Brian Fonseca Sports Editor
It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, the old saying goes, but one thing it doesn’t consider is the start can be so bad, the finish can’t save it. The Rutgers football team started both of its games this season on the wrong foot, trailing at the end of the first quarter both times by a combined score of 38-7. What is the cause of the slow starts? “That’s a good question,” said defensive coordinator Jay Niemann. “If I had the answer, I guess we wouldn’t be having this discussion, I suppose. We made a point of it going into last week, which obviously didn’t sink in for one reason or the other. It’ll continue to be a focus but I know this week, if we don’t get off to a good start, it’ll be 21-0 before we can blink See EXPLOSIVE on Page 4
September 16, 2016
Gameday Page 2
KNIGHTS GAMEDAY RUTGERS VS. NEW MEXICO GAME 3: High Point Solutions Stadium, 12 P.M. TV: ESPNEWS
RADIO: Rutgers IMG Sports Network
Martin happy to finally play in spread Brian Fonseca Sports Editor
When Robert Martin first heard about Chris Ash’s vision for the Rutgers football team’s offense, he wasn’t afraid to show how he felt about it. “Rob Martin in a spread offense.... Need I say more lol....” was tweeted out by Martin the day of Ash’s introductory press conference, a multitude of ecstatic emojis following the four-dot ellipsis. The junior running back and his teammates had met with Ash at 7 a.m. earlier that morning and were told Ash’s vision for the program, which included the changing of offensive philosophy. After playing in a pro-style offense under former head coach Kyle Flood, who continued the use of the traditional offense used under his predecessor Greg Schiano, in his first two years with the Scarlet Knights, the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native was finally going to get a chance to show his skill set in the offense he shone in during high school. A projected starter throughout the spring and entering fall camp, Martin picked up an injury that slowed his progress. Wearing a green practice jersey indicating him as “limited” for the final few weeks of camp, he didn’t participate in the Knights’ season-opening 48-13 loss to then-No. 14 Washington in Seattle. Senior Justin Goodwin started against the Huskies and was listed as a starter entering the second game week as Rutgers prepared to host Howard in its home opener, but the first offensive snap of the game saw Martin alongside junior quarterback Chris Laviano in the shotgun. Martin recovered in time to take the field against the Bison and he took advantage of his first opportunity to play in the spread he was so excited about eight months earlier, leading everyone not named Janarion Grant in rushing yards with 83 on 16 carries — 18 more than Goodwin garnered in the first two games combined. “It definitely felt good getting back out there, getting back to the game speed,” Martin said. “Especially when we started going fast in the second half, executing on first and second downs, really get to see our offense
open up and it’s definitely a nice thing to see and I was glad to be a part of it.” The injury was the first since the knee injury that caused him to miss all but one game in his senior season of high school. It was a disappointing development after Martin ran for 1,812 yards and 10 touchdowns in his junior year playing in a spread offense likely similar to the one he’s in now. Having not played in the system for a pair of years, Martin and Laviano had to create chemistry in the offseason to work on the timing and execution of the option-based offense. But despite missing reps in the fall and not performing in the spread at game speed in a long while, Martin didn’t miss a beat. “It definitely went as smoothly as I expected,” he said. “We got to run it during the spring, I ran this type of offense during high school so it wasn’t something I wasn’t used to. Everything I think went good.” His numbers weren’t as impressive as Grant’s, the wide receiver, running back, wildcat quarterback, kick-off and punt returning renaissance man of the Rutgers offense, but Ash didn’t hesitate to put them in the same company. I thought he showed some signs of burst and speed and change of direction at the running back position
that we’re looking for to help our run game, and really excited to have him back,” he said. “When we look at our list of top potential playmakers on offense, we put Rob Martin in the top group of guys that needs to get the ball, whether it be in the run game or in the throw game, and I’m glad he’s back and he’s healthy and he had a good game.” His performance was solid, but his position coach still sees some things to improve on. “He just has to shake a little bit of rust off, but he’s getting going,” said running backs coach Zak Kuhr. “Just working on finishing, practicing at game speed, but it takes time to mold that unity between one line.” Martin concurred, mentioning he has to make sure his mind isn’t “spinning” due to the fast pace of the offense. The adjustment to the game speed began in the second game of the season after eight months of anticipation and like he did when the journey started, he took to Twitter to share his feelings afterward. “Glad to be back out there with my brothers,” he wrote.
