Hey folks, for the last few years, Star-Ledger Rutgers reporter, Brendan Prunty, has asked me a series of questions about Pitt leading up to the Pitt-Rutgers game and then published my answers on the newspapers web-site as a service to Rutgers fans who were looking for a little bit of information/insight on the Panthers.
This year, I figured, I'll give him the information, so why not get him to answer questions you - Pitt fans who read this blog - might have, so hopefully you enjoy this new twist on the Q&A......
1.) How good is Rutgers freshman quarterback Tom Savage?
PRUNTY: Is he capable of winning a game if the running game is stuffed? From what we've seen so far, he has all of the tools a coach would want in a big-time quarterback. He's tall enough (6-4) to see over the line and make the throws, he's got a big arm (that's still developing) and he has that sense that all QBs need in the pocket when to move when they're feeling pressure.
That being said ... I have no idea if he can win a game like this, especially if the running game isn't clicking. He's only played one full game so far (last week against Texas Southern) and has yet to start a game against a BCS conference opponent. Coming off of the concussion he suffered almost a month ago against Florida International, he's been handled gently, with Greg Schiano having to hold him out of practice at first and then ease him back in advance of Texas Southern. He was 14-for-21 last weekend, which was encouraging, but it was against one of the worst 1-AA teams around. He'll need to have RB Joe Martinek performing as usual to help take some pressure off of him, otherwise it could get ugly.
2.) Rutgers offensive line has been hyped as one of the best in the country -- has it performed that way so far?
PRUNTY: Absolutely not. This offensive line has come around the last two to three games, but it is still nowhere near the expectations that people had of it coming into the season. I — like many others — expected it to be one of, if not, the best O-lines in the Big East. But it just hasn't happened. We're still not sure if it's that they were overrated to begin with, that they haven't gelled yet or they've been manhandled a lot. It's likely a combination of the three. Center Ryan Blaszczyk is a senior and three-year starter, but he's continually had problems with his left ankle. He's played through it, but there have been a number of times where he's been seriously limping during games and has been seen using crutches afterwards. The tackles have probably been the most disappointing part of the line so far: future NFL LT Anthony Davis has been so-so this year and RT Kevin Haslam has, at times, seemed over-matched. Davis showed up to camp overweight and out-of-shape (which Schiano only recently said was because an eye injury limited his workout ability) and hasn't shown that "mean streak" that we saw out of him last season. Sophomore Art Forst is quite good at RG, but Schiano's only recently found his LG in former defensive lineman Desmond Wynn. This offensive line is still a work in progress.
3.) It looks like Rutgers is using a running back-by-committee approach -- can you give us a run down of the Scarlet Knights tailbacks and how they differ and how they compare to say a Ray Rice?
PRUNTY: Trying to figure out Rutgers' running back situation is like trying to figure the New England Patriots': it's impossible. Joe Martinek is the closest thing that Schiano will come to determining a No. 1 running back, because he's been the only one of the four that's been able to do it consistently. Martinek is a natural running back, with tremendous instincts, who can find the holes that aren't there and make things happen. His one pitfall might be that he takes it outside too often and doesn't do enough running between the tackles. But when you're the all-time leading rusher in New Jersey high school history, no one's questioning your methods.
The rest are a bunch of wild cards. Jourdan Brooks has the size (6-1, 230 pounds) and speed combo that make coaches drool, but he can never seem to get on track. His 10 career TDs in only 15 games are nice ... until you realize that seven of them came against 1-AA opponents. Kordell Young had a career filled with promise, but has battled knee troubles his entire career and has only recently gotten back into the backfield fold. However, Schiano has gone to him as his third-down back, a role which he has been thriving in. And then there's De'Antwan Williams, a true freshman nicknamed "Rocket" because well, he's really, really fast. We've only gotten glimpses of him in two games (Howard, Texas Southern), but he's 221 yards on 33 carries. He's a lot like Ray Rice in that he can turn a 5-yard loss into a 40-yard touchdown run.
4.) The Rutgers defense likes to blitz traditionally. Has that continued this year and can we expect to see a ton of blitzes from the Scarlet Knights against Pitt? How good is the front seven?
PRUNTY: You wouldn't think that the front seven would be that good considering they have two undersized, first-year starters at DT, a converted DT at DE and a first-year starter at linebacker. But it's working quite well since the Cincinnati debacle. They're third in the Big East with 18 sacks, only eight behind Pittsburgh. But aside from that, what this defense does best is make things chaotic around the quarterback enough to cause turnovers. That's been the big thing for Rutgers since Cincinnati. They're tops in the league in turnover margin at +12 and they've registered a defensive touchdown for three straight games (including two against Maryland). What Rutgers can't get stuck doing (which happened against Cincinnati) is putting this defense in a zone. They don't have the athletes to play it and it takes away their ball-hawking ability.
5.) Greg Schiano a few years ago was considered one of the top young coaches in the country. Is he still perceived that way or has the shine sort of rubbed off the golden boy a little since he hasn't been able to duplicate the magical season of 2006? Are the fans getting restless that he hasn't won a Big East title yet?
PRUNTY: That's been the 800-pound gorilla in the room this season. Fans had big expectations that this would be Rutgers' year to finally win a Big East title: they thought they had a great running game (getting back to par), a great offensive line (not so much), a great defense (about right) and a down Big East (kinda). Well, Cincinnati blew that all up. I don't think that Rutgers fans are seriously considering the Big East title a reality this year, but should Schiano take a freshman offense to a 9-3/8-4 record and a bowl game, you would consider this season a success. However, that will really put the pressure on for next year to win the big one. Think about it — only two teams have never won at least a share of the Big East title: Rutgers and South Florida. If he doesn't do it with Savage and this freshman class, then maybe it's time to reexamine.
Also, as an added bonus, Rutgers football received a verbal commitment from Piscataway wide receiver Jawaun Winn while Pittsburgh earned verbals from Don Bosco Prep standouts Bryan Murphy and Brandon Sacco. As the two Big East schools prepare for their game on Friday night, these highly-touted recruits will be watching in earnest. Murphy, Sacco, and Wynn add theirs insights on the rivalry and why they ultimately chose their respective schools. This segment includes in-game footage of all three-players.
The video was set up by the Star-Ledger's Vincent Velasquez and can be found here.....
Posted
Oct 15 2009, 01:58 AM
by
Paul Zeise