Can Rutgers Scarlet Knights Go Bowling With B1G Schedule?

Offense

In an effort to replace offensive coordinator Ron Prince, Flood turned to no other than former Maryland head coach and offensive genius Ralph Friedgen, which makes for a great twist of irony. Friedgen will be responsible mainly for getting senior quarterback Gary Nova who missed the last three games of 2013, to show much more improvement this year after only 18 touchdowns to 14 interceptions last year. That won’t fly in the defensive minded Big Ten. He’ll have to be a much better pocket passer and show more efficiency after completing less than 55 percent of his passes last year. Playing under Friedgen as the starter, that will likely happen. Expect a major improvement here.

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The Scarlet Knights return all three regular contributors at running back, which should be very welcome given the passing game will probably be better this year. Junior Paul James should build on his 881 yards, 5.6 yards per carry, and 9 touchdowns, and there’s no telling to how good sophomore Justin Goodwin can be after another 521 yards as a backup freshman. Senior Savon Huggins could also fight his way into the mix after 286 yards last year. The running game will probably be better than last year thanks to the expected improvement in the passing game.

The Scarlet Knights would appear to take a hit at receiver with their top two players gone, but they spread the ball around so much last year that the guys returning should be able to pick up the slack. Four players had more than 400 yards receiving last year in a lousy pass offense, and nobody had more than 600 yards. Most notably, junior tight end Tyler Kroft is back and was the most productive player after 573 yards and 4 touchdowns last year. If things go right, he could make some huge noise in the Big Ten. Junior receiver Leonte Carroo had only 467 yards last year, but he added 9 touchdowns, by far the most of anybody in the group. Look for him to become a breakout star this year. Sophomore Ruhann Peele could have a huge role as the other starter after 281 yards and a touchdown in very limited action as a freshman last year. For depth, there are five other sophomores to turn to and two other tight ends. With all of that in mind, the losses of Quron Pratt and Brandon Coleman shouldn’t mean much, and the unit should be better than it was last year overall with more experienced depth.

Oct 26, 2013; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Gary Nova (10) drops back during the first half of their game against the Houston Cougars at High Point Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

If Rutgers is going to make any noise in the Big Ten, it better hope the loaded offensive line that was pretty good in the AAC can make a significant jump with more experience. All-AAC senior center Betim Bujari leads the bunch, and senior guard Kaleb Johnson provides the most experience with 36 starts. Senior tackle Taj Alexander and junior tackle Keith Lumpkin should keep the outsides set, and the other guard will be sophomore Chris Muller, who stands at 300 pounds and started 12 games last year as a freshman. With all of this, tackle Andre Civil shouldn’t be a big loss. Add to this senior tackle Brian Leoni, three sophomores, and three freshmen, all of whom were highly recruited, and you have a very loaded, deep, experienced line with a bright future that should be much better this year than it was last year. That’s going to be needed against Big Ten front sevens.

The Rutgers offense has so many returning starters and has recruited well enough that it should be much better, deeper, and more experienced than last year. Add Friedgen’s system to the mix, who was immediately able to turn around Maryland in 2001 his first year there, and you can see why this should be a very good team. But there’s still that nagging question about how it can fare in the Big Ten. The question will linger until we can see it on the field. Continue to Next Slide for Defense