ANDREW HOWARD
G2
G A M E DAY
NOVEMBER 4, 2011
T H E DA I LY TA R G U M
KnightsGameday RUTGERS VS SOUTH FLORIDA
GAME 9: High Point Solutions Stadium, 7 p.m. TV: ESPN3.com RADIO: 1450 AM
QB Daniels returns as run-pass threat BY TYLER BARTO ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
The Rutgers football team’s defense did not take the High Point Solutions Stadium field last week in the Scarlet Knights’ second consecutive loss. When South Florida arrives in Piscataway tomorrow, junior middle linebacker Steve Beauharnais hopes that changes. “The way we played is not Rutgers defense,” Beauharnais said. “We have to go back to playing Rutgers defense. As far as me personally, I’m ver y frustrated. We have to be very disciplined.” Mobile Bulls quarterback B.J. Daniels figures to test the Knights’ discipline. The junior ranks second in the Big East with 1,867 passing yards and is No. 3 in the conference in pass efficiency. But Daniels, arguably the league’s best dualthreat signal caller not named Zach Collaros, can also hurt defenses with the run. The 6-foot, 217-pounder ranks seventh in the Big East with 367 rushing yards to go along with four scores on the ground. “He’s like a running back playing quarterback,” said junior linebacker Khaseem Greene. Less than half of Daniels’ passes on first or second downs take place inside the pocket, said head coach Greg Schiano. The Knights (5-3,2-2) are the best in the conference on third down, allowing opponents to convert first downs only 31.1 percent of the time. But Daniels’ ability to escape the pocket throws out the statistics. “He is an incredible athlete,” Schiano said. “I keep telling the kids every year, you look how he carries that ball around. Usually you should be able to get that ball out. He must have the strongest set of hands.” Rutgers thoroughly dismantled South Florida (4-3, 0-3) two years ago on national television, but Daniels was an inexperienced redshirt freshman and new Bulls head coach Skip Holtz roamed the sideline at East Carolina. The Bulls offense remains centered on Daniels’ run-pass capability, even more so during his third year as its starter.
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INSIDE the NUMBERS
SCARLET KNIGHTS (5-3)
SOUTH FLORIDA (4-3)
PASSING CMP YDS TD INT. AVG. 7 160.7 G. Nova 51.1% 1,125 9
CMP YDS TD INT. AVG. PASSING B. Daniels 62.1% 1,848 11 4 264.0
RUSHING NO. YDS TD LNG AVG. J. Jamison 143 472 3 30 3.3 54 143 5 26 S. Huggins 2.6
RUSHING D. Scott B. Daniels
NO. YDS TD LNG AVG. 5.7 89 511 5 56 4.9 77 376 4 71
RECEIVING NO. YDS TD LNG AVG. 70 731 7 32 10.4 M. Sanu J. Martinek 19 204 1 60 10.7 18 210 1 37 11.7 Q. Pratt M. Harrison 14 274 2 21 19.6
RECEIVING S. Griffin V. Marc E. Landi D. Welch
NO. 40 18 15 11
TKL SCK 2 75 41 3.5 0 29
DEFENSE
K. Greene S. Beauharnais L. Ryan
INT 0 2 2
SCHEDULE Sept. 1 Sept. 10 Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 21 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12 Nov. 19 Nov. 26 RAMON DOMPOR / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
“That of fense is similar,” Beauharnais said. “You can see that they stepped up their game really well as far as the offense’s scheme.” Schiano can call defensive schemes USF cannot block, he said, but Daniels’ ability to escape throws them out the window. Daniels takes off on designed runs — options, quarterback draws and zone-read plays. But he does his most damage on broken plays when he improvises. “He’s been very hard to get down on the ground,” Schiano said. “He’s got eyes. He’s got like 360 vision. He feels it, and when he does, he can spin out of it. He can run forward.” Daniels is so versatile he joined USF’s basketball program for the 200809 season, while redshirting in football.
But through two-plus seasons he developed significantly on the gridiron. He already has as many passing touchdowns (11) through seven games as he recorded during the entire 2010 season. Daniels also averages nearly 130 more passing yards per game as a junior. But Schiano still hopes he remembers that night during his redshir t freshman season in Piscataway. “At that point he was much less developed as a quarterback, and … it was one of those nights where ever ything we did was hitting,” Schiano said. “But in the same breath, he knows he’s going to get hit by Rutgers’ defense, so that may be in the back of the mind. Who knows?”
NC Central N. Carolina Ohio Syracuse Pittsburgh Navy Louisville West Virginia South Florida Army Cincinnati Connecticut
YDS 493 205 138 213
DEFENSE
D. Lattimore M. Lanaris S. Barrington
LNG 42 24 26 37
AVG. 12.3 11.4 9.2 19.4
TKL SCK 50 2 49 1 41 1.5
INT 1 1 1
TD 2 1 1 0
INJURIES Questionable — WR S. Bravo-Brown, TE I. Virgin, FB C. Brelt, DB E. Tabuteau, OL T. Kibler, DT D. Thompson
INJURIES Doubtful — OL B. Bujari Out — DB R. Knight
Junior linebacker Steve Beauharnais made his first career start two years ago against South Florida and recorded four tackles and 1.5 sacks.
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W, 48-0 L, 24-22 W, 38-26 W, 19-16 W, 34-10 W, 21-20 L, 16-14 L, 41-31 7 p.m. 3:30 p.m. TBA TBA
SCHEDULE Notre Dame Sept. 3 Sept. 10 Ball State Sept. 17 Florida A&M Sept. 24 Texas-El Paso Sept. 29 Pittsburgh Connecticut Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Cincinnati Rutgers Nov. 5 Nov. 11 Syracuse Nov. 19 Miami (FL) Nov. 25 Louisville West Virginia Dec. 1
W, 23-20 W, 37-7 W, 70-17 W, 52-24 L, 44-17 L, 16-10 L, 37-34 7 p.m. 8 p.m. TBA TBA 8 p.m.
Key Matchup Rutgers linebackers vs. South Florida QB B.J. Daniels Head coach Greg Schiano figures to use a quarterback spy in some capacity against the dynamic Daniels, who ranks seventh in the Big East in rushing yards.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE
MOHAMED SANU Wide Receiver
ANDRE CIVIL Tackle
DESMOND WYNN Guard
CALEB RUCH Center
ART FORST Guard
KALEB JOHNSON Tackle
D.C. JEFFERSON Tight end
MARK HARRISON Wide Receiver
GARY NOVA Quarterback
JOE MARTINEK Fullback
JAWAN JAMISON Running Back
Junior 6’-2”, 215 lbs.
Sophomore 6’-3”, 275 lbs.
Senior 6’-6”, 295 lbs.
Senior 6’-4”, 298 lbs.
Senior 6’-8”, 310 lbs.
Freshman 6’-4”, 298 lbs.
Junior 6’-6”, 258 lbs
Junior 6’-3”, 230 lbs
Freshman 6’-2”, 210 lbs
Senior 6’-0”, 220 lbs
R-Freshman 5’-8”, 198 lbs
BRANDON JONES Cornerback
DURON HARMON Strong Safety
DAVID ROWE Free Safety
LOGAN RYAN Cornerback
Junior 6’-1”, 186 lbs
Junior 6’-1”, 201 lbs
Senior 6’-0”, 195 lbs
Sophomore 6’-0”, 190 lbs
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE
JAMIL MERRELL Right end
JUSTIN FRANCIS Tackle
SCOTT VALLONE Tackle
MANNY ABREU Left end
JAMAL MERRELL Linebacker
STEVE BEAUHARNAIS
Linebacker
KHASEEM GREENE Linebacker
Sophomore 6’-4”, 255 lbs
Senior 6’-4”, 275 lbs
Junior 6’-3”, 275 lbs
Senior 6’-3”, 260 lbs
Sophomore 6’-4”, 220 lbs
Junior 6’-2”, 235 lbs
Junior 6’-1”, 220 lbs
G AMEDAY
T H E DA I LY TA R G U M
NOVEMBER 4, 2011
G3
KNIGHT NUGGETS Jamison, o-line building chemistry BY STEVEN MILLER
BY THE NUMBERS
SPORTS EDITOR
Daniels and running back USF quarterback B.J. Daniels Darrell Scott own a combined already has 11 passing scores 887 rushing yards, the best through seven games, the combination this season for same total he put up during the entire 2010 season. Daniels threw for 14 in 2009 two rushers in the Big East. Scott sat out the 2010 season after transferring from Colorado. for the Bulls as a redshirt freshman.
887
11
Quarterback Gary Nova ranks fifth in the nation among true freshmen with 1,125 passing yards. He is No. 1 in terms of passing yards for signal callers from automatic-qualifying conferences.
5
The Rutgers defense only recorded two takeaways the last two weeks, but remains tied for second nationally this season with 26 turnovers. It forced at least one turnover in each of its eight games this year.
2
BIG QUESTION
Can the Knights prevent South Florida’s d-line from penetrating the backfield?
USF DL RYNE GIDDINS
South Florida’s imposing defensive line is a major reason the Bulls rank first nationally in tackles for loss. The Knights’ rebuilt offensive line must replicate its recent steadiness.
THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO ... OFFENSE
B.J Daniels and the speedy USF attack present matchup problems on the ground and in the air.
DEFENSE
Despite its 41-point showing last weekend, the unit remains one of the conference’s most stout.
COACHING
Head coach Greg Schiano’s team already has two league wins after a last-place preseason selection.
HISTORY
Rutgers owns a 4-2 record against South Florida since it joined the Big East.
MOMENTUM
South Florida used a bye week to prepare after a close loss to Cincinnati, No. 1 in the league.
X-FACTOR
A 7 p.m. kickoff in Piscataway in November will present USF with weather it is unaccustomed to.
RUTGERS WINS IF ...
USF WINS IF ...
IT RE-LEARNS HOW
IT MAINTAINS ITS
TO PRODUCE FOR
STEADY PRESENCE
FOUR QUARTERS IN
ON THE GROUND
LEAGUE PLAY.
WITH DANIELS.
Rutgers lost its previous two games by a combined 12 points, and it needs improved efforts from both offense and defense.
USF quarterback B.J. Daniels and running back Darrell Scott both rank in the top seven in Big East rush yards.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I’ve been in weather like that before, but I was on vacation. I wasn’t playing a football game. If I had to go my whole life without doing it again, I’d be all right.”
JUSTIN DOERNER JUNIOR PUNTER
FINAL VERDICT
RUTGERS, 27-17 The Knights defense returns to its old form, containing Daniels, while its offense holds the ball.
Trusting comes easier to Jawan Jamison these days. After Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano spent the early part of the season imploring his running backs to stay true to their plays and believe the designed holes set up by blocks will be there, they finally are. It helps that Jamison and senior left guard Desmond Wynn watch film together. It also helps that more often than in the early season, holes are there. “When you believe it’s going to be there and it isn’t, then what do you do?” Schiano asked. “The next time: ‘Coach, you tell me to trust it, but it wasn’t there last time, so why should I trust it?’ You have to. I think they’re starting to understand that. Plays help you gain confidence.” And Jamison is confident. The redshirt freshman rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time three weeks ago against Navy. He fell 4 yards shy against West Virginia, but found the end zone twice. One of Jamison’s scores came on a fourth-and-1 from 18 yards, when he expected to fight for a first down. “But they cleared it,” Jamison said. “They cleared it out on the right side.” The 5-foot-8 running back went untouched into the end zone. “You know his success is directly correlated to how we’re blocking,” said senior center Caleb Ruch. “Jamison makes people miss sometimes and that’s awesome, so all we need to do is get him started and give him a 3yard head start.” The issue this week might not be providing that head start, but simply letting Jamison get out of
KEITH FREEMAN / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Redshirt freshman running back Jawan Jamison scored three times in the past two games against Louisville and West Virginia. the backfield against South Florida’s defensive front. The Bulls lead the nation in tackles for loss per game with 61 through seven contests and an average of 8.71. Rutgers ranks 86th nationally with 51 tackles for loss allowed. “No. 1 in the nation,” Ruch said with a mix of awe and respect. “They move a lot along the front, they blitz a little bit, but they’re just big, strong, experienced dudes.” It could create a challenge in pass protection, as well, as the Bulls rank seventh in the nation with 23 sacks through seven games. Rutgers allowed 15 through eight. Rutgers offensive linemen spent the early part of the season downplaying the effect last year’s 61-sack showing had on their psyche. Now, they talk freely about proving they are not that same offensive line anymore. And they’re not. Maybe it is because freshman quarterback Gary Nova moves around the pocket like a savvy
veteran to avoid pressure. Or maybe it is because the scheme gets the ball out quicker. But as Ruch says, “especially compared to last year,” it’s better. “Of course it’s a whole lot better,” Wynn said. “Still, I don’t know how many sacks we gave up last game. Two? We’re not happy with that. We always want to come out of a game with zero sacks, and even quarterback pressures, we’re not happy with that.” Wynn is unhappy with two sacks, but last year the weekly total was routinely six, seven or eight. They addressed that problem and now they want to do the opposite in the run game: Turn the 2-, 3- and 4-yard runs into 6-, 8- and eventually 60-yarders. “You can tell it’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming,” said Jamison, as bright-eyed as they come when things are going well. “You just have to be patient. Patience is the key to it all, just letting them set up their blocks and then hitting the hole.”
T H E D A I LY TA R G U M
NOVEMBER 4, 2011
GAMEDAY
PA G E G 4
NOAH WHITTENBURG AND KEITH FREEMAN / ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR AND PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Junior Mohamed Sanu (6) continues to stand out nationally with 70 receptions and seven touchdowns for the Knights. Junior Tim Wright (5) and sophomore Quron Pratt (7) provided stable targets for freshman quarterback Gary Nova against West Virginia last week, when the duo combined for six catches and 89 yards. Pratt is second among wideouts with 18 catches.
Unlikely No. 2 emerges for Rutgers as wideouts settle in BY ANTHONY HERNANDEZ ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Quron Pratt quickly became the forgotten one among the Rutgers football team’s receiving corps. The 6-foot sophomore arrived at Rutgers as a defensive back, switched to wide receiver, appeared in two games with one catch, then suffered a season-ending injury. He recovered for his redshirt freshman season, then suffered an injury that again limited him. During that time, juniors Mohamed Sanu and Mark Harrison emerged, with Sanu hauling in 51 catches for 639 yards his rookie year and Harrison outdoing him a year later with nine touchdowns and 829 yards. Slipping under the radar again this season was never an option for Pratt. Simply put, one catch for 14 yards did not cut it. “I can always do better. I’m never satisfied,” Pratt said. “That’s the one thing my coaches taught me back in high school [was to] just never be satisfied. You’ve got to keep working hard, keep doing what you’ve been doing and that’s going to make you better.” So far the resiliency showed, even though Pratt’s numbers are not as earthshattering as Sanu’s 70 receptions, or as intriguing as Harrison’s sophomore stat line. Pratt keeps it simple by doing what his coaches ask of him come gametime. “He has been really good all
along as a technician, and I think as he gains more confidence, it starts to show in his production,” said head coach Greg Schiano. “He’s a good player.” Through eight games, that approach landed him 18 catches and his first career touchdown in a win against Navy. “It was a big shock. I didn’t hear any of the crowd when I caught it. I just saw my teammates,” Pratt said of the touchdown. “It was a great feeling and I just knew that I finally did it. I just did my job each play and it finally paid off.” But as Pratt now boasts the second most receptions on the team — though he remains 52 catches off Sanu’s pace — the speculation surrounding the arrival of Harrison and still unproven redshir t freshman Brandon Coleman remains. ESPN tabbed Harrison as the No. 2 wideout in the Big East prior to training camp, while Coleman made one highlight reel catch after another during spring practices. Harrison closed last season with five touchdowns in the team’s final three games, but has only two this season with a number of drops to boot. The 6-foot-6 Coleman also entered the year with high expectations, but thus far has four receptions and one touchdown. Despite the letdown, Sanu remains confident in Coleman’s abilities with South Florida coming to town, he said.
“I’ve seen Brandon do it before,” Sanu said. “He’s a phenomenal player, and it’s all on him to know what he has and be able to take advantage of it.” Instead of Coleman settling in, Pratt and junior Tim Wright proved to be reliable through the first twothirds of the season. Wright has only 10 catches this season, but matches Harrison with two touchdown receptions. Combined, Pratt and Wright have twice as many catches as Harrison. While Pratt is not the biggest and Wright not the fastest, both find ways to get the job done, Harrison said. “It all has to do with their technique,” Harrison said. “[Pratt and Wright] have great technique on their routes and Quron especially. He’s really physical for a little guy. A lot of teams don’t have that — little guys like him who are able to block and catch the way he does.” Then again, few teams entered the season with as much hype surrounding its receiving corps as Rutgers. But because the consistent production from a receiver other than Sanu is not yet there does not mean the expectations are gone. For Pratt and the rest of the receiving corps, their aspirations for greatness are not easily forgettable. “It’s a great thing — just knowing that we can all do it if we all play together,” Pratt said. “We can all be that special force that we need to be.”
JOVELLE ABBEY TAMAYO / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Redshirt freshman Brandon Coleman and junior Mark Harrison struggled with drops this season after entering the year with high expectations.
RAMON DOMPOR / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER