Game Day 2010-09-24

G AMET I ME F L AMET I ME

After getting burned by UNC at Rutgers Stadium two years ago, Rutgers faces heat in its first challenge of the season against Tar Heels PHOTOS BY ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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G A M E DAY

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

KnightsGameday RUTGERS VS NORTH CAROLINA

GAME 3: Rutgers Stadium, 3:30 p.m. TV: ESPNU RADIO: 1450 AM

Winless UNC poses tough test for RU

BY STEVEN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

The Rutgers football team is fortunate it does not believe in statement games, because the meager cries from its first two victories were hardly definitive.

But that is exactly what makes tomorrow’s meeting with North Carolina so impor tant to the shape of the Scarlet Knights’ early season.

The Tar Heels are Rutgers’ first test.

The test comes tonight on national television with kickof f at 3:30 p.m. aired on ESPNU. The season opened with a pair of wins over a Football Championship Subdivision school and a Sun Belt opponent.

UNC travels to Piscataway representing the BCS and the Atlantic Coast Conference, and it has the players to back it up.

“Good quarterback — experienced quar terback. Great running backs. Great wide receivers.

An o-line that can move, block, pull. They’ve got players over there,” was the scouting report senior linebacker Antonio Lower y provided.

But the Tar Heels will likely be without many of their best players.

Due to an NCAA investigation into improper benefits for players and academic frauds, 12 Tar Heels were suspended last week against Georgia Tech.

That number appears as if it will remain the same this week.

Although UNC head coach Butch Davis admitted if there were any last-minute changes, it would be difficult to incorporate any of the players into the game plan so quickly.

Rutgers insists it does not matter.

“I just feel like they have a really good offense and defense,” Lower y said. “If you look around their team, there’s NFL guys all across the board. I really can’t remember how their personnel was in 2008, but I know it now, and it’s ver y good.”

If Lower y does not remember the quality of the personnel in 2008, one look at the box score could fill in the blanks.

SPREAD: UNC by 2

[

INSIDE the NUMBERS

SCARLET KNIGHTS (2-0)

NORTH CAROLINA (0-2)

PASSING CMP YDS TD INT. AVG. 1 110.0 T. Savage 50.0% 220 1

CMP YDS TD INT. AVG. PASSING 65.7% 621 4 0 310.5 T. Yates

RUSHING NO. YDS TD LNG AVG. J. Martinek 34 145 1 35 4.0 71 0 17 21 J. Thomas 3.4

RUSHING J. White A. Elzy

NO. YDS TD LNG AVG. 5.7 25 142 1 24 3.3 14 46 0 11

RECEIVING NO. YDS TD LNG AVG. 90 1 29 12.9 7 M. Sanu 45 0 20 15.0 3 M. Harrison 49 1 25 24.5 2 D. Jefferson 28 0 21 14.0 2 K. Stroud

RECEIVING Z. Pianalto E. Highsmith J. Boyd J. Adams

NO. 15 7 6 5

TKL SCK 15 0.5 1 14 0 11

DEFENSE

A. Lowery S. Beauharnais J. Lefeged

INT 0 0 1

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Tar Heels trounced Rutgers, 44-12, on a nationally televised Thursday night game as Rutgers defensive backs were left chasing UNC wideouts and Rutgers wideouts were left chasing UNC defensive backs.

While former Rutgers quarterbacks Mike Teel and Jabu Lovelace threw four interceptions in the game, UNC signal caller T.J. Yates was on point.

Yates threw for 221 yards and three touchdowns as only a sophomore.

Now, two years later and two games into his senior season, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder appears even more threatening, as he threw for 621 yards and four scores thus far.

“He was pretty darn good the night we played him, but he has improved against other people,” said Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano. “I don’t know if you can be that much better than he was

against us. He’s a proven veteran quarterback who has made a lot of big plays.”

There were plenty of big plays through UNC’s first two games, including a 97-yard touchdown pass to Jheranie Boyd, but there were no results, and the Tar Heels are as desperate to avoid an 0-3 start as Rutgers is to prove 2-0 is not hollow.

But as sophomore quarterback Tom Savage struggled to find a rhythm through the first two games and junior tailback Joe Martinek is questionable for the weekend, Schiano made it clear Rutgers is not looking for a shootout to keep up with Yates.

