Rutgers Football: Wishlist for the Scarlet Knights’ 2019 season

PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 10: Strength and conditioning coach Kenny Parker (L) for the Scarlett Knights talks with quarterback Artur Sitkowski #8 against the Michigan Wolverines during the fourth quarter at HighPoint.com Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Michigan won 42-7. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - NOVEMBER 10: Strength and conditioning coach Kenny Parker (L) for the Scarlett Knights talks with quarterback Artur Sitkowski #8 against the Michigan Wolverines during the fourth quarter at HighPoint.com Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Piscataway, New Jersey. Michigan won 42-7. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)
(Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images) /

3. A stronger passing presence

The Rutgers passing attack has been putrid over the last two seasons, and especially in 2018. This year, the Scarlet Knights ranked dead last in both team offense and passing offense.

That latest quarterback project was true freshman Artur Sitkowski. He wasn’t expected to stuff the stat sheet, but at the same time, he wasn’t anticipated to do as poorly as he did this season. Of course, there is a learning curve, but that could only stretch so far.

Sitkowski has upside in that he has a strong and very capable arm and he showed toughness by staying in the pocket and taking hard hits from the defense.

His performances, however, were plagued by a variety of miscues. He made some crucial mistakes that proved detrimental to his on-field performance.

In 2018, Sitkowski finished with a 4:18 touchdown to interception ratio. In other words, he threw more than quadruple the number of interceptions than he did touchdowns.

Ash entrusted Sitkowski under center for a majority of the season but at times opted to turn to backup veteran Gio Rescigno. This change didn’t provide a ton to the offense and the assumption heading into next season is that Sitkowski will once again be the starter.

He definitely showed flashes of what he is capable of –– with 200+ yard passing games against Illinois and Wisconsin.

In 2018, points came at a premium for the Scarlet Knights. With just 100 points for, Rutgers averaged less than 10 points (or a touchdown and a two-point conversion) on offense per game.

In the rough and tumble of the Big Ten, this won’t get it done. This kind of offensive production probably wouldn’t supply a victory in a Group of Five conferences.

The major driving point is that for the offense as a whole to improve, the passing game needs to be shored up. Opening up the playbook for Sitkowksi and his strong arm could do a lot of good. A high risk equals the pontential to reap a high reward.

With one year of starting experience under his belt, Sitkowski and the rest of the offense can shake off a bad season and look ahead to what the future has in store.