General Mike
08-24-2005, 06:02 PM
RU STILL HERE?
I road-tripped to Rutgers Tuesday. The Scarlet Knights are kinda like that reality show star that quickly got its 15 minutes, but now is still hanging around hoping to prove it belongs in the big time. Most people seem to be pretty tired of their existence and hope that they, like Omarosa, Puck and Ryan Seacrest, would just go away, but Greg Schiano's program is still kicking around.
In fairness, they've always had some talent, but after watching them yesterday, I think it's pretty obvious the talent level in this program is sizeably different than it was two or three years ago. The Scarlet Knights might have the best collection of receivers in the Big East. They also have three running backs who will be playing in the NFL someday. Brian Leonard is arguably the top fullback in the country. But the guy who impressed me most Tuesday was a different running back, freshman Ray Rice. The guy really attacks the hole and has great balance. I wouldn't be surprised if he emerged as a 1,000-yard rusher.
Rutgers caught a break landing Rice, who scored 31 TDs as a high school senior. A New Rochelle, N.Y., product, he was headed to Syracuse, but that changed after coach Paul Pasqualoni got canned. Rutgers also landed two of his prep teammates, Courtney Greene and Glen Lee. Greene, a heady 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, is projected to start at safety.
Rutgers is missing that big double-team swallowing DT to anchor their defense. That was supposed to be uber-recruit Nate Robinson, but the big 325-pounder washed out. He struggled with his conditioning and couldn't keep up. That hurts, but I think they have enough to make things interesting. One big question remains. Has Rutgers finally grown up? The Knights must stop tripping over themselves. QB Ryan Hart put up some big numbers, but he must cut back the interceptions (he had 19 last season). He did look pretty sharp at practice, but redshirt freshman Mike Teel is pushing him hard. It looks like they have the weapons there to be a mid-level bowl team. They open up at Illinois in Ron Zook's debut. Bowl teams have to win those games. If not, things could get pretty ugly in N.J. before the summer is officially over.
I road-tripped to Rutgers Tuesday. The Scarlet Knights are kinda like that reality show star that quickly got its 15 minutes, but now is still hanging around hoping to prove it belongs in the big time. Most people seem to be pretty tired of their existence and hope that they, like Omarosa, Puck and Ryan Seacrest, would just go away, but Greg Schiano's program is still kicking around.
In fairness, they've always had some talent, but after watching them yesterday, I think it's pretty obvious the talent level in this program is sizeably different than it was two or three years ago. The Scarlet Knights might have the best collection of receivers in the Big East. They also have three running backs who will be playing in the NFL someday. Brian Leonard is arguably the top fullback in the country. But the guy who impressed me most Tuesday was a different running back, freshman Ray Rice. The guy really attacks the hole and has great balance. I wouldn't be surprised if he emerged as a 1,000-yard rusher.
Rutgers caught a break landing Rice, who scored 31 TDs as a high school senior. A New Rochelle, N.Y., product, he was headed to Syracuse, but that changed after coach Paul Pasqualoni got canned. Rutgers also landed two of his prep teammates, Courtney Greene and Glen Lee. Greene, a heady 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, is projected to start at safety.
Rutgers is missing that big double-team swallowing DT to anchor their defense. That was supposed to be uber-recruit Nate Robinson, but the big 325-pounder washed out. He struggled with his conditioning and couldn't keep up. That hurts, but I think they have enough to make things interesting. One big question remains. Has Rutgers finally grown up? The Knights must stop tripping over themselves. QB Ryan Hart put up some big numbers, but he must cut back the interceptions (he had 19 last season). He did look pretty sharp at practice, but redshirt freshman Mike Teel is pushing him hard. It looks like they have the weapons there to be a mid-level bowl team. They open up at Illinois in Ron Zook's debut. Bowl teams have to win those games. If not, things could get pretty ugly in N.J. before the summer is officially over.