Quotables:
Kyle Flood on the incoming freshmen:
"I don't put any expectations on the freshmen. We'll see what they can do when they get to training camp. It's a different game against different sized people."
Khaseem Greene on playing his final season of college football:
"It hasn't really hit me yet. I think about how the spring and summer went so fast, and that was my last spring and this will be my last summer camp as a Scarlet Knight. It hasn't 100 percent sunken in yet but I'm pretty sure that time will come soon."
Interim BIG EAST commissioner Joe Bailey on what is needed from the BCS Selection committee:
"You want people that are able to evaluate play. I was with the Dallas Cowboys for 19 years. The people that were the best evaluators were people that did nothing but watch film. That's all they did. They didn't know what school those players were playing for.
"They didn't know their opponents were. They just watched and looked at how well they played. At the end of the day, I think that's how you should end up ranking them. Whether you lose one or lose two, it depends
on whether you played well and the other team just sort of played a little bit better than you did versus playing a time and you didn't play particularly well, but they did better. Those are the kinds of evaluations that have to occur. I think it's going to be a very different set of evaluations than what you've seen in the past."
Top 5 Returning Rushers in the BIG EAST Conference
5.) Dominique Brown- Louisville (533 yards)
4.) B.J. Daniels- USF (601 yards)
3.) Jawan Jamison- Rutgers (897 yards)
2.) Ray Graham-Pitt (958 yards)
1.) Lyle McCoombs- UConn (1,151 yards)
Crystal Ball
-Rutgers will split its two marquee September road games (at USF, at Arkansas)
-The first RU hoops commit for 2013 will not come until the fall
-Andre Civil will make his way into the starting lineup this season
Newport News
The annual BIG EAST Media Day produced a bundle of important conference news, most significantly the fact that the choices for new commissioner have been whittled down to five candidates, with a decision expected before the end of the month. A new TV deal is also a hot-button topic on the horizon.
With the uncertainty surrounding conference realignment, the recent defection of West Virginia and the soon-to-be departures of Syracuse and Pitt, a common question posed to BIG EAST coaches on Tuesday was if
they felt their recruiting had been negatively affected by the current state of the league.
Louisville coach Charlie Strong admitted he expected other programs to try and use the conference structure against his staff when recruiting players, but said he was prepared for it and would do the same if put in their shoes.
Meanwhile, USF coach Skip Holtz feels the league could be in for brighter days once things become more settled.
"People have left because of money; you can say what you want but they've left because of money," Holtz said. "They've left because television packages and financial packages are stronger in other leagues. I think that's
why what will happen when the new commissioner is put in place, when the television contract is done, when the new teams come in, I think the image will change and there will be a tidal wave of support for this league and the places we're going."
"I think the product is already here. I think there is great product in this league. Like I've said before, if I had to choose between product or image, I'd choose product because image will catch your product either way--going North or going South."
Poole and Randall Help Sterns Take Home Title
Rutgers was well-represented in last night's Jersey Mike's JSBL championship game, as junior swingman Mike Poole (26 points, seven rebounds) and sophomore forward Derrick Randall (13 points, 13 rebounds) helped lead
Sterns Trailer to a 110-100 victory over T&T Coast. It was the second consecutive year Rutgers had a player on the winning squad, as Dane Miller helped Investors Savings Bank to a title last summer.
"I told the coaching staff, they asked me to play in this and I told them, 'If I play in this league, I'm going to win the championship,'" Poole said. "I told them that from May 28. I had to stay to my word…I'm just happy for my team. This was a team effort."
For Randall, another summer season against veteran post players helped get him re-acquainted with the physical play that is the norm once the BIG EAST schedule tips off.
"It helped me prepare because I looked at the referees and they're not going to call every foul, so you've got to just bang with the big men, try to box them out and rebound over them," Randall said. "I just tried to do my best."
Getting to Know Jamil Pollard
Scarlet Nation caught up with West Deptford assistant coach Corey Harvey to discuss one of the latest additions to the Rutgers squad, Jamil Pollard. As many of our readers know, Pollards was slated to begin his first season as a Nittany Lion this year, but switched over to the Scarlet Knights this week.
Scarlet Nation: How would you describe Pollard's journey as a football player over the past few years?
Corey Harvey: He was moved up to the varsity a little bit freshman year. He started his sophomore to senior years. His focus, his work ethic improved a lot over that time. He had a lot on his plate in his freshman and sophomore years, and he matured a great deal over the next two years. He has seen the opportunities that will present themselves if he does well in football. I have seen a lot of improvement in the classroom. He is focusing in on his academics. He has always been a hard
working and fun loving kid. He gets along with his teammates. From sophomore year to senior year, he became a leader.
