Game Day 2015-09-25

GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR

From the moment he pledged his verbal commitment years ago on Jan. 31, 2012, Darius Hamilton’s loyalty to the Rutgers football program has never wavered.

Adversity is nothing new to the homegrown Jersey boy from West Paterson. Back when Greg Schiano stepped down from the helm at Rutgers and bolted for the NFL to accept the head-coaching gig with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 26, 2012, panic poured into Piscataway.

With signing day around the corner, a star-studded Scarlet Knights recruiting class that ranked in the top 20 on various recruiting sites SEE HOME ON PAGE 5

EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR

Gameday Page 2

KNIGHTS GAMEDAY

September25, 2015

RUTGERS VS. KANSAS GAME 3: High Point Solutions Stadium, noon TV: BTN

RADIO: Rutgers IMG Sports Network

INSIDE

Freshman ready for role if necessary TYLER KARALEWICH CORRESPONDENT

Marcus Applefield does not hail from New Jersey. In fact, the redshirt-freshman offensive lineman might be a polar opposite in comparison to a the tri-state area native.

Situated right off of the New Jersey Turnpike, Applefield finds himself far away from his home in Weeki Wachee, Florida — where things are a lot different.

In Applefield’s hometown, there is a total population of 12, according to the 2013 U.S. Census. Weeki Wachee covers 640 acres, or exactly one-square mile. By comparison, New Brunswick situates itself over nearly six-square miles, with Rutgers enrollment at 65,000.

Applefield became the first player from his high school to receive a Division I football scholarship when he accepted his ride in 2014 to the Rutgers football team.

While Applefield was named as one of the offensive linemen in the rotation set by now-suspended head coach Kyle Flood prior to the season. The Florida native saw his most significant action against Penn State and when junior right guard Chris Muller went down with an injury, it was Applefield’s time.

Playing for interim head coach Norries Wilson, Applefield made the most of it — even if he did have some nerves playing in front 103,323 Nittany Lions fans, striping Beaver Stadium in blue and white.

“Of course. With that type of environment, you are going to get some butterflies,” Applefield said.

“I knew I was prepared and ready to play. I just went in there and did

“I knew I was prepared and ready to play.

I just went in there and did what I’m taught to do.”

MARCUS APPLEFIELD Redshirt-Freshman Right Tackle

what I’m taught to do. I took in the whole crowd before the game, but none of that affected me during the game.”

Being launched into the mix following the injury to Muller was tough. It became more difficult when Applefield lined up against All-Big Ten defensive tackle Antony Zettel.

When Chris Muller left the game last week due to injury, Marcus Applefield stepped in at right guard to aid the offensive line.

LUO ZHENGCHEN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / SEPTEMBER 2015

But Applefield said Zettel and the Penn State defensive line was not too much to handle. He credited Rutgers defensive line and how they help him prepare for game day.

“It was good experience (to go up against Penn State’s defensive line),” Applefield said. “But our D-Line are some of the best of the best and I get to practice against them every day. It was nothing too crazy that I couldn’t handle.”

Flood said prior to the season that Applefield and fellow redshirt-freshman Tariq Cole both were rotation guys who could see time in every game. The decision was made to put in Applefield against Penn State, even though Cole was also an option.

“The right guard was down and that’s where Applefield had practiced the most during the week,” Wilson said when asked why Applefield was chosen over Cole. “Had it been the left guard, there was a greater chance that Tariq would have been the guy.”

But whether Applefield gained valuable experience or not was far from the issue this past Saturday for the offensive line. The unit allowed five sacks of sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano.

Senior left tackle Keith Lumpkin believes that number is too high.

Lumpkin said that the Rutgers offensive line prides itself on protecting the quarterback.

While failing to do that Saturday, Lumpkin said the lineman went back to the drawing board for this past week of practice. They worked on basic technique and protections in order to make sure five sacks doesn’t happen again.

“We gave up five sacks, so the key emphasis this week was to work on our pass protection and pass sets,” Lumpkin said. “Letting up that many sacks is just something that you have to learn from.

A lot of mistakes were made in that game, but hopefully we corrected them and learned from them so it won’t happen again versus Kansas.

This team does a lot of twists, stunts and different schemes to try and get pressure on the quarterback.”

the

NUMBERS RUTGERS (1-2, 0-1)

PASSING C. Laviano H. Rettig RUSHING J. Hicks P. James RECEVING J. Grant M. Flanagan A. Patton DEFENSE S. Longa Q. Gause K. Lewis

CMP 72.5% 81.8% NO. 41 31 NO. 10 8 6

YDS 593 110 YDS 258 112 YDS 93 78 93

TD 4 1 TD 2 0 TD 0 2 0 TKL 26 17 17

INT AVG 3 197.7 0 110 LNG AVG 25 86 16 37.3 LNG AVG 20 31 16 26 30 31 SCK INT 0 0 1 0 0 0

PASSING M. Cozart RUSHING K. Kinner M. Cozart RECEVING T. Parmalee D. Crawley S. Sims DEFENSE F. Smithson M. Roberts T. Miller B. Goodman

KANSAS (0-2) CMP 57.6% NO. 43 29 NO. 5 3 6

YDS 409 YDS 270 112 YDS 97 67 42

TD 1 TD 3 1 TD 0 0 0 TKL 17 16 15 8

INT AVG 1 204.5 LNG AVG 29 135 20 56 LNG AVG 35 48.5 39 33.5 11 21 SCK INT 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.5

INJURIES OUT: TE George Behr, WR Jawuan Harris, WR Dontae Owens, RB Desmon Peoples, LB Nick Rafferty, LB Austin Rosa, FB Charles Snorweah, LB TJ Taylor, OL Jacquis Webb.