INSIDE the
NUMBERS PASSING C. Laviano RUSHING J. Hicks R. Martin RECEVING J. Grant J. Goodwin A. Patton DEFENSE K. Hester T. Morris A. Cioffi
RUTGERS (1-1) CMP 56.5% NO. 21 16 NO. 11 6 3
YDS 305 YDS 117 85 YDS 80 49 47
TD 3 TD 0 0 TD 0 0 1 TKL 11 10 10
INT AVG 2 152.5 LNG AVG 19 5.4 16 5.2 LNG AVG 29 7.3 25 24.5 22 22 SCK INT 0 0 0 0 0 1
CMP 61.5% 50% NO. 20 26 NO. 8 5 5
YDS 287 15 YDS 243 124 YDS 67 64 35
TD 2 0 TD 4 0 TD 0 0 0 TKL 20 14 14
INT AVG 1 143.5 0 15 LNG AVG 84 12.1 15 4.8 LNG AVG 21 8.4 17 12.8 12 7 SCK INT 1 0 0 0 1 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
NEW MEXICO (1-1)
PASSING A. Apodaca J. Lawson RUSHING T. Gipson T. Owens RECEVING D. Gamblin P. Reed T. Gipson DEFENSE D. Cox D. Henry K. Carson
Washington Howard New Mexico Iowa Ohio State Michigan Illinois Minnesota Indiana Michigan State Penn State Maryland
L 48-13 W 52-14 noon noon noon 7/8 p.m. noon noon TBA TBA 8 p.m. TBA
Sept. 1 Sept. 10 Sept. 17 Oct. 1 Oct. 7 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 30 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19 Nov. 26
South Dakota New Mexico State Rutgers San Jose State Boise State Air Force Louisiana-Monroe Hawaii Nevada Utah State Colorado State Wyoming
W 48-21 L 32-31 noon 4 p.m. 7 p.m. TBA 9 p.m. 12 a.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA
Key Matchup
For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Knights’ front 7 vs. Lobos’ triple-option
New Mexico runs a triple-option offense out of the pistol formation. Even without leading rusher Teriyon Gipson, who will miss the game after sustaining a concussion in the final minutes of the Lobos’ loss to New Mexico State, the complexity of their offense will present a unique challenge to a Knights’ defense that held Howard to five yards in the second half last week. Will that defense come out, or will it be the one that allowed 159 yards in the first quarter?
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 running back Robert Martin led all running backs with 83 yards on 16 carries in his first appearance in Ash’s spread offense. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016
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
JAWUAN HARRIS WIDE RECEIVER
CHRIS LAVIANO QUARTERBACK
JANARION GRANT WIDE RECEIVER
ROBERT MARTIN 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.
Redshirt Freshman 5’-9”, 192 lbs.
Junior 6’-2”, 221 lbs.
Senior 5’-10”, 180 lbs.
Junior 5’-11”, 210 lbs.
BLESSUAN AUSTIN CORNERBACK
ANTHONY CIOFFI STRONG SAFETY
KIY HESTER FREE SAFETY
ISAIAH WHARTON CORNERBACK
Sophomore 6’-1”, 198 lbs.
Senior 6’-0”, 203 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-0”, 203 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 16, 2016
Gameday Page 3
KNIGHT NUGGETS BY THE NUMBERS
6
33
Senior kick-off returner Janarion Grant is averaging 32.5 yards per return this season, good for eighth in the nation. He’s returned one for a touchdown against Howard.
649
The Lobos have sacked the opposing quarterback eight times in the first two games of the season. Garrett Hughes leads New Mexico in the category with 2.5, with five others trailing behind with one sack a piece.
Rutgers is perfect inside the redzone. In six trips inside the oppositions’ final 20 yards, the Knights have scored 2 rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdowns and 3 field goals. New Mexico has rushed for 649 yards on 94 carries, the sixth-highest total in the country through the first two games of the season against South Dakota and New Mexico State.
8
BIG QUESTION HOW WILL RUTGERS HANDLE THE TRIPLE OPTION? The Knights have experience in playing against a triple-option offense after years of playing against the academy schools of Army and Navy, but the Lobos provide a twist, running it out of the shotgun.
Jay Niemann Defensive Coordinator
THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO OFFENSE
The Lobos run a triple-option offense out of the pistol, a rarity that adds a layer to Rutgers’ typically dual-threat spread offense. New Mexico scored 79 points and ran for 649 yards in its first two games against North Dakota and New Mexico State.
DEFENSE
Though it struggled mightily in the first five quarters of the season, Rutgers’ defense tightened up in the final three against Howard. The Knights lead the Lobos in nearly every defensive category.
Bob Davie is entering his fifth year coaching the Lobos, coming off the first seven win season in his tenure in Albuquerque after winning no more than four in his first three seasons.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Rutgers has Janarion Grant, the reigning Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week who collected 249 all-purpose yards against Howard last weekend. New Mexico does not.