Scarlet Nation: Throughout the recruiting process, the news of his earlier family tragedy never hit out message board. That must have been a very difficult time period.
Corey Harvey: ESPN will be doing a piece on him later this month. It will be on E:60. I believe it will be on August 28th. It will be about his life and all of the things that he has been through.
Scarlet Nation: What are some of his strengths as a player?
Corey Harvey: He never gives up. Determined. He is very powerful, strong. And believe it or not, for his size he is very athletic. He can dunk a basketball, and he has very good feet. He even wrestled earlier in high school. Wherever he plays, he will do well, whether that is as an offensive tackle or defensive tackle.
Scarlet Nation: What does he have to work on?
Corey Harvey: He just needs to develop over time. He is going to get stronger, bigger. He just needs to continue to stay focused and continue to make sure his academics are equally important. I expect him to grow in all those areas. He will do anything you tell him. He is very coachable.
Scarlet Nation: Who is the next big recruit coming out of West Deptford?
Corey Harvey: Gerald Owens, our full back. He has three or four offers already. He has done well and has been working out this summer. He is a very good kid. He will be a junior, class of 2014. He is very hungry. He wants to learn, trying to get better every day. The funny thing about Gerald is that he is about 240 pounds, but he can move. He is probably among the top 3 fastest on our team ? very athletic for his size. He put a lot of time in during the summer, and it has paid off.
Receiving Early Praise[/B]
In its heralded 2012 class, Rutgers signed four wideouts--Carlton Agudosi, Leonte Carroo, Ruhann Peele and Ian Thomas. The diversely talented quartet figures to make an impact sooner and later in their Rutgers careers, and veteran safety Duron Harmon said two players in particular caught his eye during summer workouts.
"I've seen a lot from the young receivers. The young receivers are going to be a really talented group," Harmon said. "Some people that stuck out, though--Leonte Carroo--he's going to be one heck of a player. Also, Ruhann Peele, he's a very, very exciting player. Just watching him in the 7-on-7, his body control and his knack for the ball is above the average freshman. You can just tell."
Recruiting Tidbits
WR Brian Lemelle (Bishop McDevitt)
Fans have asked about Lemelle several times lately. Scarlet Nation reached Lemelle through text yesterday and asked if the Pennsylvania receiver is still considering Rutgers. "Yes, I am considering Rutgers," said Lemelle, who added that he hasn't been on the Rutgers campus recently. "No, I haven't [been to Rutgers lately], but hopefully I can."
CB Nadir Barnwell (Piscataway)
As was mentioned in last week's Fat Cat, Barnwell participated in Friday Night Lights at the University
of Florida, working out at receiver. The Gators already have 21 commits and picked up their fourth WR, Clay Thompson, last week, which means, as of now, Barnwell is looking like an odd man out down in Gainesville.
Rutgers remains in strong position for Barnwell, and should be helped if Florida indeed is cooling on him.
OL Dorian Miller (Metuchen)
Rivals.com's Justin Rowland reported on Thursday that Miller will visit North Carolina next weekend, and could pick up an offer in the process. Rowland also wrote that Miller has heard more from Nebraska and Oklahoma State recently.
As of now, Miller's top two remains Rutgers and Tennessee, and the Scarlet Knights are still in good position. However, Miller has long made it known he plans on taking his time in the recruiting process, and would rather wait until signing day and be sure than be pressured to commit to a school too early.
Hoops Happenings[/B]
Come Sunday, one of the top rising seniors in New Jersey is slated to cut down his plentiful offer
list. Roselle Catholic's Tyler Roberson told Alex Kline of Rivals.com's The Recruit Scoop he will trim his list in two days, though he declined to reveal the number of schools that will make the cut. As of now, Rutgers stands a solid chance of making Roberson's list, as he told Rivals' Eric Bossi they and Seton Hall have been pursuing him the hardest.
Meanwhile, District Heights (Md.) Suitland H.S. Rivals100 point guard Roddy Peters has the Scarlet Knights on his list of seven schools, along with Seton Hall, Maryland, Xavier, Memphis, Georgetown, and UCLA. Peters plays his AAU ball for DC Assault, the program that produced current Scarlet Knight Jerome Seagears.