DOUBTFUL: WR John Tsimis, CB Brian Verbitski.

QUESTIONABLE: DE Darius Hamilton, DE Djwany Mera, OL Chris Muller.

PROBABLE: P Tim Gleeson, RB Paul James, CB Ronnie James, DE Kemoko Turay.

SCHEDULE Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 Nov. 21 Nov. 28

Norfolk State Washington State Penn State Kansas Michigan State Indiana Ohio State Wisconsin Michigan Nebraska Army Maryland

W 63-13 L 37-34 L 28-3 NOON 8 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

SCHEDULE Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 26 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 Nov. 21 Nov. 28

South Dakota State Memphis Rutgers Iowa State Baylor Texas Tech Oklahoma State Oklahoma Texas TCU West Virginia Kansas State

L 41-38 L 55-23 NOON NOON TBA TBA TBA TBA 8 P.M. ET TBA TBA TBA

Key Matchup

Kansas’ rush attack vs. Rutgers’ rush defense Rutgers returns home reeling against the run. Last week, the Knights surrendered 330 yards on 41 carries at Penn State. Kansas enters averaging 239 yards per game. If Rutgers can’t contain the Jayhawks’ combination of quarterback and running back designed runs, it could be in for an indentical result.

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

EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE

CARLTON AGUDOSI WIDE RECEIVER

KEITH LUMPKIN LEFT TACKLE

DORIAN MILLER LEFT GUARD

DERRICK NELSON CENTER

CHRIS MULLER RIGHT GUARD

JJ DENMAN RIGHT TACKLE

NICK ARCIDIACONO TIGHT END

ANDRE PATTON WIDE RECEIVER

CHRIS LAVIANO QUARTERBACK

SAM BERGEN FULLBACK

PAUL JAMES RUNNING BACK

Junior 6’-6”, 220 lbs.

Senior 6’-8”, 325 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-3”, 285 lbs.

Junior 6’-3”, 290 lbs.

Junior 6’-6”, 310 lbs.

Junior 6’-6”, 305 lbs.

Junior 6’-5”, 240 lbs.

Junior 6’-4”, 200 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-3”, 210 lbs.

Senior 6’-0”, 250 lbs.

Senior 6’-0”, 215 lbs.

BLESSUAN AUSTIN CORNERBACK

ANTHONY CIOFFI FREE SAFETY

DAVON JACOBS STRONG SAFETY

ISAIAH WHARTON CORNERBACK

True freshman 6’-1”, 185 lbs.

Junior 6’-00”, 200 lbs.

Junior 6’-0”, 195 lbs.

Redshirt-freshman 6’-1”, 210 lbs.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE

QUANZELL LAMBERT DEFENSIVE END

SEBASTIAN JOSEPH NOSE TACKLE

JULIAN PINNIX-ODRICK DEF. TACKLE

DJWANY MERA DEFENSIVE END

STEVE LONGA WLB

KAIWAN LEWIS MLB

QUENTIN GAUSE SLB

Sophomore 6’-6”, 240 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-4”, 295 lbs.

Senior 6’-5”, 275 lbs.

Senior 6’-4”, 265 lbs.

Junior 6’-1”, 225 lbs.

Senior 6’-0”, 230 lbs.

Senior 6’-1”, 220 lbs.

September 25, 2015

Gameday Page 3

KNIGHT NUGGETS

BY THE NUMBERS

9

Rutgers has converted 9-of-9 red zone scoring opportunities this season. While the Knights have struggled to sustain drives, they have capitalized on their trips to the red zone with seven touchdowns and two field goals.

33

Kansas is winless in its past 33 games away from the friendly confines at home in Lawrence.

The Jayhawks haven’t won in 30 road games and three neutral site matchups.

3

Kyle Federico is a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals this year. The senior place kicker has connected on tries from 37 yards and 34 yards with a long of 48 yards against Washington State.

3

The Jayhawks are plus-three in the turnover margin with three fumbles and one interception.

Rutgers counters that margin steeply with a minus-five margin.

BIG QUESTION WILL THE RUNNING GAME GET THE WHEELS GOING? The Knights stalled on the ground last week at Penn State, mustering just 43 yards on 32 carries. With Kansas yielding 225.5 yards per game and seven touchdowns on the ground, Rutgers could get things back on track.

Paul James Senior Running Back

THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO OFFENSE

Rutgers looked nothing short of horrendous on offense last week, posting just three points at Penn State. But the Knights present more balance here, while the Jayhawks are too one-dimensional in their rushing schemes.

DEFENSE

After the Nittany Lions ran the Knights out of the building, its hard to think of the Rutgers defense as a strong point. But Kansas is worse than just one bad time out, surrendering 96 points in its first two games of the season.

COACHING

While Rutgers interim head coach Norries Wilson maintains similar structure to head coach Kyle Flood, Kansas head coach David Beatty’s established role in his program provides an advantage over the Knights’ running backs coach.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Both special teams units have converted on all field goals at a perfect 4-of-4 mark, so the deciding factor has to be the return game. Junior Janarion Grant’s numbers speak for themselves, with three touchdown returns to lead the nation.

X-FACTOR

After leading the receiving corps with a career-high six catches for 80 yards at Penn State, junior wide out Carlton Agudosi could be primed for a larger role when the Knights look to stretch the field without Leonte Carroo in the passing game.

MOMENTUM

Despite suffering an embarrassing 28-3 loss in Happy Valley, Rutgers returns at the right time for homecoming at High Point Solutions Stadium. Kansas remains winless and the Knights are 52-28-2 all-time in homecoming games.