X-FACTOR
Playing without leading rusher Teriyon Gipson, New Mexico’s back-up running back Tyrone Owens will play a bigger role than he’s accustomed to. If he could play to the level of Gipson, it’ll be a long afternoon for Rutgers.
MOMENTUM
New Mexico lost a rivalry game with New Mexico State by 1 point late in the fourth quarter last week while Rutgers outscored its latest opponent 45-0 in the final three quarters. Momentum is on the home team’s side.
RUTGERS WINS IF
NEW MEXICO WINS IF
THE KNIGHTS CAN STOP LOBOS’ RUN GAME, FORCE THEM TO PASS
THE LOBOS BURY RUTGERS EARLY WITH OFFENSE
Defensive coordinator Jay Niemann did not dismiss New Mexico’s pass attack, but the Lobos are a run-first offense. Shut it down and RU is in good shape.
Rutgers has dug itself into early holes in each of the first two games of the season. If the Lobos can do the same, its offense will be able to rack up points.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We can’t get enough guys like Larry Stevens ... We’d love to have a team full of Larry Stevens.”
Chris Ash Head Football Coach
TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT Rutgers gets off to its usual slow start on defense but the offense is able to keep up with the Lobos early onslaught. Defense comes up big in end with stop to win the
Walk-on earns high praise from staff Eric Mullin Associate Sports Editor
COACHING
RUTGERS WINS, 34-30
Freshman safety Larry Stevens was named Special Teams Player of the Week by the coaching staff for his play on coverage and returns against Howard. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016
Larry Stevens thought a joke was being played on him. When it came time for Rutgers football team’s coaching staff to announce its three players of the game — one from each phase of the team — from the Scarlet Knights’ 52-14 walloping of Howard, Janarion Grant seemed like a shoo-in to receive the honor for the special teams unit. Grant, who would go on to win Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, recorded his first special teams touchdown of the young season with a thrilling 84-yard kickoff return in the first quarter of Rutgers’ win. But Grant’s name wasn’t called. Instead, true freshman walk-on safety Larry Stevens was named Special Teams Player of the Game for his performance against the Bison. “Larry is a guy not a lot of people know about,” said head football coach Chris Ash. “He came here as a walk-on back in May back at the beginning of summer workouts, just — doesn’t say much, just works extremely hard, and when I pick up the remote and I push play on the remote (while watching film), I really love the way this kid plays and what he brings to our football team on special teams.” Stevens, who plays on punt and kick coverage and punt return, was initially as surprised as anyone to receive the high recognition and praise from the coaching staff. “It’s an honor actually. The coach initially said it in the meetings and I was surprised. I thought it was a joke,” Stevens said. “But then he showed us the film and showed how hard I went. I didn’t realize how hard I went. I did, but I didn’t realize how much I affected the team. So it was an honor to get that award.” For a player that stands 5-foot-8 and carries a weight of 185 pounds, success in the sport of football is hard to come by without the determination and toughness that Ash detailed, which can be traced back to Stevens’ high school days.
Stevens played high school football at Don Bosco Prep and his road getting there wasn’t easy — literally. As a native of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Stevens would make the 140plus mile, four-hour roundtrip drive everyday just for the chance to play football at the prestigious program in Ramsey. As a cornerback and running back for the Ironmen, Stevens brought that lunch-pail mentality seen among the Knights with him to the field, according to a current Rutgers player who had a first-hand account. “That kid was one of the toughest and most hard-working kids. Wasn’t always a big guy. Gave it all he had,” said fifth-year senior Darius Hamilton, who was teammates with Stevens for one year at Don Bosco. “(He) can hit. I don’t think a lot of people can see what he does, has seen that side of him yet, but you guys will. He’s a competitor, loves to compete, comes to work everyday. Quiet guy and he just loves to play football. Obviously the success that he had last week, that’s just gonna keep building and building. I know what kind of kid he is and I’m excited to see how he develops the rest of the season.” When National Signing Day came around last year, Stevens had his list of possible schools dwindled down to Army, Syracuse and UConn, according to NJ.com. He opted to sign with Army, even though it meant he would have to spend a year playing for the United States Military Academy Preparatory School. The defensive back played the entire season for West Point Prep, which included games against some of the top junior colleges, but decided to leave the school in February. “I looked at it bigger than football. I knew I would get a great education coming out there and I knew I’d be set for life so I chose there over other schools,” Stevens said of his decision to play at Army. “It’s not for everybody so I gave it a shot (so I) wouldn’t regret it later in life. So, did it and I didn’t like it. So I decided to leave and I have no regrets now.”
