Go Back   BearcatTalk.com > Cincinnati Football > Bearcat Football

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-26-2010, 01:10 PM   #11
swg
Epic Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7,155
swg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the rough
Spring game review

There wasn't a lot of scoring in Rutgers' spring game on Saturday, but head coach Greg Schiano had to be pleased with the running game.

Joe Martinek, who will try to hold onto his starting job once some talented freshmen arrive this summer, rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries as the Scarlet team beat the White 16-7. Martinek did his damage behind a makeshift and still evolving offensive line, which will remain the No. 1 question mark of the offseason for Rutgers.

Tom Savage completed 17-of-30 passes for 181 yards, whle freshman receiver Quron Pratt led the way with eight catches for 55 yards. San San Te added three field goals. Star receiver Mohamed Sanu did not play because of a head injury he suffered in practice earlier in the week.

Antonio Lowery and Steve Beauharnais paced the defense with 13 tackles each.

The Scarlet Knights honored defensive tackle Charlie Noonan as the toughest player of spring practice, while Tim Wright was named the most improved offensive player and Khaseem Greene was recognized as most improved on the defense.

Rutgers drew a school-record 20,114 fans to the spring game, the most in the Big East this year.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
swg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-05-2010, 06:39 AM   #12
swg
Epic Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7,155
swg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the rough
Spring Wrap Up

Spring answers

1. More than Mo: The Scarlet Knights had just one proven receiver -- sophomore Mohamed Sanu -- coming into the spring. But Tim Wright, Mark Harrison and Quron Pratt all elevated their games and started to fulfill their vast potential during practice. Rutgers now feels good about its passing game going into the fall.

2. Solid on D: Despite losing stars such as Devin McCourty, Ryan D'Imperio and George Johnson, Greg Schiano has plenty to work with on defense. The defensive line is as deep and talented as it's ever been during Schiano's tenure. Sophomore Steve Beauharnais looks ready to take off at middle linebacker. And Logan Ryan made a lot of plays in the secondary.

3. Stapleton a fixture: One answer on the offensive line appears to be junior Desmond Stapleton. Buried behind Anthony Davis the past two years, Stapleton needed to assert himself this spring. By all accounts, he did just that and figures to earn a starting spot at one of the tackle positions.

Fall questions

1. O-line, O-line, O-line: With the exception of Stapleton, the offensive line was a giant question mark most of the spring. Howard Barbieri's knee injury didn't help matters, and neither did having Desmond Wynn sidelined for most of practice. Rutgers has more playmakers this year on offense, but it won't matter if the line can't protect Tom Savage.

2. Running game explosiveness: Schiano wants more big plays out of his running game. Joe Martinek just missed reaching 1,000 yards last season but was more of a steady player than a star. He responded to Schiano's challenge with an excellent spring performance even behind the makeshift line. But a couple of true freshmen will get a look this fall as Schiano tries to increase the speed in the backfield.

3. What happens if Savage goes down? The Scarlet Knights' sophomore quarterback is on his way to a stellar career. But it's not easy to keep a quarterback healthy all year, and all Rutgers has behind him right now is Steve Shimko, who will have a hard time making defenses respect the deep passing game. Chas Dodd arrives in the summer, but it's a lot to ask for Dodd to be as advanced as Savage was when he showed up.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
swg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2010, 06:33 PM   #13
swg
Epic Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7,155
swg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the rough
Spring Review: WR (Scout)

Rutgers needed to find receivers capable of playing with consistency during spring practice, and a pair stood out. With Quron Pratt and Tim Wright joining Mohamed Sanu and Mark Harrison, the Scarlet Knights now have four receivers they believe they can count on when the season begins. However, did anyone else stand out, or is there tons of room for a few of the incoming freshmen to earn spots?

There were no major injuries to impact the 2010 season, which was the most important non-development of spring practice.
The most important development of spring practice was the play of receivers Tim Wright and Quron Pratt.

With Tim Brown now with the New York Giants, and given the lack of depth Rutgers dealt with during the 2009 season, something had to happen at the receiver position in the spring.

That materialized with the player of Wright and Pratt.

Wright, who is 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, is physical receiver with speed. He caught the ball in traffic and made difficult catches look routine, ran good routes and showed an improved ability to block. At his size, he can also be an asset in the red zone, and has the size advantage against cornerbacks.

Pratt’s ability was shown in a short flash last season when he caught one pass for 14 yards before an ankle injury ended his season. Luckily for him, it transpired in the first half of the season, and since he played in only two games, he was eligible to medically red-shirt.

That the coaching staff elected to play Pratt as a true freshman spoke of his ability, and during spring practice he showed why there is so much promise of what he can be.

Pratt spent much of the spring playing in the slot, where Brown excelled last season in leads the Scarlet Knights with 55 catches, 1,150 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. But don’t expect Pratt to be a carbon copy of Brown.

In fact, there styles are different. At 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, Brown was pure speed. The threat of getting beat deep forced defenses to give Brown room underneath.

Pratt is 6-foot, 175 pounds, but doesn’t possess the game-breaking speed. However, Pratt understands how to find openings in the defense and get open, and he showed good hands.

The biggest issue with Pratt is strength, but spending the next few months with Rutgers strength and conditioning coach Jay Butler should help a great deal.

Of course, neither Wright nor Pratt are proven game players, and that will be needed to take the pressure off sophomores Mohamed Sanu and Mark Harrison.

Sanu continued his business-as-usual approach throughout the spring. He was consistently open, was able to use his 6-2, 215-pound frame to gain superior position on defensive backs and was able to stretch the field.

Sanu also ran the “Wildcat’’ package effectively.

The gifted Harrison performed better as the 15-session practices wore on, and his effort was markedly better for it. He consistently gave quarterback Tom Savage a big target over the middle, and despite his 6-3, 230-pound size, Harrison has the ability to make the vertical passing game work.

Beyond those four, though, plenty of the inconsistencies plaguing the receivers last season remained present

http://cincinnati.scout.com/2/970021.html
swg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2010, 02:54 PM   #14
swg
Epic Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7,155
swg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the rough
Tthe Rutgers athletic department has not yet confirmed Scout.com's report about Abdul Smith's transfer. However, it appears that junior offensive lineman Richard Muldrow is no longer a member of the Scarlet Knight football team. No other additional information on either matter is available at this time.

Muldrow came into Rutgers as a fairly high-profile signee in the '07 recruiting class, but never cracked the depth chart in his three and a half seasons with the team. Unfortunately, that class ended up seeing a lot of attrition, and the jury's still out on several other signees entering a make or break 2010.

Any departees would open up scholarships for the incoming Class of 2010. Sometimes the NCAA Clearinghouse drags their feet (for instance, Kenny Britt wasn't cleared until halfway through his freshman fall camp), so any clarity on the program's scholarship count is up in the air for now.






Also.........

While it would be unfortunate to lose a talented in-state player, CB Abdul Smith will transfer, and was sixth on the corner depth chart following spring practice

www.onthebanks.com
swg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-06-2010, 02:57 PM   #15
swg
Epic Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7,155
swg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the rough
Rutgers Post Spring Depth Chart....


1. Nothing is by no means set in stone at this point.
2. Kordell Young is listed over De'Antwan Williams as second team RB. Presuming both are able to play this fall (by no means a certainty for Young), Kordell's pass protection will get him on the field. This strikes me as both a symbolic reward for him, and a motivational ploy for Williams, who still needs to improve his blocking and ball security. Williams is still the better bet to play in the fall, and could even push for major minutes.
3. The offensive line has to still be unsettled following all the injuries over spring practice, and is still subject to change. Position wise, I'd imagine that the staff was experimenting with everybody to see where they fit best. Not having seen a snap outside of the spring game, I like Stapleton at LT, Forst at RT, and Wynn at G because it supports my pre-conceived notions about the trio. McBride over Wilson at 2nd team RT is a minor surprise. Not making the two-deep is a bad sign for the futures of Muldrow and Hardison.
4. Nick DePaola as second-team FB? Is Joseph still hurt? IIRC, Solice was back playing defense, although I might be remembering incorrectly there. Regardless, numbers should dictate the FB being de-emphasized in 2010 in favor of 3/4 WR and 2 TE sets.
5. Bing seemed like a better fit as a nickel last year. He had a good spring by all accounts, but it'd be nice if Jones or especially Ryan started opposite Rowe (who played some nickel in the spring too, but his size seems like a better fit outside than in the slot).
6. Civil over Holmes is not even remotely a surprise, and absolutely the right decision. Holmes has to be thought of as a long term project for 2011 and beyond. Civil and Larrow are just as physically gifted (although obviously less bulkier), and far ahead of Holmes on the skill curve. Slightly disappointed that Bayoh is the 4th DE over say, Merrell, but given how much Rutgers rotates its DL, the 9th and 10th linemen should get to play some.
7. Booker returning from injury pushes Lane out of the two-deep at LB.


www.onthebanks.com
swg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2011, 10:41 PM   #16
swg
Epic Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7,155
swg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the rough
@TomDienhart
Tom Dienhart
According to reports, Frank Cignetti will be the new OC at Rutgers.
swg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2011, 11:15 PM   #17
swg
Epic Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7,155
swg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the roughswg is a jewel in the rough
2011 signees: 24

Top prospects: Savon Huggins is the No. 4 running back in this class, according to ESPN.com, and averaged nearly 11 yards per carry last season. Al Page is a 290-pounder who can play on either side of the line. Miles Shuler was one of the fastest players in New Jersey and can be used in a variety of ways.

Needs met: As Rutgers proved last year with its brutal offense, it needs playmakers, especially in the running game. Huggins should help that right away. The Scarlet Knights also needed help for a battered offensive line and got that in junior college center Dallas Hendrickson and prospects Kaleb Wright and Keith Lumpkin, the latter of whom blocked for Huggins in high school. Greg Schiano also filled some holes on the defensive front and got a backup quarterback, at least, in Gary Nova.

Analysis: This has all the makings of a standout class. Schiano kept some of the top prospects in New Jersey, and Huggins was a home run. This group answers a lot of concerns and could have the star power to help the Scarlet Knights finally get to the next level.

What Schiano said: “I am thrilled about the young men that we are bringing here. I always say ask me how this class is a couple years from now, maybe three, but I know that I love the people we are bringing here, the people, the character and that I think we have a pretty good handle on and we are excited about the addition to our family these guys will be.”

Scouts Inc. grade: B-minus

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
swg is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
football, rutgers


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump



Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd., - All material on this Cincinnati Bearcat discussion forum is strictly for entertainment purposes only. This site and any pages within are in no way affiliated with the University of Cincinnati. Any images, copyrights, or trademarks used on this site are used under the "Fair Use Provision" of the Copyright Act for purposes of comment, criticism, and news reporting.