RUTGERS WINS IF

KANSAS WINS IF

THE KNIGHTS REESTABLISH THE RUNNING GAME

THE JAYHAWKS WIN THE BATTLE ON TURNOVERS

Rutgers proved that it can’t throw the burden entirely on Laviano’s shoulders, so what is supposed to be the deepest unit on the team must return to form.

When RU has lost the turnover battle, the Knights have also lost the contest. If the Jayhawks snag a pair of takeaways, it could set the stage for the upset.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I think people take for granted how hard it is to get whacked by 300-pound guys and still stick in there.”

CARLTON AGUDOSI Junior Wide Receiver

TARGUM’S FINAL VERDICT RUTGERS WINS, 35-24 There’s no place like home. In front of an electric sellout crowd, Rutgers returns home and gets back to its winning ways with a dominant win over a weak team.

Interim head coach Norries Wilson has implored his team his team to improve with the run on both sides of the ball as KU’s up-tempo attack coming to town. MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAGING EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2015

Rutgers hits reset button for Kansas GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR

Last week, the Rutgers football team couldn’t have wanted anything more than to get away from the suspensions and arrests lingering throughout the program when it departed for Happy Valley.

But soon enough, the end result made the Scarlet Knights (12, 0-1) rush back to the Banks in a heartbeat.

The fallout from a 28-3 road loss in the team’s Big Ten Conference opener at Penn State didn’t help ease the pain in Piscataway.

Rutgers had an opportunity to silence the outsiders with a national television audience tuned into the Big Ten Network and a crowd of 103,323 on-hand at Beaver Stadium.

But that disappeared after the first 15 minutes of football.

Interim head coach Norries Wilson, who conducted a unique press conference in the visiting team media room after the game and emphasized the need for improvements ever ywhere following a messy showing, made that clear once more at Monday’s press conference.

“I’m not happy with the production that we had on Saturday,” Wilson reiterated.

But when the Knights take the field at High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday at noon, the circumstances set the stage for a return that should feel more than welcoming.

Factor in an opponent facing much more turmoil — at least on the field — with Kansas visiting the Banks for the first meeting between the two football programs and suddenly a beacon of light at the end of the tunnel dimly peaks its way through the cracks.

Winless in their last 33 games away from their friendly confines at Memorial Stadium, the Jayhawks (0-2) haven’t been able to put together anything close to promising on the football field outside of Lawrence, Kansas.

But even at that, the Knights’ backs are up against the wall in their own house. After the Nittany Lions pounced their way to 330 yards and four touchdowns on 41 carries to gash the Rutgers defense in an up-tempo scheme,

Kansas enters primed to follow.

Poised to dial up a heavy dose of handoffs, tosses and draws in a ground-and-pound attack, the Jayhawks should look to duplicate Penn State’s winning recipe.

That formula starts with Ke’aun Kinner, a junior college transfer running back who became the first Jayhawk in the program’s 125-year histor y to begin his career at Kansas with consecutive 100-yard games. The junior totaled 270 yards on the ground with three scores on 43 touches to start the season.

Throw a dual-threat quarterback into the mix with Montell Cozart, whose 29 carries for 112 yards and rushing touchdown make him the team’s second-leading rusher and it forces the Knights to adjust.

Wilson, who oversees the run-

“It’s football. I’m ready for that. You’re going to get hit, you’re going to get hurt — ­ that’s just how it is.”

PAUL JAMES Senior Running Back

ning backs unit for Rutgers, knows the Knights need to fix their approach on the ground on both sides of scrimmage.

“The quarterback and the running back (for Kansas) on design runs both average over five yards a carry,” Wilson said. “…We didn’t do a good job of stopping the run last week. That’s not a secret. I’m not trying to disparage our guys, but we have to get better stopping the run and we have to be able to block some athletic people up front on our offensive line.”

After the three-man tailback rotation opened the season strong with promising results on a balanced distribution in carries, the unit senior Paul James once called the deepest in the Big Ten stalled when it was needed most.

Part of that is from an offensive line that lost junior right guard Chris Muller in the second quarter of last Saturday’s contest.

Sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano took a beating in the pocket,

sacked five times without a ground game to bail him out.

James, who perhaps took the biggest step back in what was the worst statistical outing of his illustrious career with a negative yards per carry average after mustering seven yards on 10 carries, was ready to move on when he met with the media on Monday.

“I wasn’t angry,” James said.

“It’s football. I’m ready for that.

You’re going to get hit, you’re going to get hurt — that’s just how it is.”

While James enters without a touchdown and 3.6 yards per carry on the season, the two Knights who filled his shoes last year have carried that momentum from their freshman campaigns.

The thunder-and-lightning combo of sophomores Josh Hicks (41 carries, 258 yards, two touchdowns) and Robert Martin (24 carries, 150 yards, one touchdown) both sport lofty averages of 6.3 yards per carry entering their fourth game of the fall.

Hicks, who posted a team-high 49 yards on seven carries at Penn State, looked like his efforts might have deserved the bulk of the touches — or at least more to feed the hot hand the Palmetto, Florida, native held.

The 5-foot-10, 210-pounder provided flashes of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch when he turned a would-be safety five yards deep in his own end zone into a 19-yard gain, slicing his way the Nittany Lions’ defense.

Could Hicks be the one to take the next step this weekend? Possibly.

But against a Jayhawks defense that has given up 451 yards on the ground in losses to South Dakota State (FCS) and Memphis, all three featured Knights at the position will get a couple cracks.

And that collective effort could be the first step to getting the team back on track.

“I can’t really say (I should be the No. 1 running back) because all of us are good backs,” Hicks said. “Whoever has the hot hand is going to play.”

