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Rutgers came into the Big Ten at the right time to be competitive immediately. The team had a veteran quarterback and an experienced defense under a head coach who had already established his coaching philosophy.
A lot can change in just one year.
The Scarlet Knights are out senior quarterback Gary Nova, five starters on defense and just recently, according to NJ.com, Kyle Flood has found himself in hot water over reports of him contacting a professor about a player’s eligibility. Because of this, Rutgers has a lot to figure out going forward.
On the offensive side of the ball, Flood — should he still be employed — has decided to wait until halftime of the season opener against Norfolk State to choose a definitive starting quarterback. Hayden Rettig will play the first half, but the decision will be between him and sophomore Chris Laviano. Neither have the experience of Nova, but they have the the luxury of experienced wide receivers led by Leonte Carroo, who had 1,086 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014. Juniors Janarion Grant, Andre Patton and John Tsimis return as well, but none of them had more than 400 yards receiving last season. But while the passing game develops, Paul James and the other running backs will have to carry the load. James returns after his ACL injury last season along with junior Desmon Peoples and sophomores Josh Hicks and Robert Martin. Four of the five starting offensive lineman are upperclassmen, so the offense has a solid foundation to build around.
The defensive unit returns linebackers Steve Longa and Quentin Gause, who led the team in tackles last season (102 and 72 respectively). Longa in particular is a monster, but he is going to have his work cut out for him this season, as the defense lost six seniors from last year. This could spell trouble for the Scarlet Knights against powerful offenses like Michigan State and Ohio State. Rutgers was thirteenth in total defense in the Big Ten in 2014, so I don’t look for them to stop anyone this season. Then again, it could make for some fun conference shootouts in October and November.
After Norfolk State, the Scarlet Knights host Washington State before going on the road to face Penn State. It closes the non-conference season with Kansas. It helps that Rutgers hosts Michigan State and Ohio State, but barring both units playing out of their minds, I don’t see the Scarlet Knights pulling any shockers. It goes on the road to face Army before hosting rival Maryland to end the regular season.
Rutgers had a respectable season in their rookie season in the Big Ten, but that will be difficult or impossible to duplicate in 2015. I have Rutgers at 6-6 with a 2-6 conference record — good enough for sixth in the Big Ten East.
Brooks Hooley is a Junior Big Ten Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @brookshooley.
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