When he returned home, he began to work out in preparation for wherever the next stop of his collegiate career would be. He eventually got in contact with defensive backs coach Bill Busch and, following a visit, Stevens decided he would walk on at Rutgers. He cited proximity to his hometown — a short 45 minute drive in contrast to the distance to Don Bosco or West Point — as one of the determining factors for becoming a Knight. And since he joined on in late May for summer camp, it hasn’t taken Stevens long to catch the eye of the coaching staff. Before he was named Special Teams Player of the Game, Stevens worked his way onto the season-opening depth chart behind senior Anthony Cioffi at strong safety and hasn’t relinquished that spot since. “I just came here to grind and just to play ball again,” Stevens said on what’s attributed to his fast rise at Rutgers. “I just gave it everything I had and everything else came. Just give 100 percent everyday.” Most notably, Ash has used Stevens as the bar-setter for how he wants the rest of the Knights to play. And if the walk on continues to play at that high level, he could be rewarded for it soon. “We were in a team meeting yesterday talking about special teams and using (Stevens) as an example of how we want the game to be played with our football team,” Ash said. “We can’t get enough guys like Larry Stevens. The guy is tough. He plays with relentless strain. Doesn’t say anything at all. He’ll knock people down, get knocked down, he gets back up, goes to the sideline and asks for his next mission. We’d love to have a team full of guys like Larry Stevens. Really appreciate what he brings to the table as a guy that came here as a walk-on, and he’s going to earn himself a scholarship if he keeps doing what he’s doing.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @EricMullin_ and @TargumSports on Twitter.
September 16, 2016
Gameday Page 4
START FAST
Rutgers has been outscored 38-7 in first quarter of first two games against No. 14 Washington, Howard
explosive Ash plays at High Point for third time, having faced RU with Arkansas, Ohio State continued from front and we obviously can’t afford to dig ourselves in a hole we can’t dig out of.” From a players perspective, the answer is simple. “We still played hard in the beginning of both of the games, but it was just, we didn’t bring the energy that we needed to, basically,” said senior free safety Anthony Cioffi. “It’s stuff we have to carry each week and throughout practices and stuff like that.” The Scarlet Knights found themselves in a slightly bigger hole in their season opener, losing 24-0 following the first quarter of action in Seattle against then-No. 14 Washington, than in its home opener. The next week was only slightly better as the Knights entered the second quarter trailing Howard — an FCS program that lost all four of its previous meetings with Rutgers by a combined score of 165-39 — 14-7. Rutgers was able to dig itself out of that deficit, blowing the Bison out of the water in a 52-14 home-opening win, but the initial drop against the Huskies was too much. “We had a slow start this last week (against Howard) without a doubt,” said head football coach Chris Ash. “When you look back at the Washington game, I wouldn’t call it necessarily a slow start. I think we got hit in the mouth by a pretty good football team who’s in the top 10 right now. I think they’re two different scenarios.” The Knights appear to be trending positively in the way
Senior free safety Anthony Cioffi said the Knights have to bring more energy in the beginning of games to fix their first half woes. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016 they come out of the gate in games, but it also came along with a massive drop in the quality of the opposition. So this week, when Rutgers (1-1) hosts a New Mexico (1-1) team with talent located right around the middle of its first two opponents, will be a good measuring stick for where it stands in the first season of Ash’s tenure on the Banks. A win would be big in both metaphor — showing itself it could defeat a team a year removed from a bowl game appearance — and in practice, as it would be a big step toward earning a bowl
bid after missing out last season with a disappointing 4-8 record. The Lobos represent the last team before the Knights open Big Ten conference play with one of the most daunting slate of games they could encounter — at home to No. 13 Iowa, away to No. 4 Ohio State and then back home to host No. 5 Michigan in a nationally televised primetime encounter where fans will wear red and black to “Stripe the Birthplace.” Defeating the Lobos would be a step in the right direction in carrying the momentum Cioffi spoke about into the conference
slate, continuing what was gained in the win over Howard. The key to doing so is execution. “It all comes down to executing, everybody doing their job and locking in and not waiting on the second drive or the third drive,” said junior running back Robert Martin, who earned his first start of the season against Howard. “We just gotta know we could execute on this first drive, everybody does what they gotta do like we practice at practice, the coaches said we just can’t start slow because we shoot ourselves in the foot and if everybody does their job, we could be a real good offense.”