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

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September 25, 2015

IT’S NOW

Carlton Agudosi aims to prove his potential, build on career performance staged at Penn State last week

HEART Juniors Carlton Agudosi, Janarion Grant carry slack with Leonte Carroo out CONTINUED FROM BACK assignment?’ I wasn’t really focused on just playing football.”

One week after making those comments, the Franklin High School (New Jersey) product reintroduced himself to the Rutgers fan base with a breakout performance in the Scarlet-White game.

“Dos,” as he’s known to his teammates, tallied four catches for 91 yards, hooking up with sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano for two touchdowns.

“I just have to take it dayby-day and keep working hard because you don’t win spots in April,” Agudosi said.

Fast-forward to this fall and No. 13 was the starter for the season opener against Norfolk State, although he didn’t see a single snap against Washington State the following week.

But Agudosi announced his arrival to the Big Ten at Beaver Stadium Sept. 19.

In the 28-3 loss to Penn State, the split end from Somerset hauled in six receptions for 80 yards. Last fall, Agudosi managed five catches for 32 yards in total for the season.

His career night in Happy Valley also landed him team-highs in catches and receiving yards, also firsts for the junior wideout.

“I had a lot of confidence going in,” Agudosi said of his breakthrough performance against the Nittany Lions. “I’m looking to take another step in the right direction. I mean, I think I’m ready, I’m just upset that we got the loss. We

Junior wide receiver Carlton Agudosi had six grabs for 80 yards against PSU, setting career-highs.

He totaled just five catches for 32 yards in 2014. MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAG EDITOR / NOVEMBER 2014 got a lot of work to do. We have Kansas coming in (this) week. I’m just trying to get better and try to do a better job.”

At 6-foot-6, Agudosi has the length and expanded catch radius to stretch the field. His Megatron-like frame gives him the advantage over even the most athletic cornerbacks the Big Ten has to offer.

He said he put on an extra 10 pounds in the spring, up to 220, which the junior feels has made him a more explosive player. Rutgers currently lacks explosiveness due to the indefinite suspension of preseason All-American wideout Leonte Carroo, the player whom Agudosi studied under as a backup in 2014.

Before he began his threegame suspension, head coach Kyle Flood weighed in on how the offense plans to pick up the slack at wide receiver.

“Carlton Agudosi’s role is going to get bigger,” Flood said. “I don’t know that you can replace (Carroo) with one person, but we’ve got a talented group of people. I think we’ll be able to do it.”

Agudosi hasn’t seen any noticeable change in reps or drills in practice, saying it has been no different than the workouts when Carroo was still with the team.

“As far as practice, it was kind of the same thing. It wasn’t any different,” Agudosi said. “I don’t think the offense changed at all.

We had the game plan in, we just didn’t execute.”

Down 14-0 with 7:15 left in the second quarter, the Knights faced a third-and-two at their own 31yard line. At the snap, Agudosi released off the line, crossing the face of his defender and turned to present a target to Laviano.

The sophomore signal-caller hit Agudosi right in the chest and the crisp execution of the skinny

post route was good for 12 yards to keep the drive alive.

That is the potential Agudosi provides — he can serve as a safety blanket for a quarterback who’s been sacked eight times in three games.

The Lions lived with eight defenders in the box last week, bringing safeties down to the line of scrimmage to help protect against Rutgers running attack.

But the Knights were unable to keep Penn State honest with the passing game.

“We preach (running) the ball, so they tried to stack the box against us,” Agudosi said. “I guess they were doubting our downfield ability. But I think that, given the opportunity, we can definitely make plays downfield. I think presented with that again, I think we’re gon’ make plays.”

Agudosi is not alone when it comes to picking up the slack for the suspended Carroo. Junior

wide receiver Janarion Grant has played in all three games for the Knights in 2015, helping to bear the load with the suspension of the school’s record-holder in alltime receiving touchdowns (22).

Interim head coach Norries Wilson knows he will need multiple receivers to shoulder the burden of production Carroo usually provides.

“We are confident in the receivers that we have,” Wilson said. “Andre Patton and Carlton Agudosi, we are confident — and I can’t think of his name now — No. 1, Janarion Grant. Any deficiency we have in the pass game, other people are ready to step up and take the slack out.”

Penn State certainly remembered his name. PSU did a masterful job of negating the return threat Grant has posed in 2015.

But a week after he took a punt and a kickoff back for touchdowns, en route to setting the school record for all-purpose yards (337), Grant was a non-factor against the Nittany Lions, managing two total returns for a combined seven yards.

“They did a pretty good job of just containing me, making sure I didn’t get the ball,” Grant said.

The Trilby, Florida, native said he doesn’t feel the need to prove anything more against Kansas, but every opportunity he gets to touch the ball is another chance for Rutgers to score.

“I’m always hungry, each and every game,” Grant said. “It all depends on what the other team does … if they decide to kick it to me or keep it away from me. Either way, if I have a chance to get the ball, I’m gonna try to do something with it.”

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

Junior wide receiver and returner Janarion Grant is second in the nation and leads the Big Ten in kick returns touchdowns with three in three games this fall. Grant is also 11th in the nation with 502 all-purpose yards. He set a school record with 339 all-purpose yards against WSU. MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAGING EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2015

September 25, 2015

Gameday Page 5

OR NEVER

With status in question for remainder of 2015 season, Darius Hamilton focuses on helping Rutgers now

HOME Darius Hamilton listed as questionable after making season debut at Penn State CONTINUED FROM BACK suddenly spiraled in jeopardy.

Hamilton, the consensus No. 1 recruit in New Jersey and No. 2 defensive end out of national powerhouse Don Bosco Prep, could have continued that trend at the next level with offers from programs all over country. Instead, he stayed true to his heart and stayed home.

