Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said he was "doing some math" recently, and this is what he came up with: 62 of the 85 scholarship players reporting for the start of pre-season football practice in August will have either three or four years of eligibility left.
"We have a young football team," he said Tuesday at a pre-spring practice press conference. "I'm excited. I'm not afraid of that."
Some of the other highlights from his 20-minute session with the media, with spring practice set to start next Tuesday:
-- Running back Kordell Young (knee), OL Desmond Wynn (shoulder), running back De'Antwan Williams (knee), TE Fabian Ruiz (Achilles' heel), OL Betim Bujari (undisclosed non-football injury) and WR Jamal Merrell (knee) will miss spring practice -- but are expected to be ready for pre-season camp in the summer. All are coming off surgery.
Bujari, a promising true freshman, is one of three recruits to enroll early and was hoping to make a quick impression with so much uncertainty in the offensive line.
-- LB Colin McEvoy (shoulder), WR Mason Robinson (knee) and LB Marvin Booker (knee) will be limited during the spring. They are also expected to be ready when practice resumes in August.
-- There was more shuffling on the coaching staff. In addition to the three new hires (defensive line coach Randy Melvin, tight ends coach Phil Galiano and wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck), Schiano announced that Tem Lukabu, a graduate assistant, will coach the outside linebackers. Meanwhile, Robb Smith, the special teams coordinator, will add the cornerbacks to his coaching responsibility, while last year's cornerbacks coach, Chris Hewitt, will now oversee the running backs.
Hewitt replaces Randy Trivers, who coached the running backs as a graduate assistant last year. Schiano said that Trivers has returned to high school coaching.
-- Depth at running back and quarterback will be severely lacking in the spring, meaning Schiano will have to be more cautious than usual when it comes to the workloads for quarterback Tom Savage and running back Joe Martinek.
Steve Shimko is the only back-up to Savage at the moment. Because of injuries -- and while awaiting the arrival of some promising true freshmen running backs in the summer -- Martinek and Tyrone Putman, a walk-on, are the only healthy tailbacks. Schiano said the redshirt freshman fullback Robert Joseph would get some work out of a one-back set, however.
-- Redshirt freshman Antwan Lowery, a defensive tackle last year, is being tried on the offensive line. "He's a very talented guy who can bolster our offensive line," Schiano said. "We know he can play defensive tackle (already)."
-- Howard Barbieri, a part-time starter at guard and tackle throughout his career, will open at center.
The 15-day spring practice schedule culminates with the April 24 spring game at Rutgers Stadium.
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