This post was edited on 8/3 7:29 AM by John Otterstedt
Kyle Flood on the incoming freshmen:
"I don't put any expectations on the freshmen. We'll see what they can do when they get to training camp. It's a different game against different sized people."
Khaseem Greene on playing his final season of college football:
"It hasn't really hit me yet. I think about how the spring and summer went so fast, and that was my last spring and this will be my last summer camp as a Scarlet Knight. It hasn't 100 percent sunken in yet but I'm pretty sure that time will come soon."
Interim BIG EAST commissioner Joe Bailey on what is needed from the BCS Selection committee:
"You want people that are able to evaluate play. I was with the Dallas Cowboys for 19 years. The people that were the best evaluators were people that did nothing but watch film. That's all they did. They didn't know what school those players were playing for.
"They didn't know their opponents were. They just watched and looked at how well they played. At the end of the day, I think that's how you should end up ranking them. Whether you lose one or lose two, it depends
on whether you played well and the other team just sort of played a little bit better than you did versus playing a time and you didn't play particularly well, but they did better. Those are the kinds of evaluations that have to occur. I think it's going to be a very different set of evaluations than what you've seen in the past."
Top 5 Returning Rushers in the BIG EAST Conference
5.) Dominique Brown- Louisville (533 yards)
4.) B.J. Daniels- USF (601 yards)
3.) Jawan Jamison- Rutgers (897 yards)
2.) Ray Graham-Pitt (958 yards)
1.) Lyle McCoombs- UConn (1,151 yards)
Crystal Ball
-Rutgers will split its two marquee September road games (at USF, at Arkansas)
-The first RU hoops commit for 2013 will not come until the fall
-Andre Civil will make his way into the starting lineup this season
Newport News
The annual BIG EAST Media Day produced a bundle of important conference news, most significantly the fact that the choices for new commissioner have been whittled down to five candidates, with a decision expected before the end of the month. A new TV deal is also a hot-button topic on the horizon.
With the uncertainty surrounding conference realignment, the recent defection of West Virginia and the soon-to-be departures of Syracuse and Pitt, a common question posed to BIG EAST coaches on Tuesday was if
they felt their recruiting had been negatively affected by the current state of the league.
Louisville coach Charlie Strong admitted he expected other programs to try and use the conference structure against his staff when recruiting players, but said he was prepared for it and would do the same if put in their shoes.
Meanwhile, USF coach Skip Holtz feels the league could be in for brighter days once things become more settled.
"People have left because of money; you can say what you want but they've left because of money," Holtz said. "They've left because television packages and financial packages are stronger in other leagues. I think that's
why what will happen when the new commissioner is put in place, when the television contract is done, when the new teams come in, I think the image will change and there will be a tidal wave of support for this league and the places we're going."
"I think the product is already here. I think there is great product in this league. Like I've said before, if I had to choose between product or image, I'd choose product because image will catch your product either way--going North or going South."
Poole and Randall Help Sterns Take Home Title
Rutgers was well-represented in last night's Jersey Mike's JSBL championship game, as junior swingman Mike Poole (26 points, seven rebounds) and sophomore forward Derrick Randall (13 points, 13 rebounds) helped lead
Sterns Trailer to a 110-100 victory over T&T Coast. It was the second consecutive year Rutgers had a player on the winning squad, as Dane Miller helped Investors Savings Bank to a title last summer.
"I told the coaching staff, they asked me to play in this and I told them, 'If I play in this league, I'm going to win the championship,'" Poole said. "I told them that from May 28. I had to stay to my word…I'm just happy for my team. This was a team effort."
For Randall, another summer season against veteran post players helped get him re-acquainted with the physical play that is the norm once the BIG EAST schedule tips off.
"It helped me prepare because I looked at the referees and they're not going to call every foul, so you've got to just bang with the big men, try to box them out and rebound over them," Randall said. "I just tried to do my best."
Getting to Know Jamil Pollard
Scarlet Nation caught up with West Deptford assistant coach Corey Harvey to discuss one of the latest additions to the Rutgers squad, Jamil Pollard. As many of our readers know, Pollards was slated to begin his first season as a Nittany Lion this year, but switched over to the Scarlet Knights this week.
Scarlet Nation: How would you describe Pollard's journey as a football player over the past few years?
Corey Harvey: He was moved up to the varsity a little bit freshman year. He started his sophomore to senior years. His focus, his work ethic improved a lot over that time. He had a lot on his plate in his freshman and sophomore years, and he matured a great deal over the next two years. He has seen the opportunities that will present themselves if he does well in football. I have seen a lot of improvement in the classroom. He is focusing in on his academics. He has always been a hard
working and fun loving kid. He gets along with his teammates. From sophomore year to senior year, he became a leader.