Rutgers was unable to get into a rhythm in either of the first two games on either side of the ball. It received the opening kickoff against Washington and had a three straight three-and-outs on offense while the Huskies scored three straight touchdowns. It kicked-off against Howard and conceded two straight touchdowns, the second coming after junior quarterback Chris Laviano threw an interception in the Knights first offensive play of the game. Gathering steam early on, regardless of which side of the ball, could give them the momentum they had in the second half against the Bison, where they held the opposition to a total of five yards on offense while gathering 361 of their own. “It definitely helps our defense and it gives the defense confidence if they see us out there doing good, they’re gonna wanna do the same and vice-versa,” Martin said. “When we see our defense out there getting stops and we’re not scoring points, we know that we just can’t leave our defense out there and we’re not helping them as well because that’s when things start going bad.” No matter how it does it, Rutgers needs to come out strong in the game, as strong as it does when it rushes out of the tunnel moments before kick-off. Anything else, and it could be the start of a long rest of the season for the Knights. “What we’ve got to do is just got to continue to work and focus on the preparation,” Ash said. “There’s all kinds of excuses I could make and give you for why a team would start slow. I’m not into that, and I’m not going to do that. We have to start games better, and that’s bottom line.” 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 16, 2016
Gameday Page 5
PLAY SMART
Lobos present unique challenges to Knights on both sides of ball in just third game of Chris Ash era
showdown Knights working to not dig themselves into early hole for third straight game continued from back he showered his team’s next opponent with following last Saturday’s win over Howard. “We have a real game next weekend,” he said following his first win as a head coach, a 52-14 comeback over the Bison. “They do a lot of exotic things on defense that create problems. So this is a real football team and a real test for us next week.” The Lobos (1-1) bring a 3-4 base defense to the Banks for this Saturday’s matchup with the Scarlet Knights (1-1), a different approach the offense must adjust to as they continue to adapt to the power spread offense. “I’ve seen a quite bit of film. They’re definitely a physical team,” said senior wide receiver Andre Patton. “They definitely have a lot of leadership, a lot of older guys that have experience in the game, so we’re definitely going to be going up against a good team and we just have to go and play with the best we got.” The defense is one of the many things that Bob Davies’ team does differently than most teams in college football. New Mexico is typically known for its exotic qualities on the offensive side of the ball, but Ash went with the word unique to describe its triple-option attack. The offense is a variation of the one run by the academy schools, only this one is operates out of the pistol formation rather than the traditional wishbone run by Army and Navy.
Senior free safety Anthony Cioffi believes the Knights must build momentum in practice in order to be able to start games with more energy. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016 A majority of the Knights listed as starters on defense for the contest have experience playing at least one of the academy schools in their careers in Piscataway, but though the offenses are similar in name, they’re much different in practice, Ash said. Comparing the Lobos’ offense to that of Army would be similar to assuming that playing the Knights’ run-first power spread would prepare a team to face the air-raid style offense of Mike Leach’s Washington State.
“They’re a triple-option team, but they’re also committed enough to throwing the football that they do a good job of it and can do it when they need to or probably just when they want to,” said defensive coordinator Jay Niemann. “So it’s a better passing attack than what you see with a traditional, what you would refer to as the old wishbone kind of an offense. And it’s a more diverse run game. They have a very diverse run game, so get stretched in the pass game and the run game makes it really hard to defend.”
New Mexico can throw the ball, but where it shines is in the run game. The Lobos have gained 649 yards rushing in their first two games, scoring eight touchdowns in the process. Half of those scores and a quar ter of the yards were gathered by Teriyon Gipson, who will miss the game Saturday due to sustaining a concussion in the final minutes of last week’s loss to New Mexico State.