Fast-forward roughly four years later and Hamilton, now a senior captain and converted defensive tackle, watches his journey finally begin to wind its way down.

“It flew by. It flew by,” Hamilton told the Targum at media day Aug. 16. “I’ve had some great times, some of the best times of my life here on that field out there, in away games. I built some friendships here that I’ll take with me forever wherever I go, so I’m very thankful for the opportunity to have been a Scarlet Knight.”

Sidelined since the summer with an unspecified lower body injury, Hamilton’s status for his senior season went into question when he hadn’t practiced for over a month.

Listed as out for the first two games of the season, he remained on the injury report last Monday to start last week’s game prep for Penn State. Barring a miracle, it looked like Hamilton would miss the Knights’ Big Ten opener with the Nittany Lions.

But hours before kickoff, he was upgraded to probable. And while the end result of a 28-3 catastrophe in front of 103,323 at

Fighting through a lower body injury for the sake of his teammates, senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton hopes to play against Kansas and beyond for Rutgers. THE DAILY TARGUM / NOVEMBER 2014 Beaver Stadium didn’t help stop the bleeding from the lingering off-field turmoil, the return of Rutgers’ unquestioned leader to the gridiron was immeasurable to his team.

“I’ll tell you what, I was excited for Darius (Hamilton) to get back out and play,” interim head coach Norries Wilson said at last Saturday’s postgame presser.

“He had been chomping at the bit to come out and play.”

The presence of a hungry Hamilton in his season debut, combined with the wisdom and motivation the two-time captain always brings as a proven leader, inspired the likes of sophomore defensive end Kemoko Turay.

“For (Hamilton) being there … and for me, going, working

with him last year … I was very excited to play with him again,” Turay said. “It shows big courage for him to come out there and actually come in and to show that

“Every time I see these guys take the field, it’s hard. It’s hard to watch, especially from a leadership standpoint.”

DARIUS HAMILTON Senior Defensive Tackle

he really cares about the team and how bad he wanted to beat Penn State.”

Listed as questionable for this week when the Knights (0-2, 0-1) host Kansas (0-2) on Saturday at noon, how ready Hamilton is health-wise is unknown. When he met with the media on Monday, the 21-year-old sounded like an old man describing his aches and pains from the aftermath of his appearance at Penn State.

“Oh, I was hurting. I was hurting,” he said. “But, I mean, it’s football. You’re always going to be hurting. I think after every game I’ve woken up from I’ve been hurting.”

As outlandish as it may have seemed during training camp in August, redshirting the remainder of the 2015 season has been a serious discussion.

After rumors swirled around

discussion boards and threads regarding a potential redshirt season, Hamilton confirmed the possibility earlier in the week. While he said he would make that decision with the coaching staff if or when necessary, Hamilton shared his perspective.

“I mean, it’s tough,” he said. “… Worse comes to worst, I’m here with people I came in with and get to enjoy football one last time for Rutgers.”

While the Jayhawks sputter into High Point Solutions Stadium after two ugly losses to open the season, a loss would do more than mark the fourth straight loss for Rutgers on its annual homecoming game.

Falling to 1-3 on the year would be nothing less than disastrous with a Big Ten gauntlet featuring the likes of No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Michigan State and No. 22 Wisconsin waiting in the distance.

As of right this very second, no one knows if Hamilton’s fist will grab the turf and crouch down into the three-point technique position to stare into the faces of the opposing offensive linemen in the trenches. Right now, that fate for Saturday and beyond is unclear — even to him.

But regardless of whether he straps in the pads or dresses in street clothes, the senior captain will be right there with his brothers when they take on the Jayhawks — no matter the circumstance.

“Ever y time I see these guys take the field, it’s hard. It’s hard to watch, especially from a leadership standpoint,” Hamilton said. “But I trust them. If I can’t be out there with them this week, then they’ll take care of business.”

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

Whether he’s been on the sideline in street clothes or on the field in pads, senior captain Darius Hamilton’s presence has inspired his fellow teammates. Sophomore defensive end Kemoko Turay referred to Hamilton playing through injury at Penn State as a courageous and selfless act. THE DAILY TARGUM / DECEMBER 2014

September 25, 2015

Gameday Page 6

NO PLACE

Safety serves his role for Rutgers KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Anthony Cioffi is well aware of his role on the Rutgers football team.

Simply put, he’s a safety. But it didn’t start out that way.

The junior free safety played cornerback his first two years on the Banks, displaying a penchant for takeaways with two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery over the course of his freshman and sophomore seasons.

But this spring, now-suspended head coach Kyle Flood slid Cioffi inside to safety, citing the Springfield, New Jersey, native’s ballhawk instincts.

Ever since, the move has fit like a glove.

“It does feel like I’m at home,” Cioffi said of the position change. “I feel like I have better range back there and everything’s been going good so far.”

Cioffi was originally listed as a backup to junior Delon Stephenson on the depth chart that Flood released to the media five days before the Scarlet Knights’ season opener against Norfolk State.

But two days before kickoff, the Rutgers football program was rocked by the arrests of six players stemming from assault and robbery charges, including Stephenson and then-starting cornerback, sophomore Dre Boggs.

Former junior defensive backs Ruhann Peele and Nadir Barnwell were also charged in the arrests.

So there Cioffi was — thrust into a new position and now a whole new role for the Knights less than 48 hours before he was to set to strap on the pads against the Spartans in Piscataway.

Fast-forward three games and the Jonathan Dayton High School (New Jersey) product stands tied for third in the Big Ten with two interceptions and holds the second-highest total in the conference with five passes defended. But the 6-foot, 200-pounder isn’t interested in personal achievements.