“We’re so young on offense that if we start tr ying to tinker because someone else does something — we’re just barely keeping above water at this point,” Schiano said. “We just have to keep doing better at what we do, we can’t get off that mark.”

SCHEDULE Sept. 2 Sept. 11 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 8 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Nov. 3 Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 26 Dec. 4

Norfolk State FIU N. Carolina Tulane Connecticut Army Pittsburgh South Florida Syracuse Cincinnati Louisville West Virginia

YDS 136 107 221 50

DEFENSE

Q. Sturdivant T. Powell T. Boston

LNG 24 52 97 20

AVG. 9.1 15.3 36.8 10.0

TKL SCK 15 0 11 1 10 0

INT 0 0 1

TD 0 2 1 0

INJURIES Out — RB G. Bernard

INJURIES Questionable — J. Martinek Out — E. Laryea, C. Turner

Senior linebacker Antonio Lowery (50) played special teams against UNC in 2008, but this season leads the Knights with 15 tackles.

]

W, 31-0 W, 19-14 3:30 p.m.

2 p.m.

7:30 TBA TBA 7 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA TBA

SCHEDULE Sept. 4 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6 Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 27

L, 30-24 L, 30-24 3:30 p.m.

Rutgers East Carolina 3:30 p.m.

TBA Clemson TBA Virginia TBA Miami William & Mary TBA TBA Florida State TBA Virginia Tech TBA NC State TBA Duke LSU

Georgia Tech

Key Matchup Rutgers secondary vs. UNC QB T.J. Yates T.J. Yates torched the Scarlet Knights secondary to the tune of three touchdowns and 221 yards in 2008, but he had Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks at his disposal then.

Yates still has options, though, and the RU secondary must be up to the task.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE

MOHAMED SANU Wide Receiver

DESMOND STAPLETON Tackle

DESMOND WYNN Guard

HOWARD BARBIERI Center

ANTWAN LOWERY Guard

ART FORST Tackle

D.C. JEFFERSON Tight End

MARK HARRISON Wide Receiver

TOM SAVAGE Quarterback

PAUL CARREZOLA Fullback

JORDAN THOMAS Running Back

Sophomore 6’-2”, 218 lbs.

Junior 6’-5”, 285 lbs.

Junior 6’-6”, 290 lbs.

Senior 6’-5”, 304 lbs.

R-Freshman 6’-4”, 302 lbs.

Junior 6’-8”, 311 lbs.

Sophomore 6’-6”, 258 lbs

Sophomore 6’-3”, 230 lbs

Sophomore 6’-5”, 226 lbs

R-Freshman 6’-2”, 235 lbs

Freshman 6’-1”, 205 lbs

DAVID ROWE Cornerback

JOE LEFEGED Strong Safety

KHASEEM GREENE Free Safety

BRANDON BING Cornerback

Junior 6’-0”, 196 lbs

Senior 6’-1”, 205 lbs

Sophomore 6’-1”, 215 lbs

Senior 5’-11”, 180 lbs

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE

JONATHAN FREENY Right end

CHARLIE NOONAN Tackle

SCOTT VALLONE Tackle

ALEX SILVESTRO Left end

MANNY ABREU Linebacker

STEVE BEAUHARNAIS

Linebacker

ANTONIO LOWERY Linebacker

Senior 6’-3”, 250 lbs

Senior 6’-2”, 274 lbs

Sophomore 6’-3”, 270 lbs

Senior 6’-4”, 260 lbs

Junior 6’-3”, 245 lbs

Sophomore 6’-2”, 230 lbs

Senior 6’-2”, 225 lbs

G AMEDAY

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

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GETTY IMAGES

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano, left, spent two years working under North Carolina head coach Butch Davis in the late 1990s, when Davis served as head coach at Miami and Schiano was the Hurricanes’ defensive coordinator before taking over the program at Rutgers.

FRIENDLY

FIRE

Close friends Schiano, Davis set to face off for second time as head coaches after spending two years together coaching Miami

BY STEVEN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR

Rutgers Stadium plays host to a pair of teams from North Carolina and New Jersey on Saturday, but 23 players on the two rosters hail from Florida.

For an explanation, look no further than the head coaches on opposite sidelines.

Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano and North Carolina head coach Butch Davis spent two years together at Miami, where Davis was the head coach and Schiano served as defensive coordinator.

