Rutgers Football: 5 reasons the Scarlet Knights may struggle in 2018
Rutgers football has had its struggles over the past few seasons and the Scarlet Knights are hoping to reverse their fortunes. What are some things that could hold Rutgers back from reaching new heights in 2018?
Given the outcomes of the last few seasons, it is reasonable to assume Rutgers football will struggle in 2018. The Scarlet Knights still have a variety of issues to address for the new season if they want to be successful. The expectations aren’t enormously high but a winning season is attainable.
Now entering his third season as head coach, Chris Ash will be at the helm of the Scarlet Knights once again. In two seasons, he has a 6-18 record when coaching and slightly improved his win total last season.
There is a strong likelihood that Rutgers will have its fair share of struggles in 2018 and here are five main reasons the Scarlet Knights will have difficulties this season.
5. The Quarterback Conundrum
Without question, the quarterback position produced very lackluster results last season. There was almost no passing game to speak of which paved the way for the running game to carry the offense and the majority of the scoring.
As much as a defense can go a long way to the success of a football team, the reality is, it is extremely difficult to win a game without putting points on the board.
Currently, Rutgers has not named a No. 1 quarterback as it is a three-way competition between Giovanni Rescigno, Johnathan Lewis and freshman Artur Sitkowski.
Ash has indicated that each quarterback is getting first-team reps which can be both good and bad.
The good: This means that every quarterback battling for the No. 1 spot will know the intricacies of the playbook and performance aside, can be trusted to handle the offense from knowing the offensive sets.
More: Who wins the Rutgers QB job in 2018
The bad: With every quarterback knowing the playbook by heart, it is reasonable to believe if one doesn’t completely gain separation from the others, the No. 1 quarterback has the potential to be on a short leash. If this scenario plays out, Rutgers may be looking at another multi-quarterback year, especially if the chosen signal-caller underperforms.
The other potential bad of this situation is if all three quarterbacks are taking reps with the first team, each could build up a connection with different receivers. Therefore, the starting quarterback may have different preferences with receivers than the other quarterbacks and this could be a possible roadblock to the passing game.
Take last year as a prime example of why the Scarlet Knights desperately need a solid answer at the position. Last season, the quarterbacks were the root cause of the offensive woes, but a dependable slinger may reverse the inconsistencies of last season and can help alleviate those issues in 2018.