To Cioffi, that’s just the way the position is played.

“It’s not as much something that we take on,” Cioffi said. “It comes with being a safety. You’re like the leader of the secondary.”

The secondary has been in need of leaders. After the arrests ravaged the depth of the defensive backfield, true freshman Blessuan Austin and redshirt-freshman Isaiah Wharton have been forced into the starting lineup.

Their growing pains have shown.

The Knights have given up 818 passing yards in three games and veterans like starting strong safety junior Davon Jacobs and Cioffi have to step up to help their freshman corners.

“It helps me from a corner standpoint to know I got veteran safeties behind me that are giving me the correct calls,” Wharton said. “So I know what to do quicker and get in line faster and play faster.”

Interim head coach Norries Wilson said Rutgers will rely on Jacobs and Cioffi for leadership, referencing the pair of safeties’ game experience as a beacon for Austin and Wharton to follow.

“They can settle some nerves,” Wilson said. “ Cioffi, Jacobs have been in a lot of games. They’ve had a lot of challenges thrown at ‘em and I think it’s important that they help lead those young guys in the backfield.”

The interim head coach called attention to the limelight that this pair of freshman corners have shining upon them on gameday. On offense, eyes are drawn to the quarterback.

But on defense, cornerbacks are the focal point.

“You know it’s tough to be out there, especially when you’re a corner and everybody in the stadium is looking at you when the ball comes your way” Wilson said. “It’s not like you can hide like an offensive guy and people aren’t sure who may have missed that block.”

For Cioffi, tutoring the young guns is just part of the job.

“As far as a leadership role, I feel like every safety has to be a leader when they’re on the field,” Cioffi said.

“But even more so now since the situation that we are in, that we have the young guys in Bless (Austin) and

Isaiah (Wharton). But it comes with the territory being a safety.”

As Kansas rolls into town for homecoming, Rutgers readies for another up-tempo offense, after seeing Washington State rip off 82 plays two weeks ago.

Despite their record, the Jayhawks (0-2) pose a roadblock to the Knights’ planned resurgence in Piscataway on Saturday. Kansas’ offense runs a play every 16-18 seconds, calling into question Rutgers’ conditioning.

“In practice, the different type of stuff we’re doing is going to have us in shape,” Cioffi said. “It’s like a gunand-run style. The quarterback’s an athletic quarterback, they have two great running backs and they have a good passing attack so we just have to be ready for everything.”

The Jayhawks are averaging 30.5 points per contest this fall and at some point, they will push the Knights’ defense. The game could come down to one play.

Rutgers has been rendered ineffective at creating turnovers — Cioffi’s two interceptions are the only two takeaways this season — and with the defense struggling to stop the run, a play in the open field could mean a win, while one missed tackle could mean a loss.

Should a Kansas ball-carrier reach the second level, Cioffi says he will be waiting.

“It”s not that much of an exciting play, it’s more a do-or-die,” he said.

“It’s a touchdown or a tackle.”

Come Saturday at noon, Rutgers will be resigned to trust Cioffi — not only a safety, but the last line of defense.

“It’s a big responsibility. Because you’re the cleanup man,” Cioffi said.

“And if something breaks out, you really need to take a great angle, you need to be precise in all your movements and angles and you have to get the ball carrier down. That’s the thing you focus on. No matter how you get him down, you got to get him down.”

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

Junior free safety Anthony Cioffi, right, leads the Knights in 2015 with two interceptions. Cioffi now has four interceptions for his career. MICHELLE KLEJMONT / MANAGING EDITOR / SEPTEMBER 2015

While he has yet to start for the Knights this season, sophomore defensive end Kemoko Turay continues to grow into his role.

THE DAILY TARGUM / NOVEMBER 2014

Sophomore sharpens athleticism for RU TYLER KARALEWICH CORRESPONDENT

Last season, Kemoko Turay leaped up to block the game-winning field goal against Michigan as a redshirt-freshman defensive lineman.

When he reached the ground, his popularity exploded and spectators began to recognize his freakish talents.

In a world where sports fans retweet videos of Odell Beckham, Jr. and athletic feats are fully recognized, Turay fits the mold. Whether it’s blocking kicks one-handed or contorting his body 45 degrees to get a sack, Turay can do it.

The Newark, New Jersey, native burst onto the scene last season for the Rutgers football team after being a relatively unknown. He redshirted the season prior, necessary for someone who began his football career as a junior in high school.

After being named to two Freshman All-American teams and honorable mention All-Big Ten, expectations were high this season for Turay. With a concentrated approach this offseason to become an every down player, Turay readied to have an even larger impact.

That has not been the case this season.

Rutgers listed the Barringer High School (New Jersey) product on each injury report this season with an upper body injury. For this weekend’s homecoming game against Kansas, Turay was upgraded to probable.

Last season, Turay sacked the opposing quarterback 7.5 times and collected 8.5 tackles for loss. This season, he sacked Norfolk State’s starting quarterback once — that’s it.

But Turay remains grateful. He still has the opportunity to play and the nagging injury is healing.

“I’m feeling good,” Turay said.

“I’m out there every game and I’m playing. Thank God I’m not bad and missing any games. I can still be with my teammates and I’m striving to get better. I’m just thankful it’s not something very threatening to my season or career. I’m just trying to get better and recover from my injury I got over the summer. I’m just excited to get better.”

Suspended coach Kyle Flood knows there is still untapped

potential in Turay’s 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame, while cautioning that the continued progress will come when his sophomore defensive lineman’s health fully returns.

