2018 College Football Team Previews: Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: Rutgers showed a few signs of life under Chris Ash last fall, and were off to a more respectable 3-4 start before the wheels fell off and they managed to finish 1-4 to skid in with a final record of 4-8. Ash is now just 6-18 after his first two years, but make no mistake, the needle is pointing in the right direction, and people are taking some notice. If the Knights are to get to a bowl in year 3, which is what the math adds up to, they have to win early games and navigate a very manageable non con schedule to get to the 6 wins necessary, because the back end of the schedule, the final month, is absolutely brutal.

Breakdown Offense: Rutgers will start a true freshman at QB for the first time since 2001 in Artur Sitkowski. He had a massive spring game after enrolling early, and opened everyone's eyes with his performance. Finding a big play QB is paramount for the next phase of program development under Ash, and he likely found his guy here. Gio Rescigno is the only QB on the roster with Big 10 experience, and is a 5th year senior, and will likely leave camp as the primary backup.

Boston College Jon Hilliman is likely to get the nod at RB for the Scarlet Knights, and has more game experience than any other back on the roster. He should be expected to share the load with Raheem Blackshear, who many feel still has a shot to become the primary back in fall camp. He is a speed back who can break big plays when needed. Trey Snead, Isaiah Pacheco, and Charles Snorweah are all looking for reps in camp as well.

Rutgers will be looking for 3 new starting receivers in camp. Bo Melton and Hunter Hayek are expected to step into 2 of those roles, with Shameen Jones being the 3rd. This will be a severely raw and inexperienced group, but with Sitkowski slinging the football, they all have a shot to get developed quickly. Everett Wormley, Eddie Lewis, and Mohamed Jabbie will all look for work in camp.

Jermoe Washington led the team with 28 receptions last fall, and will return to start at TE. He missed spring ball with an injury, and that left the door open for Travis Vokolek and Nakia Griffin-Stewart to get in some reps.

The Scarlet Knights get both Tackles back (Tariq Cole, Kamaal Seymour) and their Center (Michael Maietti). Jonah Jackson and Nick Krimin are projected to win the Guard jobs in camp. Look for Mike Langsdorf, however, to steal the LG spot away in camp, as he left spring ball in lock step for the job. Zach Venesky will back up at OG. Zach Miseo and Sam Vretman will back up at LT, and Zack Heeman joins freshman Raiqwon O'Neal will back up at RT. Sam Howson and Micah Clark will back up at RG.

Breakdown Defense: The defense specifically showed some improvements in 2017, and will now need to take the next step with 6 starters returining for DC Jay Niemann.

DE Kevin Wilkins will join DT Jon Bateky as the returning starters on the line. Wilkins finished the season with 5.5 TFLs, while Bateky added 3. The team will need more from them this fall, especially with 2 new starters coming in up front in DT Julius Turner and DE Elorm Lumor. They combined for 4 TFLs off the bench last fall. Mike Tverdov and CJ Onyechi are the backups at DE, while Willington Previlon and Jaohne Duggan are the backups inside.

Travis Morris and Deonte Roberts are the returning starters at LB. Morris led the Knights with 118 tackles last fall, while Roberts added 104. They should be more than enough help to cover for a new starter in Tyreek Maddox-Williams, a sophomore. The corps is loaded with talent, but not experience, behind them in Tyshon Fogg, Brendan DeVera, Olakunle Fatukasi, and JC transfer Malik Dixon. Rashawn Battle, Austin Rosa, and Izaia Bullock are also looking for work in camp.

The secondary returns starters in Isaiah Wharton (CB) and Saquan Hampton (FS). Wharton finished last fall with 9 PBUs, but did not pick off any passes. Hampton was limited to 8 games last fall, and totaled 3 PBUs and 38 tackles. Blessuan Austin figures in at the open CB spot, while KJ Gray projects as the new starter st SS. Austin was limited to 4 games last fall, while Gray finished with 5 PBUs in 10 games. Damon Hayes, Trey Avery, and Jelani Garvin are the reserves at CB, and the staff recruited this position well, and will have additional help in fall camp with incoming freshmen. Naijee Jones, Kobe Marfo, and Lawrence Stevens are the backups at Safety, but they have little to no experience.

Breakdown Special Teams: Rutgers is hitting the reboot at both PK and P this fall. Look for a pair of sophomores in Justin Davidovicz (PK) and Adam Korsak (P) to take over those jobs.

Blackshear struggled a bit on KR duty, and may get pushed some in camp for the job. The PR job is open.

Final Analysis: Rutgers is slowly improving under Ash, as they went from 2 wins in 2016 to 4 wins last season. That is slow and measurable improvement, so the expectation would be to push for a bowl bid in year 3. In short, the progress is promising. Don't expect fireworks this fall, but the Scarlet Knights are moving in the right direction as a team, recruiting has picked up, and now they have their QB of the future and now in Sitkowski. Rugters has to win the early games on the schedule, as I said in the opening, because the final month is a meat grinder for them. If they can get off to a fast start, a bowl his highly possible to attain this fall.