Without its biggest threat in the run game, New Mexico will still have plenty of weapons on the ground, with second leading rusher Tyrone Owens and quarterback Austin Apodaca still available, along with redzone threat Richard McQuarley, who has three rushing touchdowns in just 18 carries. The loss of Gipson is a boost for Rutgers as it plays its final non-conference game ahead of a gauntlet of top teams as it enters its Big Ten schedule After hosting the Lobos, the Knights welcome an Iowa team that won the Big Ten West division and went 12-1 last season, then travel to Columbus to take on No. 4 Ohio State at the Shoe and then return back home to host a No. 5 Michigan team much improved from the one they defeated for their first Big Ten win in 2014. But before going through one of the toughest three-game stretches any team will face this season, Ash and company are focused on going through the unique and exotic challenges presented by New Mexico. “Every game is tough. It’s not just the Big Ten schedule, every game’s tough,” Ash told reporters Thursday. “Every game is important to win and every game’s a championship game, and that’s the way we have to prepare. That’s the way we’re practicing and that’s the way we’re approaching this ... week, (and) we’ll approach 10 weeks from now. We’re in the improvement phase and every detail is important, every game is important, and we need to go out and perform to the best of our ability.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Establishing the run game early on offense will be key for Rutgers to be able to score more than the single touchdown its factored in the first two first quarters of the season. Junior running back Robert Martin will need to get into rhythm from the jump to give the Knights a shot. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016
Gameday Page 6
September 16, 2016
RU wide receivers work to increase production Brian Fonseca Sports Editor
All eyes and most questions surrounding the Rutgers football team’s offense, as with most football programs, are directed at the situation behind center. Junior quarterback Chris Laviano has been inconsistent in his play in the first two games of the season, completing 57 percent of his 62 passing attempts but also turning the ball over twice with a fumble that could’ve been two against then-No 14 Washington and two interceptions, including on the first play of the Scarlet Knights (1-1) home opener against Howard. But just as with the play that pushed momentum further towards the Bison and had the 45,245 fans in attendance at High Point Solutions Stadium believing in the possibility of a monumental upset to an FCS program and an 0-2 start to the Chris Ash era, the blame isn’t being spread around evenly. The interception sprouted from a pass intended for senior wide receiver Carlton Agudosi, who deflected it directly into the hands of Alonte Dunn before Howard scored in just three plays over a minute and a half. Laviano received most of the blame for the location of his pass being behind Agudosi, but the reality is he was not the intended target. “If you look at that read right there on the flat defender and the (strongside linebacker) took the bubble out there from Janarion, so Carlton should’ve just sat down right there in that window,” said offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. “(Carlton) got a little excited on the first play of the game, kept rolling through the window. When Chris tried to make him right, the middle linebacker had time to step into that window.” The play was one of a number of missed assignments throughout the first two games of the season, though not all ended as badly. Senior wide receiver Andre Patton’s touchdown that tied the game at 14 was the most positive outcome in a similar situation thus far. “To be honest, it was a missed assignment,” said wide receivers coach Jafar Williams said of the first receiving touchdown of the season for his team. “It worked out
luckily for him but those are the little things, the details that we talk about and even the fans, they don’t know that. I know that as a coach, we can’t get away with those mistakes.” Though a mistake was made, the end result is an encouraging sign of Rutgers’ ability to improvise. “There’s going to be times where there’s missed assignments or wrong routes ran but I feel like just as long as you and the quarterback, or even if I’m blocking, me and the running back are on the same page, we can make big plays happen,” Patton said. It ended well but it gave a glimpse of one of the reasons the Knights have struggled to garner production in the pass game. Through two games, the Knights’ leaders in receiving yards are Janarion Grant — the do-it-all receiver who catches a majority of his passes in the backfield through bubble screens — senior running back Justin Goodwin and senior tight end Nick Arcidiacono. Patton is the first wide receiver to appear on the list at four and aside from the 22 yard touchdown against the Bison, he and his fellow receivers have not gotten big plays in the first two games of the season. Redshirt freshman Jawuan Harris’ 29 yard touchdown later in the contest was the longest pass completed by Laviano. Harris caught two passes for a combined 46 yards against Howard, a performance that earned him a starting spot on the depth chart ahead of Rutgers’ game against New Mexico Saturday at noon ahead of Agudosi. Harris’ rising up the depth chart is a testament to his improvement during the offseason after missing spring camp but it also demonstrates the lack of production coming from the wide receivers corps. Laviano hasn’t been spectacular but he hasn’t had much help, either. “I don’t know what the numbers are but we definitely need more production,” Williams said. “I put a lot on our guys in our room and we put a lot on our shoulders. That’s what needs to be expected so I think they understand that and I’m gonna need to keep driving that message as well.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @briannnnf and @ TargumSports on Twitter.
Senior wide receiver Andre Patton has the most receiving yards of his position group, but ranks just fourth among the entire team. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016
AIR N’ Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jawaun Harris was moved up to the first-team offense after making two catches for 46 yards and one touchdown last week. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016
Knights promote Harris to 1st-team Eric Mullin Associate Sports Editor
Jawuan Harris wasn’t expected to play a major role for the Rutgers baseball team in 2016. With junior Mike Carter, who was named to the Preseason Big Ten Players to Watch List, slated to start in center — Harris’ main outfield position — junior Tom Marcinczyk in right and true freshman Luke Bowerbank in left, it was hard to see where Harris would fit into the Scarlet Knights’ crowded outfield. But, following an injury to Carter early in the season, Harris was slotted into the role of Rutgers’ everyday centerfielder and took full advantage of the opportunity. The true freshman bursted onto the scene posting a .278 batting average and an on-base percentage of .365 across 46 starts. He paced the Big Ten in steals with 37, a mark that was also good for fifth in the nation. To top off an impressive debut campaign on the diamond, Harris was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team. The only real downside to Harris’ first baseball season was that while he was wreaking havoc on the base paths at Bainton Field, he was missing out on Chris Ash’s first spring camp as head football coach at Rutgers. Harris, who took a redshirt his first true football season on the Banks, dove into the playbook as much as he could during baseball season, but when the multi-sport athlete got back onto the football field for the first time at the start of summer camp, he was lacking the reps that the rest of the upperclassmen-heavy wide receiver group already had under their belts from the spring. The Pembroke Pines, Florida, native landed on the two-deep depth chart at one of the three wide receiver slots when training camp commenced and remained there throughout, but found himself in a similar situation when the season began.
