Rutgers
Rutgers

Rutgers Team Report

Updated: April 25, 2012 09:42 EST

Rutgers was one of the last teams to kick off spring practice, which makes sense because no team had more change following its season than the Scarlet Knights.

For starters, the Scarlet Knights had to overhaul the coaching staff following Greg Schiano's departure to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kyle Flood is in his first year as a head coach. Greg Brock and Robb Smith are new as the offensive and defensive coordinators. Considering only two coaches on the staff were with the team a year ago, the spring will be a getting-to-know-you session as much as anything else.

"Because of when our spring break was, our spring practice is a little bit later than I think most teams in the country, which is fine. There's no negative to that," Flood said. "But it has made us wait a little bit more. It has kind of built the anxiousness in me. And that's just me personally because I'm going through it for the first time."

He'll have more than his share of challenges and position battles. Quarterback, for example. Chas Dodd and Gary Nova passed the job back and forth all season long in 2011, and Flood doesn't expect to finalize that decision until the fall. Similar fights will take place in the backfield between Jawan Jamison and Savon Huggins, and on the offensive line.

The offense itself will look similar, as Brock utilizes the pro-style set. But replacing Mohamed Sanu won't be easy, and working through the terminology will be one of the challenges of the spring.

Defensively, the team has fewer questions. This should be a strength of the team this fall. But it's also important to note that the unit was awful in 2010 and will need to expand upon the uptick in performance it enjoyed a year ago.

Even with the new staff and the uncertainty under center, the Scarlet Knights should be one of the favorites in the Big East next season. It's a standard that the new coaching staff appreciates.

"I feel that the time is right for Rutgers to win championships," Flood said. "My saying that doesn't make it happen. But those are the expectations of our program. Where we are at right now in our program, we need to prove that we can do that. I think our players understand that. We embrace the expectations. I think if you ask any college football player in the country if they want to win a championship next year, I think they'd all tell you yes. And I think our players are no different. They'd tell you the same thing."

KEY QUESTIONS: There are nothing but questions surrounding the Scarlet Knights this offseason. In particular, the new coaching staff will be under scrutiny to see how they adjust to their new roles, and the quarterback competition will be intensely watched. How both questions are answered will go a long way to determine the likelihood that the Scarlet Knights will be contenders in 2012.

--The coaching change didn't have any effect on the enthusiasm of the incoming class. No fewer than 15 of the players who signed with the Scarlet Knights in February were in attendance during the first Saturday of spring practice at the end of March.

--One interesting position to watch this spring is the offensive line. Greg Schiano tinkered with it all season in 2011, and there has already been some movement on the depth chart. Kaleb Johnson is listed as the left tackle, David Osei has moved to right guard, Betim Bujari is at left guard. A healthy Dallas Hendrikson is the starting center, and Taj Alexander is the right tackle. But look for Maryland transfer R.J. Dill to push Alexander for one tackle spot, and Antwan Lowery, Andre Civil and Devon Watkins to also mount strong challenges to move into the starting lineup.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

RB Savon Huggins -- Huggins was expected to be the savior of the program, the most heralded recruit to sign with the Scarlet Knights in recent memory. Then he struggled with injuries and saw Jawan Jamison play well in his absence. But while Jamison put up better numbers, he didn't do well enough to avoid a competition this spring, and Huggins will get every chance to win the job back before the season opener.

WR Tim Wright -- There are a lot of wideouts in the spring mix, but none with the potential of the oft-injured Wright. He's shown the ability to be a game-changer when healthy. His main problem, however, has been staying on the field. If he can do that and perform to his abilities, it will make the loss of Mohamed Sanu to the NFL easier to take.

CB Logan Ryan -- Ryan quietly emerged as one of the best defensive backs in the Big East in 2011. Now entering his junior season, he'll be a lot harder for the football experts to overlook in 2012, much less the Big East quarterbacks.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think it's a feeling out process for all of the coaches. Even as a returning staff, we always wanted to keep an open mind when we went into spring because of the advancements a certain player can make, whether it be in the weight room or through the offseason program. You want to give them an opportunity, because there could be a player in your program that may be better than the player you were playing with. So as a returning coach, we try to keep that open-mindedness. With these guys being new, they certainly don't have the full understanding of what every guy can do. That's what spring practice is for." -- Rutgers coach Kyle Flood, on how his new staff is preparing for the spring.

2012 OUTLOOK: Rutgers is perennially a Big East contender, but hasn't been able to take that next step and win it outright to take the BCS berth that goes with it. New coach Kyle Flood has talked about getting the Scarlet Knights to the next level, and there's a vacancy atop the Big East with West Virginia gone. The Scarlet Knights have the talent to contend, but the question is whether it will gel in time to make that happen.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Dave Brock says he'll keep the pro-style offense that the Scarlet Knights ran a year ago, a big relief considering the players have all been recruited to play that style. Of course, the big question is who's going to play the key roles. Rutgers enters the offseason uncertain at both quarterback and running back, with an offensive line that is being retooled and a receiving corps that has to replace Mohamed Sanu. It's definitely a unit that will need to take advantage of every minute of spring practice.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The defense should look very similar in 2012. Special-teams coach Robb Smith takes on the DC role under Kyle Flood and said he expects to play the same core system that the team ran a year ago. That's good news for a veteran crew that brings back a lot of experience, with Khaseem Greene poised for a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber season if he can come back from the leg injury he suffered in the bowl game.

SCOUTING THE SPECIAL TEAMS: There are a lot of new faces and position battles here, but the return unites get a boost with the sixth year of eligibility earned by Mason Robinson, who will be back on both the punt and kick return crews. Jeremy Deering will join him on kickoffs and has shown the explosiveness necessary for the position. Nick DeLouisa and Kyle Federico will fight for the starting placekicker job, while Justin Doerner and Anthony DiPaula are competing to be the punter.

TOP NEWCOMERS:

OL R.J. Dill -- The Maryland transfer is eligible immediately since he's already gotten his undergraduate degree. He could start right away and will be a big asset in a position where the Scarlet Knights could use all the help they can get.

K Kyle Federico -- Federico is a true freshman, but he enrolled early to compete for the starting job in spring practice. He and Nick DeLouisa will compete to replace the departed San San Te as the placekicker.

DL Darius Hamilton -- 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, and it was also key that he maintained his loyalty to the program even after the coaching change.

ROSTER REPORT:

--DL Scott Vallone was expected to miss the spring because of a shoulder injury.

--A pair of Scarlet Knights expected to play key roles this season are still sidelined from injuries suffered in 2011. Khaseem Greene, a revelation on defense a year ago, might have been an NFL candidate had he not injured his leg in the bowl game. He's out for the spring, as is TE D.J. Jefferson, who is still rehabbing his injured ankle.

--WR Jeremy Deering has made the switch to wideout from running back. It's a way to get the speedy Deering the ball and have him more involved in an area where he can make plays.

--S J.T. Tartacoff moved to the defensive backfield. He began his career as a wideout, but the Scarlet Knights are thin in the secondary and he should have more of an impact on the defensive side of the ball.