After Davis moved on to the NFL and then the Tar Heels and Schiano joined Rutgers, the friends remained close with each other and with the recruiting hotbed.

“With the success that we were having in Miami at that time, we were winning, winning big, and playing great defense,” Davis said. “Kids who are growing up

playing football would go to the Orange Bowl, watch the games and know pretty much everybody.

It’s not like being in the NFL, but it’s pretty close for kids in South Florida.”

Schiano’s ties to the Miami area were a big part of his appeal as a candidate when, 10 years ago, he took over the Rutgers program. But before he had that opportunity, he learned under Davis for two years in Coral Gables, Fla. When Schiano and Davis left Miami at the end of the 1999 season, it was at the tail end of major NCAA punishments, which barred the Hurricanes from postseason play in Davis’ first season and took away scholarships over the next few years.

Davis received credit for cleaning the program up, but now UNC finds itself the victim of NCAA probing and suspended 12 players through its first two games.

“Butch and I have a lot of the same philosophies — part of the reason is I learned under him,” Schiano said. “They’re well coached. They’re disciplined. There is no one that handles adversity better than Butch. He’s able to rally the troops and keep it concise.”

And while Schiano watches from a distance this season and prepares to face a Tar Heels team that will likely miss many of its starters once again, Davis credited him with helping turn around the culture at Miami.

“Watching the way he bought into things that I thought were important, and watching the way he carried that mission into the defense and the positions he coached or the kids he recruited, I think it was a great testament to the type of individual he was going to become as a head coach,” Davis said.

But before Schiano became a head coach, he had to learn how to do it.

That happened under Davis.

After spending time as a defensive backfield coach with the Chicago Bears under Dave Wannstedt, the nowPittsburgh head coach convinced Davis to inter view Schiano for his defensive coordinator position.

Davis hired him and groomed him to be a head coach.

“It was ver y apparent with Greg that that was the career path he was headed toward, and it was something that was important to him,” Davis said. “I felt like it was a little bit of my responsibility as the head football coach to help meet the goals and obligations of all your assistant coaches.”

Davis played an integral role in Schiano’s development, teaching him the responsibilities of a head coach away from the football field, such as the relationships with administrators and alumni and budget management.

When Davis took over as head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 2000, it appeared the two would never face off head-to-head.

After UNC’s dominant win in 2008, Saturday marks their second meeting, but Schiano insists it is not about them.

“Butch and I are good friends,” Schiano said. “Butch has done a lot for me, both professionally and personally, but when it’s game week, it’s North Carolina against Rutgers.”

And while the pupil chooses to downplay the matchup, the mentor would rather avoid it altogether.

“To be honest, you prefer not to have to play against your friends,” Davis said. “It’s one of those situations that you try to have your team be as well-prepared as you possibly can. You play the game, and then when the game is over with, you go back to being friends for the rest of your life.”

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GAM

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

T RIPLE ALL-TIME WILD KNIGHT NUMBERS CARRIES: 57 RUSHING YARDS: 400 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS: 6 LONGEST RUSH: 34 YARDS PASSING: 2-FOR-7 PASSING YARDS: 62 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS: 2 LONGEST PASS: 38 YARDS TO TIM BROWN PLAYS CALLED: 81 OF 548, 15%** TOTAL YARDS: 462 OF 2,686, 17%** ** SINCE

UNVEILING OF

WILD KNIGHT AGAINST PITTSBURGH, ARMY, WHEN SANU’S HAND

WITH EXCLUSION OF GAME AGAINST

THE SANU FILE CATCHES: 58 RECEIVING YARDS: 729 RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS: 4 LONGEST CATCH: 34 YARDS YARDS PER CATCH: 12.57 YARDS PER GAME: 48.6 MVP OF ST. PETERSBURG BOWL PAUL HORNUNG WATCH LIST

WAS WRAPPED

WILDCAT HISTORY BEFORE RONNIE BROWN AND THE MIAMI DOLPHINS MADE THE WILDCAT PACKAGE A HOUSEHOLD NAME, FELIX JONES AND DARREN MCFADDEN RE-INTRODUCED THE FORMATION AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL

ARKANSAS. NOW IT SEEMS AS IF EVERY TEAM HAS A WILDCAT WRINKLE,

WITH

WITH THE MOST RECENT EXAMPLE BEING

MICHAEL VICK’S ROLE WITH THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES BEFORE HE BECAME THE STARTER INSTEAD OF

KEVIN KOLB.

BY SAM HELLMAN

our very best, especially if Joe isn’t there.

We have to pick up for him.”

UNC head coach Butch Davis CORRESPONDENT expects the Wild Knight from Greg When Mohamed Sanu Schiano, but the Rutgers head coach looks at his wrist, he does not want it to take as big of a role flashes back to his high in the running game as it could, trusting school days. in true freshman Jordan Thomas to lead For South Brunswick High the way at halfback.

School, Sanu was a do-it-all quar“I think as you’ve seen, it’s important terback, calling plays in 2007 en to us,” Schiano said of the Wild Knight. route to 900 passing “It’s not a mainstay, but yards and 700 rushit’s something that we do ing yards.

I think what it “Doing what I have interject.

On his wrist, does is it changes up the to do comes Sanu wears a miniatempo a little bit. How ture quarterback it comes out, you naturally. But that much pad, allowing him to never know. call the shots out of “Some games you go doesn’t mean you the Wild Knight in with the plan to run it don’t have to study five, six times and you formation — a formation that’s end up running it 15 each day.” importance doutimes. Other games you bles this weekend think it’s going to be a big MOHAMED SANU if injured tailback part of the plan and they Sophomore Wide Receiver Joe Martinek stop it. Ebbs and flows as remains out an offensive play call, against North Carolina. you’re going to have to have a feel for Sanu’s role in the running the game.” game was important enough The Wild Knight, the Rutgers version before Martinek’s injury, repreof the Wildcat, did not appear in the senting 19 percent of the runoffense until last year when Sanu arrived ning game in terms of on the Banks as the perfect component. yardage. But take Martinek The Wild Knight burst onto the scene out of the equation, and midway through last year, when Sanu Sanu jumps to 30 percent opened the scoring with an 11-yard of the yards touchdown against Pittsburgh and took and 25 percent of the off from there as a key factor in the offenrushing attempts. sive gameplan.

“We’re just trying to Sanu dominated in the Scarlet Knights’ perfect every part of the win over Louisville later that year with 148 offense this week,” Sanu yards and two touchdowns out of the said. “We all have to do package and earned MVP honors in the

E DAY

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

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THREAT

THE DAILY TARGUM

Mohamed Sanu’s longest Wild Knight run was a 34-yard touchdown scamper last year against Louisville, which he torched for 148 yards and two scores.

St. Petersburg Bowl after two more rushGreene led the Jacksonville Jaguars in ing touchdowns. tackles last week with eight to go along “I’m much more confident than I was with a forced fumble, fumble recovery say a year ago,” Sanu said. “It’s starting and interception. to come back to me from my high school Then Schiano moved him to wide days. I was a running quarterback in receiver, where he drew comparisons to high school so it was all like that. I’m Rutgers standout Kenny Britt. Britt led really comfortable doing it right now.” the Tennessee Titans in catches last Statistically, the numbers are definiweek with five. tive in themselves since the rise of the The Wild Knight allows Sanu to throw Wild Knight on Oct. 16 against — like he did in high school — run with Pittsburgh. the ball, call plays and On 57 carries, Sanu avereven punt, like he did ages 7.02 yards per carry Florida “He’s an excellent against with 400 overall.

International when he athlete. ... He has Sanu is also a weapon — trapped the Golden however inconsistent — in Panthers inside their thrown a the passing game. He has own 10-yard line. just two completions in “Doing what I have to touchdown pass. seven attempts. do comes naturally,” He has the ability Sanu said. “But that One went 38 yards for a touchdown to wideout Tim doesn’t mean you don’t to run it.”

Brown last season. The have to study each day. other went 24 yards to tight You prepare through the BUTCH DAVIS end D.C. Jefferson two game, not to the game.”

UNC Head Coach weeks ago for a touchdown.

Last time the “It’s an important part of Knights hosted North our game plan,” said junior left tackle Carolina, the closest thing to the Wild Desmond Stapleton. “It’s something that Knight was the “Jabu Package” — using we can rely on to move the chains.” backup quarterback Jabu Lovelace out For Sanu, the Wild Knight formation of the shotgun formation to push the might be what he was born to do. ball forward.

On the Paul Hornung watch list for He had five runs for 18 yards. the nation’s most versatile player, Sanu “It puts a tremendous amount of presdid it all in high school and proved that sure on the defense because of the versahe can do it all at the college level tility of the guy that they’re snapping the through his first two years in Piscataway. ball to,” said Davis of Sanu. “He’s an He proved he could hit and cover excellent athlete. He’s got the ability. He when he excelled at safety during 13 has thrown a touchdown pass. He has the practices in the spring before his ability to run it in.” freshman season, drawing comparison — Steven Miller from Schiano to Rutgers standout contributed to this report Courtney Greene.

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Mohamed Sanu has eight touchdowns out of the Wild Knight and four as a wide receiver.

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SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

G AMEDAY

T H E DA I LY TA R G U M

Loss in ’08 proves crucial to Silvestro’s development

BY SAM HELLMAN CORRESPONDENT

Starting against a team of North Carolina’s quality under the lights on a Thursday night can be intimidating.

It gets even more intimidating when it’s the second career start for a 19-year-old sophomore.

Then, when you find out that you have to go block-for-block with offensive linemen that outweigh you by 70 pounds, intimidating might be too light of a word.

Alex Silvestro went through it all against the Tar Heels two seasons ago in the Rutgers football team’s 44-12 loss, but he answered the challenge, making three tackles and playing the entire game.

Head coach Greg Schiano said the Paulsboro High School product is only stronger because of it.

“He was a sophomore and 232 pounds playing the 3-technique and that’s scary,” Schiano said of Silvestro’s game two seasons ago. “I think that served him really well. Now that he’s back out at the 5-technique, it’s not quite as rough out there. He gained a toughness from being down there. And we did it because we were in a pinch.”

All-American Eric Foster graduated and signed with the Indianapolis Colts, leaving an empty spot alongside Pete Tverdov at defensive tackle.

Silvestro, who played as a reser ve defensive end as a true freshman, was more than willing to step up into the starting role.

ANDREW HOWARD / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior defensive end Alex Silvestro has six tackles on the season, including four for a loss and a sack for a two-yard loss that came in the season opener against Norfolk State.

Silvestro was one of the smallest defensive tackles in the Big East, but held his job the entire season. He finished with eight tackles for loss and two sacks in 13 games, and ranked ninth on the team with 43 total tackles.

From there, Silvestro moved back out to defensive end, with the emergences of Charlie Noonan, Scott Vallone and Eric LeGrand as defensive tackles, and built his way up to 260 pounds.

“I feel like I’m a completely different player from then to now,” Silvestro said. “I think that I’m a lot better. I’ve had a lot more coaching. There’s a lot of players playing on [our] defense now that are still playing now and we’re a lot better.”

The embarrassing loss to North Carolina taught Silvestro another valuable lesson — a lesson Schiano teaches all of his players, but one that doesn’t always sink in.

Never expect to win a game.

“You can never take a team lightly,” Silvestro said. “I’ve learned that since I got here. I guess it goes back to two years ago. Obviously people might have thought they’re not as good, they’re not as talented.

“They came out and played and we really didn’t and we ended up taking the loss. You can’t take any team lightly. I didn’t believe in that when I first

got here, but now I know it’s definitely true.”

Silvestro’s junior season proved to be even more of a learning experience, returning to his natural position as a pass rusher and run-stopper on the end, and not inside.

Silvestro specialized in tackles for loss as a junior, making at least one in 10 of 13 games. He also tied for the nation’s lead with four fumble recoveries and made one of the more spectacular interceptions that season for a defensive lineman, snagging a ball out of the air one-handed against Cincinnati.

“Me and Alex have played together here for four years,” said Noonan, a fifth-year senior and team captain. “You can always count on Alex. He’s a really reliable player in a sense that you know he’s going to do what he needs to do. You can always look to Alex when times get hard. You know he’s going to muster it up and help us make things happen.

It’s a pleasure playing with him.”

Through two games of his senior season, Silvestro built on his junior season as an end with the ability to make stops in the backfield. He has four tackles for losses and a sack through two games and a weekly Big East Honor Roll under his belt.

“What I’ve said all along, you need your seniors to play their best football and I think, in a lot of places, they are. But they need to be playing even better football each week as we go down the season,” Schiano said. “Alex, so far, is doing that.”

L I FT O FF