While Harris was in the mix at wide receiver, he was behind seniors Janarion Grant, Carlton Agudosi, Andre Patton and junior John Tsimis in the pecking order. In the opener against Washington, Harris got some snaps at receiver, but wasn’t targeted once by junior quarterback Chris Laviano and was mostly in the game as a blocker. But it was in the Knights’ second game against Howard that Harris would get his first opportunity to shine and, just as he did in baseball season, he took full advantage of it. On the first play from scrimmage for Rutgers on offense, Laviano threw a pass behind Agudosi. The ball deflected off the senior wide out’s hands and into the air, before falling right into the arms of a Bison defender. On the next offensive drive, Harris came onto the field in replace of Agudosi. Harris saw a considerable increase in his snaps from the previous week and late in the first half, he made the first reception of his career on a 17-yard catch from Laviano. Then, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Laviano connected with Harris on a 29-yard pass for the first touchdown of his career. “It was a great feeling,” Harris said of scoring his first touchdown. “I had a feeling I was going to score a touchdown knowing how they were going to play that play, we ran it earlier and they kinda jumped on it so we ran the play again and I knew what they were gonna do and I wound up being wide open again.” Jawuan Harris’ performance against Howard caught the eye of the Rutgers coaching staff enough to promote him to the first-team offense. The speedy receiver was listed as a starter, along with Grant and Patton, ahead of Agudosi on the Knights’ depth chart leading up to this Saturday’s game against New Mexico at High Point Solutions Stadium. “Jawuan has a gifted skill set. He’s got speed on him. He’s got a
natural understanding for how the game of football works, operates, how spacing goes in the passing game,” said offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. “He’s had a really good fall camp, better than I thought he would, especially not having all of the spring ball reps that some of these other guys did. But he’s got good speed on him and good hands ... I think he’s a very, very valuable asset for us.” As Rutgers navigates through the early portion of its schedule, the Knights are still seeking out playmakers to be the co-stars to Janarion Grant on offense. Robert Martin is back at full strength and will make his return as the feature back this week and Grant has 11 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns. But while the Knights certainly have threats out of the backfield, they have struggled to find that Leonte Carroo prototype receiver on the outside. Grant, who has 11 catches for 80 yards, is a threat on screens, but isn’t the kind of receiver that’s going to create separation from the opposition 15-plus yards down the field by way of running crisp routes. The two receivers that Rutgers was hoping could fill the role of being possession receivers in its offense, Patton and Agudosi, have combined for just 6 catches for 74 yards and one touchdown. With the increase in touches, Harris will have the chance to make the same kind of impact on the gridiron as he made on the diamond for Rutgers, which would be an impressive feat in the early years of the multi-sport athlete’s career. “Again, when I talk about the list of playmakers, I’ve already mentioned Janarion and Rob Martin as two of them. I would throw Jawuan Harris as another one that has playmaker ability that’s in that top group of guys that we need to find ways to get the football to,” said head football coach Chris Ash. For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @EricMullin_ and @TargumSports on Twitter.
