to another big hit from Harmon and a pressure from Greene.

Mason Robinson then set the offense up with good field position with a nice punt return, and 15 yards were added on to that when VT's punter hit him out of bounds. They were not able to take advantage of it though, thanks to poor play calling. Huggins picked up 4 yards on first down run, and they then inexplicably went to an empty set on 2nd and 6, before calling a QB draw on 3rd and 6. Obviously Nova did not pick up the first down and they decided to punt from the Tech 35. Why they didn't go for it? I don't have a clue. This whole possession confused me. It's like they didn't even have a plan. Fortunately, Justin Doerner's  punt was downed at the two. Virginia Tech was able to move the ball out of the shadows of their own endzone with a couple first downs, but Thomas arm punted a pass to Brandon Jones down field and Jones intercepted it. And with 1:40 left in the half, the offense sat on the ball and ran the clock out to go into locker room up 10-0.

Rutgers was able to pick up a first down to open the half, but the drive stalled when they misidentified two blitzes that led to Nova getting sacked and having to force a throw that ended up incomplete. The defense was then able to continue their domination by forcing a three and out, as Thomas could not complete a pass past good coverage. Nova was able to hit a couple more out routes to Tim Wright and Mark Harrison to pick up a couple first downs when the offense took the field again, but he slipped and took a sack that led to another punt. The defense was able to force another 3 and out after that, with Steve Beauharnais nearly intercepting a pass.Virginia Tech extended Rutgers' next offensive possession by committing penalties, including a pass interference on a ball Nova under threw because of bad mechanics that could have been a TD if he got more juice on it, and it ended with Borgese missing a 47 yard attempt, after Huggins converted a 4th and 1, running behind the pulling Lowery.

Following the missed kick, the defense had their only minor lapse of the game. Thomas was able to hit his receivers on a couple deep crossing routes to advance deep into Rutgers territory. Greene and co. then got tough against the run, and they held the Hokies to a field goal that made it 10-3. The one score lead felt too close for comfort, and at that point, I just thought with the way the passing game was going, Rutgers is best off running the ball every play, punting and playing defense. Virginia Tech had dropped a number of interceptions and it was only a matter of time before they held on to one. But the Knights kept going to the air, and it bit them in the ass when a Nova pass sailed way over the head of an open Coleman and into the waiting arms of Antone Exum, who then returned it to the RU 21. The defense needed a HUGE stop, but ultimately, it was asking them to do too much. The did get to a third and 10 following a Ka'lial Galud pressure that led to Jones breaking up a pass, but Logan Thomas delivered an absolutely perfect ball to Corey Fuller on a fade route in the endzone to tie the game up at 10 with just under 11 minutes left.

When Rutgers got the ball back, it started to rain heavily and it had an immediate negative effect on the offense, as they dropped two passes on their way to a three and out. Virginia Tech followed that up with a three and out of their own, as Logan Ryan broke up a pass and Kevin Snyder made a play in the backfield. Coleman was able to pick up a first down on Rutgers' next possession, but Nova mishandled a snap on the next play, and the Hokies started a drive in Rutgers territory yet again. This time though, the defense forced Tech backwards. Booker made a tackle for loss on first down, and Greene pressured Thomas to force an errant throw. Jamil Merrell then was credited with a sack on an intentionally grounding penalty, and Virginia Tech was forced to punt it back to Rutgers. The Knights were still unable to solve the Hokies' defense, and they were forced to punt it back again. A pass interference penalty got Tech into field goal range, but the defense held tough and Cody Journell missed the 51 yard try (they went all out for a block here, even bringing DC Jefferson and Brandon Coleman on to try to block it). Rutgers couldn't move the ball when they got it back, and Brandon Jones was able to intercept another deep pass from Thomas to give Rutgers a chance to win the game with 1:31 left. But of course, the offense couldn't even get a first down and had to punt it right back. Greene and Scott Vallone teamed up to record a sack to send the game to overtime.

Rutgers won the toss and elected to play defense first in overtime. Marcus Davis caught a pass from Thomas for a first down and Journell made a chip shot to make it 13-10. Nova was sacked on Rutgers' first play and that basically knocked them out of field goal range. They got back to the original line of scrimmage, but Nick Borgese missed the 42 yard attempt, and Rutgers lost.

You can't say enough about how great the defense played in this game. Robb Smith was dialing up heavy pressure, and they were getting to Thomas, sacking him and forcing him to rush his throws. All 11 defenders were flying around to stuff the run, and Virginia Tech only had 3 yards on the ground. The defensive line was penetrating the backfield all game, with Jamil Merrell leading the way with two sacks, and the linebackers were hitting hard, with Khaseem Greene making a ton of plays, as usual. All three corners, Ryan, Cooper and Jones had big games in the defensive backfield, and Duron Harmon flashed with some big plays of his own. This was probably the best game they played this season, and they defiantly deserved a better fate to end than season than this.

The offense, on the other hand, was putrid, and it starts with the coaching staff. Virginia Tech was blitzing more guys than Rutgers can block, and they did not make the necessary adjustments by keeping backs and tight ends in to pass protect. Dave Brock also called an awful game, continually putting the ball in the hands of his struggling QB, going to empty sets on 2nd and medium after 4 or 5 yard runs on first down, and the inexplicable QB draw. Nova certainly played as bad of a game as a QB can, with poor pocket presence leading to rushed throws into coverage, but you can just see how poorly coached he is. Other than the coaching and QB play, the offense wasn't awful. The line did a solid job in pass protection considering all the pressure, and they a solid job run blocking considering VT was loading up the box. Brandon Coleman had a pretty good game and I though both backs did a good job running when they had room to.

It was a pretty bad way for Rutgers to end the season. The defense dominated, but the offense was unable to do a thing. This was a successful season overall for Rutgers, but there is a bad taste left in everyone's mouth after they dropped three straight to end the year.

Additional Thoughts

-I am going to miss watching this defense play so much. Greene, Vallone, Beauharnais, Ryan, Harmon and others were a very special group, and the 2011 and 2012 defenses might have been the best in the program's history.

-I re-watched the game, and I noticed that the fill in fullbacks missed a lot of blocks. The team really missed Michael Burton in the last third of the season.

-Alonzo Tweedy had a hell of a game for the Hokies. I think he made every tackle.

-Whoever is in charge of setting the pass protections needs to do a better job next year. They slid the protection the wrong way numerous times.

-Hindsight is 20/20, but if Kyle Federico was healthy, why didn't he attempt the two long field goals that Borgese missed? Borgese is more accurate, but Federico has a much better leg.

-I can't believe Rutgers lost to a team that had a stupid turkey on their helmets.