Rutgers Football: Dismissals and investigations mar Knights 2018 offseason
Rutgers football has had its bumps in the road, but it may have suffered hard-to-heal bruises because of recent incidents involving the program.
The Scarlet Knights are just weeks away from the opening of summer training camp and the Rutgers defense has already taken a major hit.
Earlier this week, starting defensive back K.J. Gray and up-and-coming linebacker Brendan DeVera were both dismissed from the program. The report stated the players were let go for violating team rules and the exact reasoning for the players’ discharges has not been disclosed. On the Rutgers football official website, scarletknights.com, both Gray and DeVera have been removed from the 2018 roster.
Gray enjoyed a quality season in 2017 as a sophomore and took significant strides to be considered for a full-time starting job. By all means, he was projected to be a force in the secondary this season.
He appeared in 10 games last season and made four starts at free safety while leading the Scarlet Knights’ secondary with 58 tackles. He also totaled three stops for a loss, 1.5 sacks and made two interceptions.
DeVera was a true freshman last season and played sparingly. He tallied two tackles and played mostly on special teams while also seeing time as a backup linebacker. He was a player to watch in 2018. DeVera was seen improving his strength during the offseason. A video posted to his Twitter account showed the linebacker squatting 500 pounds.
Another wave of bad news hit when it was reported that up to eight Rutgers players are currently under investigation for committing credit card fraud. No names have been supplied in the probe and the consequences have not yet been announced because no charges have been brought up. As it currently stands, there is no direct connection between the fraudulent use of credit cards and the dismissals of Gray and DeVera.
The recent investigation has now produced a resurfacing of deviant actions by Rutgers football players.
When Kyle Flood was the head coach, Rutgers was the focal point of a 2015 NCAA investigation regarding the academic eligibility status of a former player, Nadir Barnwell.
Flood was in violation of the university rule that states: “coach-initiated contact of any type is not permitted between any member of the coaching staff and any Rutgers faculty member or associated instructional staff with respect to any student-athlete.”
Two months ago, Barnwell was charged with the attempted homicide of a woman in Nashville, Tenn. He was also one of five players dismissed from the football program in 2015 as a result of criminal charges stemming from a fight.
The whirlwind surrounding Flood’s own actions combined with poor judgment of his players ultimately led to his termination and along with him went then Rutgers Athletic Director Julie Hermann.
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Since the 2015 incidents, Rutgers has seen greater stability and has mostly stayed away from the negative side of the public eye.
The details of the most recent occurrences are pending as the investigation is still ongoing. For now, though, Rutgers has lost two would-have-been contributors to the defense for the upcoming season and beyond.