“Kemoko is a guy who — his skill set is going to lend itself to third down,” Flood said. “And he’s not 100 percent for us right now and we need him to be 100 percent. We want Kemoko to be an alldown player. I don’t want Kemoko to be a specialist, I don’t him to be a third down pass rusher. I want him to be a first, second and third down player, so that he can have the kind of impact on the program that we all want.”

Senior defensive tackle Darius Hamilton knows what it’s like to not play. He said the toughest thing this season was watching his teammates play without him in the first two games — knowing he couldn’t do anything to help.

That’s what led Hamilton to play roughly 15-20 snaps against Penn State last weekend.

“There’s no question I’ve been rooting for the defensive line to make some big plays,” Hamilton said. “Especially against Washington State, I was pushing for them to come across with a big play because I want to see them do well and be successful. It’s tough — not the fact that I can’t be out there making plays, but that I can’t be out there with them at all. That’s the hardest part.”

Instead of being sidelined, Turay played in every game this season, starting against Washington State for his first-career start.

Being upgraded to probable this week marks a good sign for the “Kemoko Dragon.”

With Turay’s injury getting better, Kansas presents the perfect opportunity for the sophomore.

“I’ve gotten faster and improved my speed,” Turay said. “My pad level is incredible right now, I feel. My hand speed got better. It’s going to help me get through and around offensive lineman. I got better at reading the plays much faster. Last year, it took me a while to adjust. Now, I think I have it down.”

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

September 25, 2015

Gameday Page 7

LIKE HOME

Penalties, turnovers plague Rutgers in 2015 KEVIN XAVIER

Interim head coach Norries Wilson talked about the Knights’ buga-boo in the early going, saying the Any team can handle getting beat coaching staff has focused this week on reducing the “forced” penalties. by an opponent.

“Coach (Ben) McDaniels spoke on But this season, the Rutgers footit on Monday morning and we have ball team has been beating itself.

The Scarlet Knights (1-2, 0-1) have been harping on the penalties each accrued 28 penalties through three practice,” Wilson said after Wednesgames, which stands second to last in day’s practice.

Wilson elaborated on those the Big Ten Conference in front of Nesentiments. braska (32), according to bigten.org.

“And I wanna say today we didn’t In the gut-wrenching 37-34 loss to Washington State Sept. 12, Rutgers have an unforced penalty today. I hahad two would-be touchdowns called ven’t looked at the film, I don’t know back — a 21-yard run by sophomore if we had a hold or two,” Wilson said.

Josh Hicks and a 29-yard catch and “But we didn’t have any false starts or run by junior Janarion Grant on a bub- anything of that nature in today’s practice or yesterday’s practice.” ble screen.

But this is not only a problem on The penalties, coupled with the turnovers — the Knights’ minus-five the offensive side of the ball.

After Rutgers kicked a field goal turnover ratio is dead last in the conference — have been contributing to chip into Penn State’s lead at 21-3 factors to Rutgers’ slow start in the last Saturday, the Lions took over at their own 23-yard line following the 2015 campaign.

Head coach Kyle Flood, who is kickoff. On the first play from scrimcurrently serving a three-game sus- mage, the Knights jumped offside, pension for contacting a faculty mem- giving PSU a first-and-five at the 28, ber regarding a former player’s grade, completely changing the Lion’s starting field position. has a bend-butJunior weak don’t-break poliside linebacker cy when it comes “We just gotta be more Steve Longa is to penalties. focused and not take a Rutgers’ leading “To me, the penalty issue play off because you don’t tackler in each of the last two seais the scores know if that play is gonna sons and his 26 coming off the tackles in 2015 board,” Flood cost you the game.” are tied for fifthsaid. “When you most in the conlook at penalties STEVE LONGA ference. But the over time, you’re Junior Weak Side Linebacker Saddle Brook, going to see New Jersey, nahighly-penalized teams that win a lot of football games. tive has also become a vocal leader for But when those penalties come in the defense and he believes that these critical areas on scoring plays and ex- mental mishaps are fixable.

“That’s something we’re trying to plosive plays, those are not four- and work on,” Longa said. “Our penalties five-yard plays.”

The fourth-year head coach ac- are just losing focus. We just gotta be knowledged the coaching staff’s in- more focused and not take a play off terest in reducing the presence of yel- because you don’t know if that play is low laundry, but made it crystal clear gonna cost you the game. We just gotthat the turnovers are what break a ta be a lot more focused.”

Rutgers racked up five illegal proteam’s back.

“It’s not something we don’t focus cedure penalties against the Nittany on,” Flood said of the flags. “I think Lions, costing the offense 25 yards. the turnovers, to me, are an even For the season, the Knights have lost bigger factor. Now, you get penalties 189 yards to penalties.

In the midst of a two-game losing that take away touchdowns and that’s a huge, huge impact on the game, streak, Rutgers’ homecoming matchbut the turnovers, to me, are the first up with an up-tempo Kansas team should be the focus. The home team place I look.”

Sophomore quarterback Chris will have enough trouble containing Laviano is responsible for four of Rut- an offense that runs a play every 16gers’ six turnovers this fall, throwing 18 seconds. The last thing the Knights three interceptions — two against need to worry about is competing Penn State — and fumbling at a cru- against themselves.

“That something that comes from cial point in the loss against Wazzu.

But senior left tackle Keith Lump- the upperclassmen,” Lumpkin said. kin feels the offensive line has a “Us leaders have addressed the team responsibility to protect the quar- and the offensive unit, we talk about terback, to prevent the need to rush it. We’ve gotta be more locked in and throws or otherwise turn the ball over eliminate the mental mistakes. The mental mistakes lead to the penalunder pressure.

