Were most of the 1992 players Anderson's recruits? Graber's 1992(7-4) team played very well especially the defense. Why did the '93(4-7) team do so poorly? Was it because key seniors graduated?
Question about Graber's 1992 team
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The offense was led by backs, QBs and WRs that he recruited or who transferred in under Graber - Battaglia, Lucas, Fortay (Miami) , Mitter (Nassau CC), Presley, Mario Henry (South Carolina), Brantley etc., though Guarantano was an Anderson recruit. The long term problem is that Graber did not bring in enough quality defensive players.
2016 would sure look a lot better with Henry, Brantley, and Guarantano at WR.
Well, other than they're in their late 40s now.
Well, other than they're in their late 40s now.
academic and operational school support, injuries, and other things did the 93 team in
The 1992 team provided RU fans with some great memories - defeating Pitt in the first night game ever played at Rutgers Stadium, and the thrilling 50-49 win over VPI. It was on its way to a likely bowl bid when it went out to Cincinnati late in the season and lost to a terrible Cincy team. IIRC, the game was a night game played before very few fans, possibly in the rain. That game took some of the luster off of the following week's game, the final game to be played in the old Rutgers Stadium. RU defeated WVU that day but it wasn't enough to get us into a bowl. There was some interest from the Independence Bowl but I think that Oregon guaranteed them 5000 tix sold and they went for them instead.
Graber was apparently not much of a disciplinarian and that, coupled with the lack of institutional support for the off-the-field aspects of the program, proved to be a bad combination. The 1993 team played its entire home schedule at GS while the new stadium was being build, but GS didn't provide much of a home field advantage back then, aside for the Homecoming game against BC.
The 1994 team opened the new stadium and defeated WVU in the second game played there. But a one-point loss at the Carrier Dome + a TD erroneously called back because of stepping out of bounds (which replays showed had not happened - an early RU screw by the BE refs?) kept RU from having a 7-5 season and likely bowl game. The senior laden 1995 team began with high expectations but blew a halftime lead against SU and lost two other close games due to interceptions thrown by - I hate to say it - Ray Lucas (at Duke and home against BC in the season's finale). A 6-5 season that year, based upon the BE bowl agreements and the mediocre performance of most of the conference would have put RU in the Liberty Bowl (!). Instead, RU fired Graber and hired Shea, who took an average program and turned it in one of the worst in the country.
Graber was apparently not much of a disciplinarian and that, coupled with the lack of institutional support for the off-the-field aspects of the program, proved to be a bad combination. The 1993 team played its entire home schedule at GS while the new stadium was being build, but GS didn't provide much of a home field advantage back then, aside for the Homecoming game against BC.
The 1994 team opened the new stadium and defeated WVU in the second game played there. But a one-point loss at the Carrier Dome + a TD erroneously called back because of stepping out of bounds (which replays showed had not happened - an early RU screw by the BE refs?) kept RU from having a 7-5 season and likely bowl game. The senior laden 1995 team began with high expectations but blew a halftime lead against SU and lost two other close games due to interceptions thrown by - I hate to say it - Ray Lucas (at Duke and home against BC in the season's finale). A 6-5 season that year, based upon the BE bowl agreements and the mediocre performance of most of the conference would have put RU in the Liberty Bowl (!). Instead, RU fired Graber and hired Shea, who took an average program and turned it in one of the worst in the country.
The thing I always remember about that night was the Domer sitting in front of us who began almost every sentence, "You know, I went to Notre Dame..."
Not an RU history buff but ecojew mentioned that 1992 loss to Cincinnati-a horrible loss that killed the program under Graber. I believe before that game that week? our Offensive Coordinator? Coach Jeter (nice guy-met at the RAC) was caught and arrested? in a crackhouse (maybe stated else such as a whorehouse to cover up). I bELieve he was immediately let go. ***The team lost that week and never recovered under Graber or Shea for that matter).
***From what I've been told and remember academic support (in combo with recRUiting) was the major downfall of those teams. One former Professor whose a major donor told me that (I think) over 50 players left the team/failed out over the Graber years.
From what I remembr for 1-2 of those years it appeared that the Brian Fortay situation/Fortay-Lucas QB battle became a point of big distraction and controversy.
Also? was it under Graber? the one year when pretty much all of our major defensive backs were in a serious accident (with a foreign student driver?) on the way home from practice. Several players were critically hurt (our defensive back depth was decimated if not practically eliminated) and 3-5 players were lost for at least a season.
By the way, not everyone thinks that VA tech win was such a great game. I saw that game with Shields on this board and we found it very frustrating that our D couldn't stop them. With less than a minute left we were already walking out as were many others when Fortay? led us down the field. I remember Shields asking me to stop halfway up the stands and we both were briefly excited/let out sighs of relief when we won. More of a relief yell at the end than cheer.
***From what I've been told and remember academic support (in combo with recRUiting) was the major downfall of those teams. One former Professor whose a major donor told me that (I think) over 50 players left the team/failed out over the Graber years.
From what I remembr for 1-2 of those years it appeared that the Brian Fortay situation/Fortay-Lucas QB battle became a point of big distraction and controversy.
Also? was it under Graber? the one year when pretty much all of our major defensive backs were in a serious accident (with a foreign student driver?) on the way home from practice. Several players were critically hurt (our defensive back depth was decimated if not practically eliminated) and 3-5 players were lost for at least a season.
By the way, not everyone thinks that VA tech win was such a great game. I saw that game with Shields on this board and we found it very frustrating that our D couldn't stop them. With less than a minute left we were already walking out as were many others when Fortay? led us down the field. I remember Shields asking me to stop halfway up the stands and we both were briefly excited/let out sighs of relief when we won. More of a relief yell at the end than cheer.
I remember when Graber was hired one publication somewhere had him the 2nd best recRuit in the country. From what I read and experienced (living outside the NB area in 1990-91 I sent him a few articles from teh Philly area and he wrote back thyank yous in scarlet red ink) Graber was and is a GREAT guy who loved Rutgers and his coaching job. He was just devastated when he was sent packing. Some though he'd make a great AD and he want on to do very well coaching Munich? of the World? Football league expansion team.
Graber could recruit but RU had bad facilities and even worse academic support at that point. We couldn't keep the players eligible and over time the recruiting classes got worse.
Graber could recruit but RU had bad facilities and even worse academic support at that point. We couldn't keep the players eligible and over time the recruiting classes got worse.
My memory of that game was a fat Pitt fan sitting behind us yelling "PITT" the whole night. The guy didn't say another word. Left early when he knew they were going down. That was a good game.
Graber's last season was 4-7. Once Jeter was arrested, the D went to hell. Graber also had a lot of academic casualties. The year Fortay, Lucas and the 3rd string QB, Higgins, graduated, all 3 got to NFL camps, with Lucas and Higgins sticking. Imagine having 3 QB's that the NFL had interest in on the same team? Graber still has a lot of fond memories of RU, follows the team closely. He was instrumental in lobbying Trenton (he spent a lot of time there) for a new stadium.
I always wondered why the Jackson kid played safety instead of LB.
And why Higgins didn't get more playing time.
I thought the accident was early Schiano.
There was a fight involving DB's that cause several to be suspended under Graber.
Thanks. I watched an old vhs tape of the RU vs PSU '92 game today. I was at the game but I didn't remember how well Rutgers played on defense. Also Graber understood what a running QB could do and it was Lucas' first start and he was doing very well. PSU was ranked #10 and Rutgers had a chance to win. So after watching that I thought maybe all the seniors were Anderson's and when they were gone in '93 they no longer had the horses. But that wasn't the case.
Here's my take on this sad sequence...
Anderson did better with Burns recruits than his own..
Graber did better with Anderson's recruits than his own..
Shea did better with Graber's recruits than his own..
and finally..
Schiano did best with his own recruits...
but then...
Flood did better with Schiano's recruits than his own...
(uh oh.. I hope that pattern does not repeat itself)
The 1993 team has the article had a lot of lack of detail issues. We beat Colgate 68-6...and lost five fumbles. Yes that's correct. We had so much talent but it lack dispkined, details and focus
The lack of home field hurt as well
No consistent Qb has Bryan and Ray going back and forth all year
Pressly was banged up and that let Willis explode on the scene. Graver never figured how to make that work. Very talented.
We were 4-7...but had Cuse, Boston college, and Pitt as game where we were the much better teams at home on paper and lost.
That team should have been6-5 or 7-4
The lack of home field hurt as well
No consistent Qb has Bryan and Ray going back and forth all year
Pressly was banged up and that let Willis explode on the scene. Graver never figured how to make that work. Very talented.
We were 4-7...but had Cuse, Boston college, and Pitt as game where we were the much better teams at home on paper and lost.
That team should have been6-5 or 7-4
Don't even remember that guy Antonine Moore ! I do miss the grass field . Too bad we couldn't take care of it too well . But watching a game on grass is much more appealing to me . For how it looks and the purity of the game .
Some years ago, I went through all my media guides from Graber's tenure and realized that roughly 50% of his recruits never made it to their junior year. Talk about a program killer... that'll do it every time.
By all accounts Graber was a terrific guy.
But his teams - and PROGRAM - completely lacked discipline. And that included the coaching staff (see Jeter, Ron).
Graber actually had his team set up to truly excel in his last season. There were something like 19 or 21 redshirt SENIORS on that team, one of the best recipes for success. RU had 3 NFL players on that team - after I researched it (I had initially thought there were more: Ray Lucas, Battaglia, and Rashod Swinger. Though not NFL players, RU also had Willis and Presley. Brian Sheridan was on that team(Senior). As DB's Mark Washington and Thomas Kelly stood out in my memory ... though I thought Kelly was an awful safety, even though he started for 4 years, I think.
Yet RU went 2-5 in league, and 4-7 overall, including bad losses to Duke (season opener), and WVU and BC (both teams with losing records). Plus, RU was not even competitive with Miami, V. Tech or PSU - the 3 best team on the schedule. RU also lost at home to a Syracuse team that ended up ranked, and 9-3 - but many thought RU was supposed to be better than Syracuse that season.
Graber's time was essentially OVER at RU after RU lost its 6th game - a 5 TD loss at WVU ... that sealed his fate, as RU lost its chance at bowl eligibility after that loss. And Graber and the team basically quit after that game - Graber certainly stopped recruiting at that time. I believe, though I have no sure evidence, that Graber had been told at the beginning of the season that with this team, and all the 5th year Seniors, he had to make a bowl or he was done.
But his teams - and PROGRAM - completely lacked discipline. And that included the coaching staff (see Jeter, Ron).
Graber actually had his team set up to truly excel in his last season. There were something like 19 or 21 redshirt SENIORS on that team, one of the best recipes for success. RU had 3 NFL players on that team - after I researched it (I had initially thought there were more: Ray Lucas, Battaglia, and Rashod Swinger. Though not NFL players, RU also had Willis and Presley. Brian Sheridan was on that team(Senior). As DB's Mark Washington and Thomas Kelly stood out in my memory ... though I thought Kelly was an awful safety, even though he started for 4 years, I think.
Yet RU went 2-5 in league, and 4-7 overall, including bad losses to Duke (season opener), and WVU and BC (both teams with losing records). Plus, RU was not even competitive with Miami, V. Tech or PSU - the 3 best team on the schedule. RU also lost at home to a Syracuse team that ended up ranked, and 9-3 - but many thought RU was supposed to be better than Syracuse that season.
Graber's time was essentially OVER at RU after RU lost its 6th game - a 5 TD loss at WVU ... that sealed his fate, as RU lost its chance at bowl eligibility after that loss. And Graber and the team basically quit after that game - Graber certainly stopped recruiting at that time. I believe, though I have no sure evidence, that Graber had been told at the beginning of the season that with this team, and all the 5th year Seniors, he had to make a bowl or he was done.
Brian Sheridan was always one of my favorites. There was just something about that guy.
And I agree with you about the awful part regarding Thomas Kelly. But to me that was only as a freshman. I thought he got better and better every year.
You're thinking of the 2004 accident involving Eddie Grimes, Dondre Asberry and Manny Collins. Drunk driver got onto the John Lynch Bridge going the wrong way, hit an elderly couple in an SUV who they were behind. Asberry almost lost his life and was in critical condition for quite some time.
That VT game was my frosh year. For my brother (Sr), it was a disappointment but for me & my friends in our first month of college, it was an amazing thrill. Fortay was #2 QB recruit in the country but transferred home from Miami after Dennis Erickson took over for Jimmy Jobnson. He made a big stink about it because he thought he should play over Gino Toretta who won the nat'l title one year and the heisman the next. His lawsuit in many ways was a precursor to the amateur/pro debate going on now. Nevertheless, it was a bit of a surprise that Lucas gave him a run for his $ for PT given that whole very public debacle. Ray was a great athlete & competitor- and seemed easier to root for. Fortay seemed like Tom Savage; groomed to be this stud pro-QB but something about him felt too calculated or something.
The history on Graber is on point; the team had enormous talent from NJ but kids constantly flunking out or getting in trouble, etc. Willis leaving for the NFL early was both stupid on his part and very damaging to RU's chances after Graber.
'95 was supposed to be the year it came together. Lucas, Presley, Willis, Battaglia, Funderburk, Harper were all legit weapons but importantly, the OL was stacked w/Srs, 3 or 4 who were pre-season all conference & projected draft picks.
Here's a quite lengthy story of my run-in with the OL & summer of '95
Summer before the season starts, I sublet the apt I had rented for my senior year to three of the OL. I came back in the fall, opened the closet and there was the biggest sneaker I've ever seen in my life sitting there. Just one. The recliner my roommate had gotten from his grandmother looked like it had been sat on by a giant and was flattened- like in a cartoon.
They had skipped on the last month of rent because summer camp started in Aug and so they didn't need the place. I literally called my contact dozens of times through August trying to track him down. It was before cell phones and I had very little info to go on. When I did reach him, he flatly refused.
Finally, I reached his grandmother and told her what was going on but she seemed sweet and I didn't consider it her problem. Decided I had to go to see this guy for myself when I got on campus. I had no idea where he might be, so I went to the weight room one afternoon and started asking around. One of the coaches basically stopped me in my tracks and told me he wasn't there. When I asked if I could go inside, he looked at me like I was crazy. I should mention that I had shoulder length hair at the time and weighed 165 lbs so didn't exactly fit in with the crew. I told the coach I needed to see him because he owed me money. He told me in no uncertain terms that they had work to do and get lost. Terrell Willis gave me the skunk-eye while he flexed at me which I thought was kind of unnecessary, but cool at the same time.
At this point, I was pissed. I decided to go where this guy lived and take a shot at confronting him there. I went to resident services and they said they couldn't disclose the residence of a student. Told them my sob story and the person gave it to me. It was on Cook and I asked one of my roommates to come with me for the trip. Not sure I knew what would happen- I figured he wouldn't be able to reneg on his commitment if he had to look me in the eye or something.
I knock on the apt door and ask for the guy. There are 6 or 7 football players playing a video games and goofing around. All of them look at us like we have two heads apiece.
This is basically the exchange:
"I need the money for the rent".
"I don't have it"
"You need to get it"
"I only needed the apt for 2 months"
"I don't care - the lease was for 3"
"I don't have the money"
"Don't make me have to force you"
Long, very awkward silence....I look back at my friend who looks at me blankly and everyone is leaning in to see if this is about to escalate.
"You- you are gonna force me?"
Another awkward silence
"Yeah, you know...I'll take you to court!"
"I don't have the money. Do what you want, nothing I can do"
I walk out and my friend and I exhale.
Next day I go to student services nearly apoplectic. They say - not our area, go to small claims court. I go into town, file paperwork and get a court date for us to appear and it gets sent to him. Several days (weeks?) go by and nothing. Finally, the night before the court appearance around 11 PM the phone rings.
"Yo. How much do I owe you?"
"$750"
"Ok, I'm coming over".
He comes by and silently places a check in my hand from his grandmother's account. Now I am faced with a question- trust that the check is good and skip the court appearance or wake up early and go to the court appearance in the morning? I decide to go to court and win by default. I ask them what does that mean and they say, basically, nothing. The only thing they could do is put his name on file so if he ever wanted to purchase property in middlesex cty he would have to pay me back first.
That's when I realized the threat of court can often be more effective at achieving justice than the actual court system.
That season, I found a way to put my personal grievance aside and root for the team. It was easy rooting for Battaglia and Lucas and Willis was so electrifying it was hard not to get excited. The OL vastly underachieved that season and I think only one got drafted and made it to the NFL for a brief period. The guy I was working with didn't make it. A few years later I read in the paper he had a heart attack while driving and died. He had ballooned to 440 pounds and 25. Left behind two kids.
Meanwhile, my love-hate relationship with Rutgers Football continued. I bought young alumni tickets. By this time, I had cut my hair short, but was intrigued at the prospect of a west-coast guru. It was the dawn of a new era and....once Terry Shea is done with his vacation and arrives on campus, the sky's the limit!!!!
The history on Graber is on point; the team had enormous talent from NJ but kids constantly flunking out or getting in trouble, etc. Willis leaving for the NFL early was both stupid on his part and very damaging to RU's chances after Graber.
'95 was supposed to be the year it came together. Lucas, Presley, Willis, Battaglia, Funderburk, Harper were all legit weapons but importantly, the OL was stacked w/Srs, 3 or 4 who were pre-season all conference & projected draft picks.
Here's a quite lengthy story of my run-in with the OL & summer of '95
Summer before the season starts, I sublet the apt I had rented for my senior year to three of the OL. I came back in the fall, opened the closet and there was the biggest sneaker I've ever seen in my life sitting there. Just one. The recliner my roommate had gotten from his grandmother looked like it had been sat on by a giant and was flattened- like in a cartoon.
They had skipped on the last month of rent because summer camp started in Aug and so they didn't need the place. I literally called my contact dozens of times through August trying to track him down. It was before cell phones and I had very little info to go on. When I did reach him, he flatly refused.
Finally, I reached his grandmother and told her what was going on but she seemed sweet and I didn't consider it her problem. Decided I had to go to see this guy for myself when I got on campus. I had no idea where he might be, so I went to the weight room one afternoon and started asking around. One of the coaches basically stopped me in my tracks and told me he wasn't there. When I asked if I could go inside, he looked at me like I was crazy. I should mention that I had shoulder length hair at the time and weighed 165 lbs so didn't exactly fit in with the crew. I told the coach I needed to see him because he owed me money. He told me in no uncertain terms that they had work to do and get lost. Terrell Willis gave me the skunk-eye while he flexed at me which I thought was kind of unnecessary, but cool at the same time.
At this point, I was pissed. I decided to go where this guy lived and take a shot at confronting him there. I went to resident services and they said they couldn't disclose the residence of a student. Told them my sob story and the person gave it to me. It was on Cook and I asked one of my roommates to come with me for the trip. Not sure I knew what would happen- I figured he wouldn't be able to reneg on his commitment if he had to look me in the eye or something.
I knock on the apt door and ask for the guy. There are 6 or 7 football players playing a video games and goofing around. All of them look at us like we have two heads apiece.
This is basically the exchange:
"I need the money for the rent".
"I don't have it"
"You need to get it"
"I only needed the apt for 2 months"
"I don't care - the lease was for 3"
"I don't have the money"
"Don't make me have to force you"
Long, very awkward silence....I look back at my friend who looks at me blankly and everyone is leaning in to see if this is about to escalate.
"You- you are gonna force me?"
Another awkward silence
"Yeah, you know...I'll take you to court!"
"I don't have the money. Do what you want, nothing I can do"
I walk out and my friend and I exhale.
Next day I go to student services nearly apoplectic. They say - not our area, go to small claims court. I go into town, file paperwork and get a court date for us to appear and it gets sent to him. Several days (weeks?) go by and nothing. Finally, the night before the court appearance around 11 PM the phone rings.
"Yo. How much do I owe you?"
"$750"
"Ok, I'm coming over".
He comes by and silently places a check in my hand from his grandmother's account. Now I am faced with a question- trust that the check is good and skip the court appearance or wake up early and go to the court appearance in the morning? I decide to go to court and win by default. I ask them what does that mean and they say, basically, nothing. The only thing they could do is put his name on file so if he ever wanted to purchase property in middlesex cty he would have to pay me back first.
That's when I realized the threat of court can often be more effective at achieving justice than the actual court system.
That season, I found a way to put my personal grievance aside and root for the team. It was easy rooting for Battaglia and Lucas and Willis was so electrifying it was hard not to get excited. The OL vastly underachieved that season and I think only one got drafted and made it to the NFL for a brief period. The guy I was working with didn't make it. A few years later I read in the paper he had a heart attack while driving and died. He had ballooned to 440 pounds and 25. Left behind two kids.
Meanwhile, my love-hate relationship with Rutgers Football continued. I bought young alumni tickets. By this time, I had cut my hair short, but was intrigued at the prospect of a west-coast guru. It was the dawn of a new era and....once Terry Shea is done with his vacation and arrives on campus, the sky's the limit!!!!
Didn't Army end up getting picked instead of us even though we beat them that year? If I remember correctly.
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/sports/football-rutgers-has-shot-at-a-bowl.html
I think that was 1984, when we were 7-3 and in line for the new Cherry Bowl, but they picked Army instead even though we had beaten them and had a better record. The deciding factor was that Army could guarantee 10K seats. What killed us is that our final game was at home against Colgate, with a bowl possibly on the line, and we couldn't fill a 23K seat stadium.
Gruninger and the administration was no help here with the lack of commitment and any academic support system as we have today and as implemented by Bob Mulcahy. Gruninger often clashed with Graber. Doug was and still is a solid individual who never says anything negative about Rutgers. Rutgers owes him a lot considering what he did and how he lobbied to get the stadium expanded etc. Looking back he probably should have settled for the tie up at Syracuse rather than going for 2 late in the game and of course the Cincy game and related problems were a disaster that cost the team a bowl game.
Great guy and still a friend of many fans and players. Had him come back for an event 3 years ago and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Not sure what he is doing today as he may now be fully retired but I believe recently he was doing some TV work and game color commentary for the BE/AAC (?) and was living in the Kissimmee, Florida area.
Great guy and still a friend of many fans and players. Had him come back for an event 3 years ago and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Not sure what he is doing today as he may now be fully retired but I believe recently he was doing some TV work and game color commentary for the BE/AAC (?) and was living in the Kissimmee, Florida area.
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