September 16, 2016
Gameday Page 7
GROUND
RU defense tries to shake slow start bug against Lobos Eric Mullin Associate Sports Editor
For the second consecutive week, the Rutgers football team got off to a slow start on the defensive side of the ball. This time around, it wasn’t No. 8 Washington’s gun-slinger Jake Browning and his stable of speedy wide receivers torching the Scarlet Knights’ secondar y, but rather Howard’s read-option tandem of quarterback Kalen Johnson and running back Anthony Philyaw dashing around the Knights’ first level of defense and through its secondar y. On the first drive of the game, the visiting FCS program drove the ball right down Rutgers’ throat. Johnson and Philyaw combined for 47 rushing yards on 5 attempts off read-option keepers and stretch runs to set up the Bison on the Knights’ 38-yard line. On a third-down play from that position, Johnson found wide receiver Robert Mercer, who got behind sophomore cornerback Blessuan Austin in the slot, for a touchdown, capping off a 9-play, 89yard drive. After junior quarterback Chris Laviano was intercepted on Rutgers’ first play on offense, Howard got the ball back on the Knights’ 24-yard line and needed just three plays to find the end zone yet again, this time on a 15-yard rushing touchdown from Johnson. It took Howard just 5:34 to eclipse its point total of 13 from the Bison’s season opener against Maryland. Howard wouldn’t score for the rest of the half, but still
Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton said the key to containing the Lobos’ triple-option attack is to staying on keys and making sure tackles. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016 managed to move the ball and sustain considerable drives against Rutgers. When the teams entered the locker room at High Point Solutions Stadium, the score was even at 14, but the stat sheet was heavily in favor of the Bison. Howard had 11 first downs, 152 net rushing yards — 105 from Philyaw and 75 from Johnson — and possessed the ball for 21:16. “The issues in the first half defensively, again they ran a lot of outside stretch plays pulling their guard and center. We lost leverage on the outside a couple times,” said head football coach Chris Ash. “We
did not control the quarterback run game very well in the first half, he was able to pull it down on the read, get outside our end and we didn’t have an overhead player the way that we have it structured in our defense.” But the Knights defense that came out of the locker room for the second half didn’t mirror the one that entered it. Rutgers held Howard to negative two yards net rushing, seven yards passing, 12:14 minutes of possession and 0 points, as the Knights put 38 more points on the scoreboard en route to a 52-14 win.
Rutgers played like what a Big Ten program should play like against an FCS school in the second half, but it wasn’t because of any changes schematically. The Knights simply just started executing. “Honestly we didn’t change our calls. We called the same stuff in the second half as we did in the first half. We just played better,” said defensive coordinator Jay Niemann. “I thought our tackling was atrocious (in the first half), particularly compared to last week when I thought it was pretty crisp. We did get better in that area as the game
Rutgers defensive line struggled to gain leverage against Howard’s stretch-run scheme in the first half. The Bison burned the Knights for 152 yards rushing in the opening 30 minutes and held the ball for over two-thirds of the first half. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2016
went along, but I don’t think we came out ready to tackle like we should’ve and could’ve. So that had a lot to do with them moving the chains and extending drives that otherwise would’ve been stopped, I think.” Through two games, Rutgers has now given 38 points and 361 yards of total offense in the first quarter. While they were successful in digging themselves out of a 14-point hole against the Bison, as the Knights advance through their schedule and the opposition becomes tougher, they’re not going to have as easy of a time doing so. Following this Saturday’s noon matchup with New Mexico (1-1) at High Point Solutions Stadium, Rutgers will begin Big Ten competition with three consecutive games against conference powerhouses. The Knights will host No. 13 Iowa, travel to No. 4 Michigan and then return home for No. 3 Ohio State. “Do I think our football team was prepared and ready to go play in both weeks? Yeah, I do. But we did start slow against Howard. Can’t deny that, won’t deny that. We did,” Ash said. “We can’t do that against a really good-quality opponent or we’ll put ourselves in a hole that we can’t get out of.” Before Rutgers enters that daunting stretch of Big Ten football, it will want any sort of momentum it can muster up on its side against New Mexico. It will be imperative for the Knights to execute early against a Lobos triple-option attack that is capable of putting up points in a hurry, averaging 39.5 points through two games. New Mexico’s triple-option out of the pistol formation is headlined by quarterback Austin Apodaca (11 carries for 99 yards and one touchdown) and running backs Teriyon Gipson (20 rushes for 243 yards and four touchdowns) and Tyrone Owens (26 carries for 124 yards). While the Lobos don’t run the same offense as Howard they have a similar goal — stretch the defense out with an east-towest running attack. The Knights struggled with that lateral running attack in the first half against the Bison, but are more than aware of what they need to do to make sure those struggles don’t reappear on Saturday. “Staying on your keys is going to be very important. Tackling is going to be very important,” said fifth-year senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton. “They’re definitely a team that can get out of the gate, fast too. Got some really good backs. (Teriyon Gipson) is really an elite back for them and he runs the ball really well. We’ve just gotta be sound in our schemes, sound in our gaps and we gotta be sure tacklers this week.” For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @EricMullin_ and @TargumSports on Twitter.
Brian Fonseca Sports Editor
Exotic isn’t the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Albuquerque, New Mexico — the largest city in the Cactus State known more for the desert scenes in Breaking Bad and hosting the world’s most popular hot air balloon festival than as a vacation destination. But exotic was precisely the word used by Rutgers head football coach Chris Ash to describe the New Mexico football team’s style of play on the defensive side of the ball, one of the many compliments See showdown on Page 5
EDWIN GANO / ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR