RU vs. Howard 2016-09-09

ERIC MULLIN associate sports editor

Darius Hamilton had to stop and think for a moment when asked if he could remember his last game at High Point Solutions Stadium.

After a few seconds the fifth-year senior took a stab at who the opponent was.

“Maybe Indiana?”

He was right.

The Rutgers football team’s 45-23 win over the Hoosiers in the home finale of the 2014 season was the last time Hamilton competed on the Scarlet Knights’ home turf.

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KNIGHTS GAMEDAY

September 9, 2016

RUTGERS VS. HOWARD

GAME 2: High Point Solutions Stadium, 12 P.M. TV: BTN

RADIO: Rutgers IMG Sports Network

Laviano keeps focus on field, not off it Eric Mullin Associate Sports Editor

When Chris Ash took the reigns of the football program at Rutgers, Chris Laviano was tasked with winning the starting quarterback job — again.

Laviano was back to square one this season with a new head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive system after winning job leading up to last season and starting every game for the Scarlet Knights in 2015.

The Holy Trinity product battled mainly with fellow junior Hayden Rettig during spring camp and came out of the summer in competition with graduate transfer Zach Allen during training camp.

Laviano separated himself enough from the other quarterbacks for Ash to name him as the No. 1 quarterback in the week leading up to the season opener.

But while Laviano prevailed in a quarterback battle for the second time, the erratic play that defined his first full season as a starter continued to persist in No. 14 Washington’s 48-13 shellacking of the Knights in the first game of the season.

Laviano was 24-for-40 through the air, but gained just 168 yards across those 24 completions. Most notably, the 6-foot-2 quarterback also coughed up the ball two times, once on an interception and again fumbling on a quarterback scramble.

He nearly turned it over a third time on a lost fumble deep in Rutgers own territory, but the play was nullified due to a defensive penalty.

“There were goods and there were bads,” Ash said. “The number one thing negative on Chris is he did not have good ball security. He put the ball in harm’s way, and he needs to get that fixed ... We talked a lot about that in the decision making process to name Chris the starter. Chris has earned the right to be the starter here based on what he’s done from spring and summer and through training camp, but he needs to protect the football ... He’s got to get used to running the football and how to protect the ball when he is running.”

Chris Laviano was originally recruited for the Knights to quarterback a pro-style offense, which he ran last year for the Knights. Now playing in a spread offense that

incorporates its fair share of read-options, Laviano has to take off on designed scrambles if the weak-side defensive end is overplaying the run.

That’s a sizable adjustment for a quarterback that not only lacks blazing speed but hasn’t been asked to partake in many designed runs during his time at the collegiate level.

But Laviano’s not allowing for his lack of experience in the offense to be an excuse for not being more secure with the football.

“There’s no excuse for not taking care of the ball — it’s like the most important thing,” Laviano said. “So it’s kinda like you either do or you don’t. And that’s gonna get better.”

On Saturday, Laviano will attempt to quarterback Rutgers to its first win of the season when it hosts Howard in a noon matchup at High Point Solutions Stadium on the Big Ten Network. It will be the Knights’ first game on their home turf since last season’s finale, when Rutgers squandered a 21-point lead late in the first half en route to a 45-41 loss to Maryland.

In the fourth quarter of that game, Laviano was replaced by Hayden Rettig after suffering an injury. Rettig was in for one play before

Laviano returned to the field, being met by “boos” from the home crowd.

Laviano responded to the fans disapproval by waving his arms up-anddown, encouraging the crowd to boo him more.

After the game, Laviano posted a picture of himself, former head coach Kyle Flood and former offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels on Instagram where he took a shot at the naysaying fans with the caption, “We’re here to stay and don’t give a **** about u ... Players, coaches, I love em all #findanotherteam.”

It was an ugly end to a frustrating season for both Chris Laviano and Rutgers fans. Now the junior quarterback has no idea how he’ll be received when the offense takes for the first time on Saturday.

But he doesn’t seem too worried.

“I don’t know. I can’t really control that,” Laviano said when asked how he thought the fan reaction of him will be Saturday. “All I can control is how we play, how this offense plays and how this team handles themselves.”

INSIDE the

NUMBERS PASSING C. Laviano RUSHING J. Goodwin J. Hicks RECEVING J. Grant J. Goodwin A. Patton DEFENSE K. Hester G. Jones A. Cioffi

RUTGERS (0-1) CMP YDS 60% 168 NO. YDS 15 49 14 70 NO. YDS 9 56 5 46 2 25

TD 0 TD 0 0 TD 0 0 0 TKL 8 5 5

INT 1 LNG 12 19 LNG 29 25 15 SCK 0 1 0

AVG 7 AVG 3..3 5 AVG 6.2 9.2 12.5 INT 0 0 1

HOWARD (0-1) CMP 57.1% 66.6% NO. 18 8 NO. 7 4 4

YDS 100 100 YDS 53 13 YDS 78 128 26

TD 1 1 TD 0 0 TD 2 0 0 TKL 10 4 7

INT 0 0 LNG 14 8 LNG 17 28 9 SCK 0 1 0

AVG 12.5 10 AVG 2.9 1.6 AVG 11.1 8.7 6.5 INT 0 0 0

SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 21 Nov. 28

PASSING J. Collins K. Johnson RUSHING A. Philyaw W. Parker RECEVING K. Anthony G. Lemonier J. Avery DEFENSE C. Johnson G. Iduwe D. Rollins

Washington Howard New Mexico Iowa Ohio State Michigan Illinois Minnesota Indiana Michigan State Penn State Maryland

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @EricMullin_ and @TargumSports on Twitter.

L 48-13 noon noon TBA noon 7/8 p.m. noon noon TBA TBA 8 p.m.

TBA

Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Sept. 26 Oct. 1 Oct. 10 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 12 Nov. 19

Maryland Rutgers Hampton Morgan State Norfolk State Monmouth South Carolina State NC A&T State Savanah State North Carolina Central Delaware State

L 52-13 noon 3:30 p.m.

TBA 2 p.m.

1 p.m.

1 p.m.

1 p.m.

2 p.m.

2 p.m.

1 p.m.

Key Matchup

Knights’ rush attack vs. Bison’s front 7

Rutgers’ offense is a spread, but don’t expect to see an air raid at High Point Solutions Stadium. Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has repeatedly emphasized the importance of establishing the run game in the offense. With a trio of proven running backs and a secret weapon in Janarion Grant, the Bison’s front seven will have their hands full.

Rutgers Athletics Creed We are Scarlet Knights, the most PASSIONATE fans in college athletics.

We CHEER our teams, win or lose.

We STAND when our teams enter and exit the field of play.

We WELCOME our opponents and their fans as guests in our university home.

We RESPECT all student-athletes and celebrate their efforts.

We know our ENTHUSIASM on game day helps to recruit the nation’s best.

We STRIVE to make everyone’s experience enjoyable.

We are the STATE UNIVERSITY and BIG TEN proud.

This is RUTGERS. Junior quarterback Chris Laviano said there’s no excuse for turning the ball over multiple times like he did in the season opener.

DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE

ANDRE PATTON WIDE RECEIVER

TARIQ COLE LEFT TACKLE

DORIAN MILLER LEFT GUARD

DERRICK NELSON CENTER

CHRIS MULLER RIGHT GUARD

JJ DENMAN RIGHT TACKLE

NICK ARCIDIACONO TIGHT END

CARLTON AGUDOSI WIDE RECEIVER

CHRIS LAVIANO QUARTERBACK

JANARION GRANT WIDE RECEIVER

JUSTIN GOODWIN RUNNING BACK

Senior 6’-4”, 210 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-6”, 313 lbs.

Junior 6’-2”, 294 lbs.

Senior 6’-3”, 295 lbs.

Senior 6’-6”, 312 lbs.

Senior 6’-5”, 315 lbs.

Senior 6’-4”, 244 lbs.

Senior 6’-6”, 220 lbs.

Junior 6’-2”, 221 lbs.

Senior 5’-10”, 180 lbs.

Senior 5’-11”, 215 lbs.

BLESSUAN AUSTIN CORNERBACK

ANTHONY CIOFFI STRONG SAFETY

SAQUAN HAMPTON FREE SAFETY

ISAIAH WHARTON CORNERBACK

Sophomore 6’-1”, 198 lbs.

Senior 6’-0”, 203 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 207 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 202 lbs.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE

QUANZELL LAMBERT DEFENSIVE END

SEBASTIAN JOSEPH NOSE TACKLE

JULIAN PINNIX-ODRICK DEF. TACKLE

DARIUS HAMILTON DEFENSIVE END

TREVOR MORRIS WLB

DEONTE ROBERTS MLB

GREG JONES SLB

Senior 6’-1”, 254 lbs.

Junior 6’-4”, 295 lbs.

Senior 6’-5”, 274 lbs.

Senior 6’-3”, 286 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 226 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-1”, 238 lbs.

Senior 6’-0”, 215 lbs.

September 9, 2016

Gameday Page 3

KNIGHT NUGGETS

BY THE NUMBERS

12

Rutgers is undefeated against Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference opposition, winning all 12 meetings. Four of those wins came against Howard by a combined score of 165-39.

1

Howard won just one game last season. It came in a 55-9 blowout over Savannah State at home on Halloween.

7

Junior kicker David Bonagura was perfect against Washington, hitting two field goal attempts and an extra point. The seven points were most in a debut for a Rutgers kicker since Jeremy Ito had 13 against Michigan State in 2004.

5

Rutgers and Howard meet for the fifth time since their first meeting in 2006, with all taking place at High Point Solutions Stadium. Rutgers holds the 4-0 advantage, winning the latest contest by a score of 38-25 in 2014.

BIG QUESTION HOW WILL RUTGERS RESPOND TO GETTING BLOWN OUT IN OPENER? The Knights were put through adversity constantly throughout the offseason, but the 48-13 loss to Washington is the first real test of their mental fortitude.

Chris Ash Head Football Coach

THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO OFFENSE

Despite still adapting to the no-huddle, power spread offense Drew Mehringer has installed over the offseason, Rutgers scored the same 13 points against the best defense in the Pac-12 that Howard scored against Maryland last weekend.

DEFENSE

The Knights got off to a rocky start against Washington in the season opener but gradually improved, holding Washington to 14 points in the second half. Howard conceded 52 points to a Maryland team adapting to a new coaching staff.

COACHING

Chris Ash may be in his first year as a head coach, but his rich experience at elite programs extends to a national title at Ohio State and multiple conference titles.

Gary Harrell has a record of 18-27 (.400) in five years at Division I-AA.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The unit allowed two touchdowns against Washington, but Rutgers’ special teams remains a step ahead of the Bison. With 100,000 dollars up for grabs, Janarion Grant could change a life if he returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown.

X-FACTOR

Held to 160 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in 18 touches, Janarion Grant is due for a breakout game in an offense designed for him to blossom. Expect a lot of production from the senior on returns, receptions and rushes.

MOMENTUM

A season-opening blowout certainly removed some wind from Rutgers’ sails, but unlike a Howard team with few changes from the one that won just one game last season, the Knights remain high on the changes made in the offseason.

RUTGERS WINS IF

HOWARD WINS IF

THE KNIGHTS THE BISON CAN GET INTO COULD KEEP IT RHYTHM WITH NEW CLOSE LATE OFFENSE Rutgers was unable to sustain drives against Washington. If the Knights could pick up momentum, it could triple that point total against Howard.

If Howard can stay within a touchdown deep into the game and frustrate Rutgers, the Knights may tense up and cave under the pressure

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We don’t take any team lightly ... you treat (Howard) as if we’re playing the Green Bay Packers this week.”

DREW MEHRINGER Offensive Coordinator

TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT RUTGERS WINS, 49-10 Janarion Grant breaks out after being contained by Washington, scores four touchdowns ­— two in the air, one off a kickoff return, one out of the wildcat. Howard sneaks in a touchdown on a deep pass.

Fifth-year senior J.J. Denman and Rutgers’ offensive line looks to improve its technique while keeping the high tempo it played within its season opener. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016

Offensive line adapts to game speed Brian Fonseca Sports Editor

The transition from a pro-style offense to a more modern power spread isn’t seamless and doesn’t happen overnight, or even over an eight-month long offseason.

The Rutgers football team learned that lesson the hard way right off the bat in its season opener.

Facing a top-25 team in No. 14 Washington that returned a majority of the top defense in the Pac-12 last season, the Scarlet Knights (01) were manhandled by the massive — both in size and experience — tackles the Huskies had on their defensive line in the 48-13 shellacking they suffered in Seattle.

Junior quarterback Chris Laviano had two fumbles lost — though one didn’t count thanks to a defensive penalty — one interception and was sacked three times, resulting in a total of 38 yards lost.

The Glen Head, New York, native usually had little time to work with upon receiving snaps from senior center Derrick Nelson out of the shotgun, quickly seeing giants in purple coming his way after his offensive line struggled to contain them.

Rutgers’ run game suffered a similar lack of success stemming from the same issue, with neither senior running back Justin Goodwin nor junior Josh Hicks being able to get into a rhythm after constantly being stuffed at the line.

In short, the offensive line didn’t have a good day in its first taste of live action in the power spread after months of playing at practice speed, an ongoing adjustment that played a large part in its difficulties.

“Obviously, game speed is more intense than practice speed,” Nelson said. “No matter how much you try and make it seem like it’s game speed (in practice) there’s nothing like a game. Nothing like

it. We can obviously condition more in practice but the game speed is a lot different.”

The first series of the game is a prime example of that speed — Rutgers ran three plays, all hand offs from Laviano to Goodwin, in 63 seconds.

That would be the usual amount of time between running a play, getting into a huddle, going back to position and snapping the ball for the next play in the pro-style the Knights are accustomed to.

The tempo Rutgers played at was what offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer was hoping for, but it did have an effect on the lineman who are still adapting to it.

“I thought the tempo was fine.

You look at it, we had 88 total plays in the game, the operation was good,” he said. “I think the one thing that’s gotta happen, that’s gotta be better, as they continue to play and play fast, we cannot abandon technique, we can not abandon communication. When those things break down, that’s when we see major problems in our run and pass game, so for us as an O-line, they handled the operation well, they have to improve on technique.”

It took the Knights a full quarter of action to be able to string together a pair of first downs and sustain a drive for longer than two minutes, but once it did, the benefits of the fast pace became evident.

“I think we put together a 13 or 14 play drive and you could tell it wears on the defense,” said junior right guard Dorian Miller. “So I think that’s something down the road is a positive from the game that we could all take away from it is that it can really wear down a defensive line.”

Those long drives all start with the offensive line’s ability to hold off the defensive line for enough plays that the constant running to the line of scrimmage starts taking a toll.

That begins with the basics.

“That’s the main thing with offensive lines, being technically sound is really the key to being a successful lineman. You know, little things, the pad level, the footwork, the different blocks,” Miller said. “People underestimate how being fundamentally sound could affect the game.”

Technique is developed through reps, Miller said, and while the Rutgers line has plenty of those in practice that developed its stamina and allow it to not be tired while constantly running to the line of scrimmage, the 88 in Seattle are the only ones played at game speed.

The Knights will get its next opportunity to perform in the no-huddle spread in a game environment in its home opener this Saturday against Howard, a noon kick-off that will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.

The FCS program are coming off a one-win season in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, a league who’s teams have yet to defeat the Knights in 12 attempts.

Going from facing a top-10 defense in the nation on a team that’s favored to win the Pac-12 championship to a Division I-AA defensive line will most certainly make the task more simple, allowing Rutgers to develop its technique at game speed before facing top level defenses in the middle of its schedule.

But don’t tell Miller that.

“The opponent never matters.

It’s really, for me, it could be anyone across the ball,” he said. “I approach the game, and even practices the same way. I’m gonna go out there and make sure I’m fundamentally sound and I handle business properly. Like I said, I don’t focus on the 1-aa aspect of it. I just every week prepare like we’re facing the number one team in the country.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @TargumSports on Twitter.

Gameday Page 4

September 9, 2016

FIRST TIME IN

Chris Ash coaches his first game at High Point Solutions Stadium as head coach of Scarlet Knights

WELCOME Ash plays at High Point for third time, having faced RU with Arkansas, Ohio State continued from back “I’ve said this many times, as a visiting coach, the experience that I had here at High Point Solutions Stadium has been a great one,” he said. “It’s been a great environment, and I hope to see that environment firsthand as a Rutgers football coach here this Saturday.”

It will serve as his debut on the sidelines of High Point Solutions as well — he coached from the press box in both of his previous occasions just as he did for all but two years of his career as an assistant, which he revealed in the inaugural edition of his weekly radio show Wednesday.

The change is one more among the many he’s made to the program since replacing previous head coach Kyle Flood, an addition of a nutrition department and a renovation of the Hale Center ambiance and the discontinuation of the traditional end-of-spring camp rewards among them.

Not awarding the Frank R. Burns Award for mental and physical toughness last spring despite its distribution since the 1980’s showed Ash isn’t afraid to change tradition and that will extend to the Scarlet Walk.

The pregame walk to the stadium will continue, but Ash said there may be “a couple new wrinkles” added to it, though they have yet to be determined.

A tradition the Knights hope to continue is its historical dominance of their next opponent.

Chris Ash hopes his home opener goes better than his season debut with Rutgers, when his team suffered a 48-13 loss to No. 14 Washington. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016 Rutgers defeated the Bison in all four previous meetings since the first in 2006, outscoring the Division I-AA program 165-39 in the process.

Howard travels to New Jersey after suffering a 52-13 drubbing at the hands of another Big Ten program in Maryland, the first game following a one-win season in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The Knights have never lost to MEAC opposition, winning all

12 matchups in its history that spans 1,313 games, more than any other program in college football history.

But despite all signs pointing to a far easier afternoon for the Knights than the one they had 3,000 miles west of home in Seattle a week ago, they’re not overlooking the Bison.

The last thing Rutgers needs after suffering a 48-13 loss to a dark-horse national title contender

is to join the ranks of power five conference programs who’ve lost games to FCS opposition.

“We don’t take any team lightly,” said offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. “We’ve seen really good football teams lose to FCS teams in the past and particularly the most famous one being in our conference, so no, we treat it like any other team. We have a full game plan. Some people asked if we looked ahead —

absolutely not. To avoid all kinds of disaster, you do not want to do that, you treat them as if we’re playing the Green Bay Packers this week.”

Ash’s first home opener at High Point Solutions Stadium will be the last for many of the seniors completing their careers on the Banks this season, including all four of its captains.

Offensive linemen Chris Muller, Derrick Nelson and J.J. Denman, tight end Nick Arcidiacono, wide receivers Carlton Agudosi and Janarion Grant, running back Justin Goodwin, linebacker Greg Jones, safety Anthony Cioffi and defensive linemen Quanzell Lambert, Darius Hamilton and Julian Pinnix-Odrick will be strapping up for a home opener for the last time as they look to redeem themselves from the poor showing in Seattle.

“It’s gonna be really fun,” Pinnix-Odrick said. “It’s significant, it’s cool man, but it goes by so fast.”

The end of a career for some is the beginning of a journey for others, but regardless of how long they’ve donned the block R’s, the goal is the same for everyone on the home sideline at High Point Solutions Stadium Saturday.

“We’re excited to get back on the field to compete and show that we’re continuing to improve every day we’re out there,” Ash said. “Guys have great attitudes, are locked in and continue to focus on the process of improvement and can’t wait to get out and show we’re continuing to improve this Saturday.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @TargumSports on Twitter.

Chris Ash led his team onto the field at Husky Stadium in his debut as a head coach last weekend in the season opener, and will do the same in his debut as the home coach at Rutgers at High Point Solutions Stadium in the Knights’ home opener against Howard on Saturday at noon. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016

September 9, 2016

Gameday Page 5

A LONG TIME

Darius Hamilton plays home game at High Point Solutions Stadium for first time since Indiana in 2014

home Darius Hamilton makes his return to Rutgers’ home field stronger than ever continued from front The former five-star recruit injured his knee during training camp leading up to the 2015 season and missed the Knights’ first two games, which were both at home. Despite still being injured, the defensive tackle made his debut in the third week of the season against Penn State in Happy Valley.

But Hamilton barely played in a 28-3 drubbing at the hands of the Nittany Lions, and was shut down for the remainder of the season the following week because of his hampering right-knee injury — which he was later granted a medical redshirt for by the NCAA. This Saturday at noon, nearly 22 months to the date later, the West Paterson, New Jersey, native will make his return to High Point Solutions Stadium when Rutgers (0-1) hosts Howard (0-1) in the Knights’ home opener.

“I’m really excited to be here for the home opener and just to go out there, see the fans, play ball with these guys and just do it big,” Hamilton said.

Rutgers’ matchup with Howard will mark the second straight week of firsts for Darius Hamilton. While this week is the three-time captain’s first home game in almost two years, last week was the first full game he had played in since the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl.

After being handled cautiously by head football coach Chris Ash and his staff during both spring and training camp, Hamilton was finally unleashed in the Knights’

Senior defensive end Julian Pinnix-Odrick described Darius Hamilton as an emotional leader who provides confidence to the Knights’ defensive line. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016 season-opening 48-13 loss to Washington in Seattle.

His only mark left on the final box score was three assisted tackles, but his underwhelming stat line wasn’t reflective of his overall play, according to the coaching staff.

“I thought (Darius) played real well,” said defensive coordinator Jay Niemann. “We identified him as a guy we felt played at a championship-caliber level of play. He did a very good job against a lot of the double teams and things like that. With the added weight

and strength that he put on since (strength and conditioning) coach Parker started working with him, I think he performed real well and held up, not only fundamentally, but physically very well.”

The senior captain was appreciative of his defensive coordinator’s ringing endorsement of his play against the Huskies, but downplayed his performance when self-evaluating his own game.

“Statistic wise I’d like to be more productive than I was,” Hamilton said. “Did my

assignments, was tough at the point of attack and physical. I really appreciate the things (Niemann) said, but I just try to go out there and do my job 110 percent of the time.”

The Darius Hamilton that Rutgers fans will see on Saturday will be a lot different from the defensive lineman they last saw take the field in Piscataway in November of 2014.

The Don Bosco product added around 40 pounds of weight to his 6-foot-3 frame since the 2014 season, bulking up from the mid-

240s to 285 pounds. The hope is that, with the increased weight, Hamilton can become a more durable player at the defensive tackle position.

He has gone through an adjustment period playing at the new weight, but Hamilton’s already reaping the benefits of having the extra pounds on him in the trenches.

“Obviously the first time playing at 285, 286 I was a little winded, but it was a lot of fun,” Hamilton said. “Definitely feel a lot stronger when I put my hands on people. I feel it and I know they feel it. So it’s definitely exciting.”

Hamilton remains upbeat on the prospect of returning to the “old self” production-wise that garnered him Honorable Mention AllBig Ten in 2014. As a full-time starter in 2013 and 2014 he made a total of 93 tackles — 62 of them solo and 24.5 for loss — and 10.5 sacks.

If Hamilton is already playing at a championship-caliber level — against a top-25 Huskies squad nonetheless — through one game, adding in production on top of that would be a substantial boost to a defense that is inexperienced behind its tested front four.

But above all, the Knights are simply pleased to have Darius Hamilton back — both as a teammate and as a leader.

“He’s definitely an emotional leader out there,” said senior defensive end Julian Pinnix-Odrick.

“He’s a real intense guy. He kind of makes a play when you really don’t expect it. It’s like, ‘there goes Darius again, how’s he really do that’.

It’s really good to have him out there. He’s a good confident guy and he brings a lot of confidence to the d-line (and) to the defense.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @EricMullin_ and @TargumSports on Twitter.

Three members of the Rutgers defensive line — ­ fifth-year senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton, fifth-year senior defensive ends Julian Pinnix-Odrick and Quanzell Lambert — will be playing in their final home opener on Saturday. Hamilton and Pinnix-Odrick are team captains. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016

Gameday Page 6

September 9, 2016

LEARNING

Freshmen look to build on lessons from debut Brian Fonseca Sports Editor

Standing in the tunnel at Husky Stadium, the Rutgers football team prepared to rush onto the field as a group moments before the 2016 season kicked off.

Head coach Chris Ash was in front of the pack ready to lead his Scarlet Knights onto the battleground for the first time, but he wasn’t the only one.

Five true freshman saw action in the Knights season opener against No. 14 Washington last Saturday, experiencing the moment they and their teammates have been waiting for throughout the eight months of the offseason for the first time.

“It was a big adrenaline rush,” said true freshman running back Trey Sneed of making his collegiate debut. “Going into your first game in a hostile crowd like that, you had those jitters and those nerves cause you don’t know yet, but I mean, when I got out there — it’s one thing to see it on the sideline or see it while watching on TV, but to be able to be a part of it, it was a great experience.”

Sneed had the most productive game of the group, gaining 8-yards on two carries in the fourth quarter of the 48-13 blowout loss in addition to his duties in coverage on special teams.

After gaining a single yard in his first ever collegiate carry, the Orange Park, Florida, native put the lessons of running backs coach Zak Kuhr to the test and gained 7-yards on his second and final rush of the afternoon.

“I think I did good,” Sneed said.

“The biggest thing I wanted to work on was always what my coach teaches is you always wanna be looking, always keep your vision alive because a lot of times, what I would do in practice that I had to learn to do is whenever I saw contact or I thought there was no way out, ducking your shoulder and getting what you could get. So I think on the second carry, I was able to keep my eyes and kinda find the little crease when there wasn’t really anything there.”

Ash mentioned the positives in the debuts of his freshman, both true and redshirt but didn’t hesitate to acknowledge the bad of the performance.

With Sneed’s positive yardage in his pair of carries came the loss of possession in Dacoven Bailey’s only rush of the evening as he fumbled the ball after being stripped 3 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage.

Experience is the best teacher and the snaps the freshman took certainly provided a lesson.

“They did probably about like expected, did some good but did some bad,” Ash said. “Made some mistakes in critical areas, like Dacoven Bailey put the ball on the ground, which we just can’t do whether you’re a senior or a freshman. I think those guys that played for the first time, whether they’re true freshman, redshirt freshman or whatever will be a lot more comfortable heading into their second game.”

Along with Sneed and a number of his classmates, Bailey took part in the coverage unit on special teams that gave up both a kick-off and a punt return for a touchdown.

The Pilot Point, Texas, native believes the cause were missed assignments from the entire unit, including himself.

“One of the touchdowns on special teams was my fault,” he said. “I got pushed off my line. I had my pad levels too high and he just bumped me and I fell over. That’s my fault …

I take the blame for that.”

Mistakes were to be expected for players making the jump from high school football to facing a top-25 team as Ash said, so the alarm bells have yet to sound in Piscataway for the first-year players. With an extra comfort level in preparation for their second game, they patiently continued to plug away and grind with the same mindset of the offseason.

“The thing that (the coaching staff is) teaching us right now is to stay the course,” Sneed said. “The plan definitely works and it’s going to take time but they wanted us to keep our attitude high and just stay the course. I mean, of course, we put in a lot of work and we don’t get the result that you necessarily wanted, but then again, that just means there’s work to be done, we just gotta keep working.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @TargumSports on Twitter.

Trey Sneed had the best day of the five true freshmen who made their debut last weekend, rushing for 8 yards on two carries. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016

Senior wide receiver Janarion Grant does it all for Rutgers on offense, taking handoffs and direct snaps along with making receptions out of the backfield. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016

Janarion Grant does it all for RU Eric Mullin Associate Sports Editor

For the past two football seasons on the Banks, Leonte Carroo was the Scarlet Knights’ go-to weapon on offense.

In 2014 the crisp route-running receiver accounted for over 36 percent of the team’s receiving yards with 1,086 and over half of the Knights’ touchdown catches with 10. Despite playing just 8 games as a senior last season, Carroo still led Rutgers in receptions (39), yards (809) and touchdowns (10).

Carroo’s departure from Piscataway — and subsequent thirdround selection of the Miami Dolphins in April’s NFL Draft— stripped the Knights of a player that they could build an offensive game plan around, leaving first-year head football coach Chris Ash and his staff with the task of finding a player with the kind of lethal playmaking ability to excel in their hurry-up, spread offense.

Enter Janarion Grant.

The first time Janarion Grant touched the ball at the collegiate level was on a kickoff he returned 100 yards to the house. That emphatic burst onto the scene in his first game as a true freshman was just a sneak preview into what Grant would accomplish on special teams over the following three seasons.

Before the 2016 season had even begunb Grant already stood alone as Rutgers’ All-Time Kickoff Return Yardage leader with 2,411 yards and had six total return touchdowns to go with it. For the past two seasons, he was named to First Team All-Big Ten as a returner by Phil Steele.

But in what will be his final season donning the scarlet and white, Grant and the Knights’ coaching staff are out to show that speedy returner can translate his game-altering skills on the return team to the offensive side of the ball.

Rutgers made no secret about its plans from early on to heavily feature Grant in its uptempo offense this season. He got 13

touches — 11 through the air and two on the ground — in a variety of ways during the Scarlet-White game in April.

A heavy dosage of Grant in the offensive game plan carried over from the spring through training camp and into the Knights’ season-opening 48-13 loss to No. 14 Washington. Grant piled up 84 yards from scrimmage on 15 touches on offense, which is already more than a third of the total touches he received on offense last year.

“It feels great. It’s like the bigger and better role,” Grant said.

“It’s working on what I can do just exposing me to new things and new ideas, and that’s gonna open up a lot this year.”

The idea is simple for Rutgers — get Janarion Grant the ball in space where he can use his speed and elusiveness to make a big play.

But while the idea may not be intricate, figuring out a way to execute it certainly is. Opposing defenses are more than aware that Grant is far and away the most dangerous weapon the Knights have to offer and will be keying in on him in their game plan.

This much was evident in the opener against Washington when — other than a 29-yard reception — Grant was mostly contained by the Husky defense.

“I don’t think we executed great against Washington,” said junior quarterback Chris Laviano on how to get Grant the ball more in space. “I think as we continue to do that, continue to stay with the plan, we’ll be fine with getting him the ball in space.”

To combat the opposition trying to take away Rutgers’ No. 1 option, the Knights have to be creative in the ways in which they get Grant the ball to keep the defense off balance. In addition to Grant being moved all around the field on touches in the opener, Rutgers rolled out a new look involving him late in the fourth quarter.

With Laviano line up at receiver, Grant took his place in the shotgun

alongside senior running back Justin Goodwin in a wildcat formation.

Grant took the snap from the Washington 10-yard line and dropped back like he was going to pass, but then swiftly darted upfield and followed his blockers into the end zone for the Knights only touchdown of the day.

“To be honest with you, that was the first time I’ve personally been involved in an in-depth wildcat-type package and Janarion did a nice job with it,” said offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. “I think there’s things we can expand with it, whether that be formationally or scheme-wise. And maybe it’s not all Janarion all the time.

Janarion was ver y effective and we had the right formation and the right scheme for what Washington threw at us, but I think it will change week-to-week to make sure we have the same numbers advantage that we had in the Washington game.”

While running the wildcat at Rutgers is new to Janarion Grant, he is quite familiar with the package itself from his high school days. He said he feels confident quarterbacking the wildcat and enjoys it because it gives him the ability to take his time and read the defense before making a play with the ball.

The Knights breaking out the wildcat shows the offensive staff is doing whatever it can to get Janarion Grant the ball in space so he can make plays. Through just one game Grant has taken handoffs on jet sweeps, caught passes on bubble screens, been sent out on deep routes and returned kicks and punts.

And soon, Rutgers’ do-all receiver might be even passing the ball.

“I’m not sure yet I ain’t really test it out yet,” Grant said on how far he can throw the ball. “It’s coming soon just be waiting.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow ​@EricMullin_ and​ @TargumSports on Twitter.

September 9, 2016

Gameday Page 7

EXPERIENCE

Knights eye progress on special teams after rough start Brian Fonseca Sports Editor

The most memorable plays during the Rutgers football team’s first two seasons in the Big Ten came on special teams, a unit its excelled in for the better part of a decade.

Junior defensive end Kemoko Turay had 7.5 sacks in his first season on the Banks but his name wasn’t well known among the Scarlet Knights’ fanbase until his iconic block of a Michigan field goal attempt gave the program its first Big Ten win.

The block added to the record tally the program has accumulated since 2009 — 44 as of this season, the most by any team in the NCAA in the span.

Senior wide receiver Janarion Grant has been slated as a focal point of the power spread offense first-year head coach Chris Ash and his staff are implementing, but he is recognized for his explosive returns on kick-off and punt returns, of which he had a combined four touchdowns and 1,151 yards in 52 attempts last season.

But the usual charm of the third time around didn’t accompany the Knights in the opener of their third season as a member of the conference against Washington as the unit got a taste of its own medicine in Seattle.

The Huskies returned both a kick-off and a punt for a touchdown — the first time since 2001 they’ve done both in the same game — in their 48-13 blowout of their visitors last Saturday.

“Those things just don’t happen very often,” Ash said in the

Junior kicker David Bonagura was one of few members of special teams to have a good day in Rutgers’ season opener as he nailed all three of his attempts. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016 weekly Big Ten coaches teleconference Tuesday. “And when you’ve got two of them in one game, it’s very disappointing. It’s gut-wrenching. And the fact that we have spent an insane amount of time on special teams. I’m involved in coaching special teams. And you thought that we would go out and perform better than that, and we didn’t. And I wasn’t any happier after watching the tape.”

Dante Pettis’s punt return touchdown was the fourth of his career, tying him with Beno Bryant for the most in Washington program history. Special teams coordinator Vince Okruch acknowledged his

team wasn’t the first “exposed” by Pettis and John Ross, who returned a 92-yard kick-off to the house, but that doesn’t excuse a lack of “football awareness.”

The Knights missed multiple assignments during both returns, getting on wrong sides of the blockers while misreading the schemes the Huskies used, according to Okruch.

They weren’t helped by the placement of true freshman kicker Jared Smolar’s kick-offs, which ended up in Ross’ hands between the hashes rather than the intended corners of the field.

“We would have liked to have a better kick in both situations, but

irregardless of that, it’s the other 10 guys’ job to find the football, locate it and eliminate the vertical return,” Okruch said. “It just didn’t go where he intended to hit it … we’ll continue to work with him on getting the ball where it belongs … it’s just such a huge point in the game and there’s 10 guys going down the field, you gotta protect the field and when you don’t, that’s what happens.”

With a week to make adjustments before its home opener against Howard this Saturday at noon on the Big Ten Network, Rutgers will spend a healthy amount of time working on correcting the mistakes.

Rutgers struggled heavily in special teams coverage, surrendering both a kick-off and a punt return for a touchdown against Washington, the first time the Huskies have done both since 2001. Ash said it was “gut-wrenching.” DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016

“While we do that drill work (on positioning awareness), obviously we haven’t done enough of it,” Okruch said. “So we’ll increase more work so there’s more football zone awareness. Where the ball is, where we’re at, where do we need to get to eliminate the big play and quite frankly we had guys in position to make the play, but we didn’t make it, but we can’t have just one guy there, that’s not how special teams work. There’s got to be multiple guys there to make the play.”

When the roles reversed on special teams, the success stayed with the Huskies. Rutgers struggled in the return game, with Grant being held to fair catching every punt and taking a knee on all but three kick-offs.

When Grant did return the kickoffs, he averaged 25 yards on three returns, his longest going for 32.

He didn’t return any for six, but as the rust wore off and the Knights adjusted to the speed of the game, he grew closer and closer. With an $100,000 prize up for grabs for 100 lucky fans who attend the home opener if he returns the opening kick-off, Grant will have his eye set for the endzone.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot just like every other kickoff,” he said. “First kickoff I’m looking to just take it back to the house. Just being able to make my players and fans happy.”

Junior kicker David Bonagura was among the least experienced member of special teams but the walk-on had the best day of all.

Making his debut after playing back-up to Kyle Federico in his first two seasons, the Ramapo High School product hit both of his field goal attempts, barely sneaking a 38-yarder over the crossbar before nailing a 23-yard field goal and the extra point after Grant’s touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Though it wasn’t his first game experience, sophomore punter Michael Cintron joined Bonagura in making his first start and has plenty of opportunities to answer any questions surrounding him.

The Piscataway native had eight attempts on the day, three of which were pinned behind Washington’s 20-yard line as he averaged 38.8 yards per punt with a long of 53.

Okruch said Cintron had a “nice day” and that he hit the ball well, putting him towards the back of his list of worries heading into Howard this Saturday.

The worries will be ironed out throughout the week of preparation as Okruch works to mold the players at his disposal.

“We might give a guy who was a two some reps and vice-versa,” he said. “But they are who they are and they’re ours and we love them like nobody could believe but we just have got to become better fundamental football players.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @TargumSports on Twitter.

BRIAN FONSECA sports editor

Chris Ash is no stranger to the environment at High Point Solutions Stadium on a Saturday in the fall.

The traveled veteran has made the trip to Piscataway on two occasions during his 20-year career as an assistant, first with Arkansas in 2013 and then last season with Ohio State.

He’ll take part in his third game in Piscataway this Saturday, but this time, he’ll be on the sideline with a block R on his chest and the crowd’s support behind him.

The Scarlet Knights (0-1) host Howard (0-1) this Saturday at noon on the Big Ten Network as Ash makes his home debut.

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