“We play a part of that too,” ties. We just gotta correct ourselves Lumpkin said of the giveaways. and like I said, we should be better “We have to block it and if we don’t this weekend.” block it and there’s pressure, that’s For updates on the Rutgers football on us. We have to do a better job and I feel like we’ve done a better team, follow @KevinPXavier and @ TargumSports on Twitter. job this week.”

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Despite an 0-2 record as the starting quarterback, sophomore Chris Laviano was given multiple votes of confidence by his teammates and interim head coach Norries Wilson entering his third-career start.

LUO ZHENGCHEN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER / SEPTEMBER 2015

Knights remain confident in QB GARRETT STEPIEN SPORTS EDITOR

At the end of his second career start, Chris Laviano’s record under center chalked up another loss and dropped him to 0-2 on the year.

With the sophomore starting at quarterback, the Rutgers football team has yet to climb back into the win column since opening up the season Sept. 5 with a 63-13 cakewalk against FCS foe Norfolk State.

He followed up his perfect third quarter of action in the season opener, where he dazzled in his brief time on the field after his first half suspension, going 4-for-4 with 138 yards and three touchdowns, with deceptive numbers that might not tell the whole story behind his performance in a 37-34 home loss to Washington State on Sept. 12.

The excuses are there and they’re more than reasonable. Laviano suffered without a single trace of a running game to balance the offense as the Scarlet Knights scrounged together just 43 yards on 32 carries.

The signal-caller was also without his right hand man in senior wide receiver Leonte Carroo, who remains suspended indefinitely following his arrest for simple assault under domestic violence.

And across the line of scrimmage, his teammates on the defensive side of the ball were steamrolled for 330 rush yards on 41 carries.

But after completing 27-of-42 passes for 251 yards and tossing two interceptions in Rutgers’ sloppy 28-3 blunder at Penn State, Laviano assessed the performance in simple terms.

“Just gotta start off faster than we did,” Laviano said after the game. “And we gotta score points.”

While Kyle Flood serves his three-game suspension, his duties stop when game day rolls around.

During the week of game prep, Flood operates practice the way he normally would as the team’s head coach.

That being said, it ultimately still isn’t up to interim head coach Norries Wilson to name the starter under center.

As for the Knights’ homecoming matchup with Kansas, Flood stuck with Laviano. When Rutgers released its depth chart on Monday to kickoff the week of game prep for the Jayhawks (0-2), the latest lineup of projected starters printed Laviano’s name in bold with sophomore Hayden Rettig below in the twodeep list of positions.

Wilson, who fields the questions in Flood’s place during media availability throughout the week, left the window open for Rettig to slide in when the assistant coach mulled the idea of a potential quarterback switch in a teleconference with reporters Sunday afternoon.

But when asked to provide an idea for when he planned on choosing a quarterback for the week, Wilson shot it back down. He cited Flood’s depth chart on Monday, but spoke further on the matter to reporters on Wednesday.

“I think ever yone knows you’ve got to put the best players on the field,” Wilson said. “I know we’d be doing a disser vice if we didn’t put out there who we thought the best players were. Coach Flood put out a depth chart that reflects his opinion on each position — not just the quarterback position, each position.”

While the verdict is still out on whether or not Rettig’s strong arm and collegiate debut 9-of-11, 110yard and one-touchdown effort through the air back in the opener merits a second look, Laviano remains the starter for the third straight week.

The Glen Head, New York, native quietly leads all Big Ten starting quarterbacks in completion percentage at 72 percent after connecting on 54-of-75 attempts to open up the fall.

The numbers might not tell the whole stor y from either angle —

his past two outings have been centered heavily around quick strikes in offensive coordinator Ben McDaniels’s up-tempo wrinkle — but Rutgers remains behind its starter.

“We gotta help the quarterback out as a team. We gotta block for him up front,” said senior running back Paul James. “We also gotta start opening up the running lanes so that we can open that pass lanes, give him that opportunity to throw the ball because if they can just stop the run, then they’re easily going to be able to stop the pass.”

As James tries to spearhead the revival of the ground game against a Kansas defense that has allowed an average of 225.5 rush yards through its first two games this year, Laviano might look to further spark the ember to the fire he and Carlton Agudosi ignited last week.

Playing for Carroo at the “X” receiver, the junior wide out emerged in the senior captain’s absence with a career-high six receptions for 80 yards to lead the Knights’ receiving corps.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder provided a bright spot in a game where Rutgers looked lost, as the off-field darkness spilled its way onto the field, but Agudosi commended Laviano for remaining mentally tough.

As the Nittany Lions’ pass rush threw Laviano around on the field grass like a rag doll on their way to five sacks, how the sophomore signal-caller got back up resonated with Agudosi.

“I think (Laviano) showed a lot of heart,” Agudosi said. “He was getting pounded all night and I think people take for granted how hard it is to get whacked by 300-pound guys and still stick in there and keep his head up. He wasn’t pouting and put his head down, he was trying to motivate us and keep us going.”

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

KEVIN XAVIER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

The pieces of the puzzle are finally beginning to fit together for Carlton Agudosi.

The talent possessed by the Rutgers football team’s junior wide receiver was never in question.

But his ability to perform consistently on Saturdays remains unanswered.

Before the Scarlet Knights suited up for their spring game back in April, Agudosi vowed he would be a more polished player this season, saying the mental aspect of the game was no longer distracting him from performing on the field.

“I think I’ve improved a lot,” Agudosi said in April.

“It wasn’t necessarily just catching (the ball), it was just — my mind would be in a thousand places. ‘What’s the play? Do I know what I’m doing? Do I know the SEE HEART ON PAGE 4

EDWIN GANO / PHOTO EDITOR