This is my tenth season covering Rutgers football and I can honestly say today was the hottest practice I have ever been to. Now here are some thoughts on how the day went and a look at my standout players.
The Quarterback race
Chris Laviano looked sharp when he threw the football. He completed a very nice 29 yard TD pass to Vance Matthews who caught it in stride. Laviano also completed a 55-yarder to Carlton Agudosi but it was negated because Agudosi was flagged for pass interference. Laviano also moved well when he ran the football. It is tough to really take stats of QBs rushing because the whistle gets blown when they get touched.
Zach Allen also looked fast running the football and had his ups and downs throwing the football. He was not way off the mark, but took what the defense gave him. After today, it does not look like the QB situation will be settled.
Meanwhile, Hayden Rettig struggled. His completions were all short passes where he found guys in space as he struggled when he threw downfield. Gio Rescigno looked better and could wind up unseating Rettig as the No.3 quarterback. Rescigno found Jawuan Harris for a beautiful 61-yard TD bomb. I would have liked to see more throws from Rescigno. One of his incompletions was dropped by Vance Matthews on a comeback route.
Tylin Oden and Mike Dare got time at the very end and Dare found Mo Jabbie for a 35-yard completion. Other than that, there was not much to report from those two guys.
No Gos
Robert Martin, Kemoko Turay, Darius Hamilton, George Behr and Trevor Morris were the guys who did not go today. Eric Margolis stepped in as the starting linebacker in place of Roberts while Justin Goodwin started for Martin and Kevin Wilkins for Hamilton. Andre Hunt was also second in for Margolis when he left the game.
Running Backs
Justin Goodwin had the best day of any running backs, looking both fast and strong en route to 33 yards rushing. Trey Sneed fumbled twice and Josh Hicks saw only limited action. Charles Snorweah saw his first reps at running back after missing last year and although he was elusive, he went down rather easily.
Wide receivers
Jawuan Harris made a nice play on a deep ball, but there really was no other receiver who stepped up and had a big day.
Tight ends
Matt Flanagan led all receivers and managed to find some openings in the defense. Nick Arch also caught a pass and the tight ends lined up wide a good amount of times. Nakia Griffin was targeted twice and missed one pass while he was leveled on the other one. Dare kind of left him out to dry.
Defense
One of the guys who continues to impress me among the freshman is Damon Hayes. I think he has a very real chance of seeing significant time this year. Isaiah Wharton also had some struggles at corner while Bless Austin continues to be solid. Deonte Roberts was mixing it up nicely and Jon Bately saw more of a role today. Kevin Marquez had himself a nice day at linebacker, making some tackles along with an pick-six interception. The d-line stuffed a lot of runs today and did a good job of clogging the middle.
Special teams
The kick returner opposite Janarion Grant is Justin Goodwin while the two backups are Jay Harris and Josh Hicks. Jared Smolar hit a 39-yard field goal while David Bonagura did not get a chance to attempt one. However, Bonagura is the first team kicker and Smolar got the chance because it came on a drive that featured the second team offense.
The Quarterback race
Chris Laviano looked sharp when he threw the football. He completed a very nice 29 yard TD pass to Vance Matthews who caught it in stride. Laviano also completed a 55-yarder to Carlton Agudosi but it was negated because Agudosi was flagged for pass interference. Laviano also moved well when he ran the football. It is tough to really take stats of QBs rushing because the whistle gets blown when they get touched.
Zach Allen also looked fast running the football and had his ups and downs throwing the football. He was not way off the mark, but took what the defense gave him. After today, it does not look like the QB situation will be settled.
Meanwhile, Hayden Rettig struggled. His completions were all short passes where he found guys in space as he struggled when he threw downfield. Gio Rescigno looked better and could wind up unseating Rettig as the No.3 quarterback. Rescigno found Jawuan Harris for a beautiful 61-yard TD bomb. I would have liked to see more throws from Rescigno. One of his incompletions was dropped by Vance Matthews on a comeback route.
Tylin Oden and Mike Dare got time at the very end and Dare found Mo Jabbie for a 35-yard completion. Other than that, there was not much to report from those two guys.
No Gos
Robert Martin, Kemoko Turay, Darius Hamilton, George Behr and Trevor Morris were the guys who did not go today. Eric Margolis stepped in as the starting linebacker in place of Roberts while Justin Goodwin started for Martin and Kevin Wilkins for Hamilton. Andre Hunt was also second in for Margolis when he left the game.
Running Backs
Justin Goodwin had the best day of any running backs, looking both fast and strong en route to 33 yards rushing. Trey Sneed fumbled twice and Josh Hicks saw only limited action. Charles Snorweah saw his first reps at running back after missing last year and although he was elusive, he went down rather easily.
Wide receivers
Jawuan Harris made a nice play on a deep ball, but there really was no other receiver who stepped up and had a big day.
Tight ends
Matt Flanagan led all receivers and managed to find some openings in the defense. Nick Arch also caught a pass and the tight ends lined up wide a good amount of times. Nakia Griffin was targeted twice and missed one pass while he was leveled on the other one. Dare kind of left him out to dry.
Defense
One of the guys who continues to impress me among the freshman is Damon Hayes. I think he has a very real chance of seeing significant time this year. Isaiah Wharton also had some struggles at corner while Bless Austin continues to be solid. Deonte Roberts was mixing it up nicely and Jon Bately saw more of a role today. Kevin Marquez had himself a nice day at linebacker, making some tackles along with an pick-six interception. The d-line stuffed a lot of runs today and did a good job of clogging the middle.
Special teams
The kick returner opposite Janarion Grant is Justin Goodwin while the two backups are Jay Harris and Josh Hicks. Jared Smolar hit a 39-yard field goal while David Bonagura did not get a chance to attempt one. However, Bonagura is the first team kicker and Smolar got the chance because it came on a drive that featured the second team offense.