Scarlet Nation: Throughout the recruiting process, the news of his earlier family tragedy never hit out message board. That must have been a very difficult time period.
Corey Harvey: ESPN will be doing a piece on him later this month. It will be on E:60. I believe it will be on August 28th. It will be about his life and all of the things that he has been through.
Scarlet Nation: What are some of his strengths as a player?
Corey Harvey: He never gives up. Determined. He is very powerful, strong. And believe it or not, for his size he is very athletic. He can dunk a basketball, and he has very good feet. He even wrestled earlier in high school. Wherever he plays, he will do well, whether that is as an offensive tackle or defensive tackle.
Scarlet Nation: What does he have to work on?
Corey Harvey: He just needs to develop over time. He is going to get stronger, bigger. He just needs to continue to stay focused and continue to make sure his academics are equally important. I expect him to grow in all those areas. He will do anything you tell him. He is very coachable.
Scarlet Nation: Who is the next big recruit coming out of West Deptford?
Corey Harvey: Gerald Owens, our full back. He has three or four offers already. He has done well and has been working out this summer. He is a very good kid. He will be a junior, class of 2014. He is very hungry. He wants to learn, trying to get better every day. The funny thing about Gerald is that he is about 240 pounds, but he can move. He is probably among the top 3 fastest on our team ? very athletic for his size. He put a lot of time in during the summer, and it has paid off.
Receiving Early Praise[/B]
In its heralded 2012 class, Rutgers signed four wideouts--Carlton Agudosi, Leonte Carroo, Ruhann Peele and Ian Thomas. The diversely talented quartet figures to make an impact sooner and later in their Rutgers careers, and veteran safety Duron Harmon said two players in particular caught his eye during summer workouts.
"I've seen a lot from the young receivers. The young receivers are going to be a really talented group," Harmon said. "Some people that stuck out, though--Leonte Carroo--he's going to be one heck of a player. Also, Ruhann Peele, he's a very, very exciting player. Just watching him in the 7-on-7, his body control and his knack for the ball is above the average freshman. You can just tell."
Recruiting Tidbits
WR Brian Lemelle (Bishop McDevitt)
Fans have asked about Lemelle several times lately. Scarlet Nation reached Lemelle through text yesterday and asked if the Pennsylvania receiver is still considering Rutgers. "Yes, I am considering Rutgers," said Lemelle, who added that he hasn't been on the Rutgers campus recently. "No, I haven't [been to Rutgers lately], but hopefully I can."
CB Nadir Barnwell (Piscataway)
As was mentioned in last week's Fat Cat, Barnwell participated in Friday Night Lights at the University
of Florida, working out at receiver. The Gators already have 21 commits and picked up their fourth WR, Clay Thompson, last week, which means, as of now, Barnwell is looking like an odd man out down in Gainesville.
Rutgers remains in strong position for Barnwell, and should be helped if Florida indeed is cooling on him.
OL Dorian Miller (Metuchen)
Rivals.com's Justin Rowland reported on Thursday that Miller will visit North Carolina next weekend, and could pick up an offer in the process. Rowland also wrote that Miller has heard more from Nebraska and Oklahoma State recently.
As of now, Miller's top two remains Rutgers and Tennessee, and the Scarlet Knights are still in good position. However, Miller has long made it known he plans on taking his time in the recruiting process, and would rather wait until signing day and be sure than be pressured to commit to a school too early.
Hoops Happenings[/B]
Come Sunday, one of the top rising seniors in New Jersey is slated to cut down his plentiful offer
list. Roselle Catholic's Tyler Roberson told Alex Kline of Rivals.com's The Recruit Scoop he will trim his list in two days, though he declined to reveal the number of schools that will make the cut. As of now, Rutgers stands a solid chance of making Roberson's list, as he told Rivals' Eric Bossi they and Seton Hall have been pursuing him the hardest.
Meanwhile, District Heights (Md.) Suitland H.S. Rivals100 point guard Roddy Peters has the Scarlet Knights on his list of seven schools, along with Seton Hall, Maryland, Xavier, Memphis, Georgetown, and UCLA. Peters plays his AAU ball for DC Assault, the program that produced current Scarlet Knight Jerome Seagears.
This post was edited on 8/3 7:29 AM by John Otterstedt
