Rutgers
Scarlet Knights

Rutgers Team Report

Updated: February 03, 2012 03:23 EST

A year ago, if a Rutgers fan had been told that the school would be introducing a new coach right before signing day, the logical reaction would be to assume that Greg Schiano had been fired. The Scarlet Knights were a disappointing 4-8 in 2010, and fans were grumbling about the direction of the program.

But Schiano led the Scarlet Knights to Big East contention in 2011 before settling for the Pinstripe Bowl, and surprising parlayed that into an NFL gig. When he left to become the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rutgers had very little time to find a replacement given the brief period between when he took the job and when recruits committed for the 2012 season.

After a hot and heavy flirtation with Florida International's Mario Cristobal ended with an 11th-hour rejection, the school looked in-house and gave interim Coach Kyle Flood a five-year deal. Flood had never been a head coach on any level, but has been an assistant for 19 years and has been at Rutgers since 2005. More to the point, he has a good reputation as a recruiter and a strong relationship with the local high school coaches.

Floyd passed his initial test by keeping most of the existing commitments from recruits (though TE Michael Giacone switched to Boston College) and doing some late work on his own to finish off what's rated as the best class in the Big East and in school history.

"It has been a great testament to what I have always believed about recruiting and I think sometimes this gets distorted. If you recruit good people and you deal with them honestly, you can get through any situation," Flood said. "That was what we were able to do with this recruiting class, because at every stage of events from Friday to Monday to Wednesday we were completely open, completely honest."

Flood got an assist from his athletic director, whose presence helped shore up the verbal commitments.

"One of the best things that we did was bring (athletic director) Tim Pernetti on the road with us as an assistant coach. We didn't hide anything," Rice said. "When I said that night that I fully expected to be the head coach at Rutgers they believed me and they stayed with us. When that came true on Monday it just gave more credit to that way of dealing with people. I think if you deal with people like that in recruiting you have a chance to get through anything."

TOP OF THE CLASS

--DL Darius Hamilton (Don Bosco Prep, West Paterson, N.J.) -- Hamilton was the jewel of the 2012 recruiting class. The USA TODAY All-America, Rivals.com National Defensive Player of the Year and consensus five-star recruit should play right away, but more important was the message that his continued commitment told other recruits about the new coach.

LB Quanzell Lambert (Timber Creek High School, Sicklerville, N.J.) -- The Camden Courier-Post All-South Jersey Defensive Player of the Year, he's a four-star recruit and one of the best tacklers in high school football. Don't be surprised to see Lambert making plays as a freshman in 2012.

K Kyle Federico (Ponte Verde HS, Ponte Verde, Fla.) -- Federico wasn't the biggest name of the signees, but he'll probably have the biggest impact. The incoming freshman is expected to succeed San San Te as the starting kicker, and enrolled in January to help make that more likely. He'll be among the most watched players at Spring Practice.

--Shortly after taking the job, Kyle Flood learned that he'd need to find a new wide receivers coach. P.J. Fleck left the Scarlet Knights to become the offensive coordinator at Northern Illinois, his alma mater.

--Joining Greg Schiano in a premature departure for the NFL was wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. He's expected to be a first or second-round pick after his record setting junior season.

--OL Kaleb Johnson was named to the Football Writers Association of America All-America team in January. He started the final 11 games of the 2011 season, all of them at right tackle.

SPRING SNAPSHOT:

Practice priorities: Quarterback is a key position to watch, with Gary Nova and Chas Dodd continuing their season-long battle for the starting spot for a new head coach. There's likely to be competition at running back and wideout, and the coaches will be looking to settle on an offensive line to get the stability that it lacked in 2011. Defensively, it's a matter of replacing the graduated players and maintaining the controlled aggressiveness that served it so well a year ago.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "It is the second year in a row now that the top player in the state of New Jersey has committed to Rutgers. But they are not the only great players that committed to Rutgers over the past two years, or the last three or five years. But every year we've been able to -- more and more -- build that wall around the 'State of Rutgers,' so that the players in our area are coming to play for us -- the top players. And when a guy like Darius Hamilton does that on TV, what it does is it gives more validity to what we tell the people in this local area." -- Coach Kyle Flood, on his recruiting class.

KEY LOSSES: Rutgers brings back most of its key players, but it'll sorely miss Mohamed Sanu. Sanu broke all kinds of receiving records as a junior, and decided to jump ship for the NFL. Manny Abreu seemed like he'd been around forever, but finally graduated after the Pinstripe Bowl victory. Defensive lineman Justin Francis will be missed, and Joe Martinek's departure leaves a hole at fullback. San San Te's another player who seemed like he'd been around for a generation, and now for the first time in four years someone else will be handling the field goal chores for the Scarlet Knights.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012:

RB Jawan Jamison -- An afterthought behind the star of the 2011 recruiting class, Savon Huggins, at the start of the season, Jamison emerged as the team's leading rusher with 897 yards on the ground. He's no sure thing to emerge as the starter again in September, but he'll have first crack at the job given how well he ran behind a mediocre offensive line.

CB Logan Ryan -- Of all the unexpected stars on defense, perhaps none were more of a shock than Ryan. He picked off three passes and broke up 14 others, and was the team's third-leading tackler. He was a second team All-Big East pick as a sophomore, and will be looking to take that next step forward as a junior.

WR Mark Harrison -- Much was expected of Harrison in 2011, and little was delivered. He'll be a leading candidate to pick up the slack left by Mohamed Sanu's departure, but he'll have a lot of competition at the position and badly needs a strong spring.

S Duron Harmon -- If it's possible to have a quiet season while finishing second in the Big East in interceptions, Harmon did that in 2011. Rarely mentioned by fans as one of the Big East's elite players, he was a deserving First Team All-Conference pick.

PLAYER NOTES

--LB Khaseem Greene suffered what looked to be a gruesome leg injury in Rutgers 27-13 Pinstripe Bowl victory over Iowa State. It turned out to be a broken right fibula, and though it will sideline him for spring practice he'll be ready for the start of the 2012 season.

--OL R.J. Dill enrolled at Rutgers in January and will play his senior season for the Scarlet Knights. Dill, arguably the best lineman at the University of Maryland in 2011, is eligible immediately because he has received his undergraduate degree already and will be taking graduate courses at Rutgers.