Rutgers Football

Former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand's football career ended tragically on Oct. 16, 2010, when a hit left him paralyzed from a spinal cord injury. An inspirational figure ever since, the University of Rutgers will honor him for his contributions this season by retiring his No. 52 jersey, according to Rutgers senior associate athletic director of communications Jason Baum.

This will mark the first jersey retirement in Rutgers football history, and it's difficult to think of someone who deserves it more than LeGrand. 

The retirement ceremony will take place on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. ET as the Scarlet Knights host the Eastern Michigan Eagles at High Point Solutions Stadium. LeGrand expressed his gratitude to the university on Twitter upon hearing the news.

Prior to his injury, LeGrand was on track to become a big-time player for Rutgers. He was extremely productive early in his junior campaign, so an NFL career may have been on the horizon. LeGrand has done so much more for the university off the field than he could have ever done on it, however.

His courage and positive outlook in the midst of a terrible situation led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to sign him to a contract last season, according to Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com. The Bucs are coached by LeGrand's former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, so the gesture was extremely special from LeGrand's perspective.

LeGrand has received plenty of honors since that fateful day in 2010, including the Jimmy V Perseverance Award at the 2012 ESPYS, but it's hard to imagine that anything is more special than having his number retired.  

The Rutgers community has rallied around LeGrand throughout his recovery process, and there is no question that it will pack High Point Solutions Stadium on Sept. 14 in order to show its appreciation for everything LeGrand has sacrificed and accomplished.

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Rutgers is moving to the Big Ten in a year, but right now, the university is mired in the Julie Hermann situation.

It is a scandal that, as Tom Canavan of the Associated Press points out, could well cost the Scarlet Knights some money.

Between the mismanagement of the Mike Rice situation, leading to Tom Pernetti's resignation as the school's athletic director and the botched hiring of Hermann as the new athletic director, Rutgers has displayed some clear ineptitude. In the short term, that will likely lead to some donors backing out as a means of voicing their displeasure with the administration.

Penn State, a school saddled with a scandal of much larger proportions, experienced that funding drop recently, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. However, it must be noted that the drop in total donations, came with a twist. During the same time period, Penn State also experienced a rise in football-specific donations.

Thus, as general donors decided to tighten their purse strings in the case of the Nittany Lions, the football-specific gift-givers did just the opposite. Rutgers' donors are going to be faced with a similar decision—whether to flex their muscles of discontent by withholding money or to give more now, when the athletic department needs them. 

Rutgers is not Penn State. The Nittany Lions have a more robust donor base, more football history and a scandal that, in many ways, put the community's collective back against the wall.

The NCAA came down hard on Penn State. The national media came down hard on Penn State. For those people who support the program, donations to support the athletes caught in the center of all of this was a fitting response.

With Rutgers, we will find out just how boosters view the situation from a cash perspective. Do they show up with the dollars to fund an administration that dropped the ball on multiple occasions?

Or do they show their discontent by slowing the funding and hope the administration gets the message?

Rutgers needs all the cash it can get and that means donations. The Hermann situation has put that in jeopardy at a time when the school needs the generosity of its boosters.

Over the next few months this story will write itself, and it will largely be based on whether wallets are opening or closing for the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers University has yet another scandal, this time concerning newly hired AD Julie Hermann. 

Hermann was brought in to replace former AD Tim Pernetti, who was forced out in the Mike Rice scandal. Everyone knows who Mike Rice is after ESPN aired a video of the former basketball coach kicking, punching and verbally abusing his players.

Although Hermann has recently been given a vote of confidence by Rutgers president Robert Barchi—he announced that she will officially start her job on June 17—a controversy has arisen over the way she has danced around allegations brought forth by 15 of her former Tennessee volleyball players.

The allegations were described in a letter that was read at a meeting with the Tennessee administration, the players and Hermann in attendance. The players accused their coach of emotional and verbal abuse and claimed that Herman called them whores, alcoholics and learning disabled.

When Rutgers announced Hermann's hiring on May 15, she was asked about the letter, the meeting and the allegations of verbal abuse. She said she didn't remember any of those events.

At this same press conference, she also said she didn't remember attending her assistant coach Ginger Hineline's wedding and claimed there was no video. Since her statement, a video of her attending the wedding and catching the bouquet has appeared on the NJ Star-Ledger website.

On the video, one can hear hear Hermann telling Hineline not to get pregnant. Hineline sued the University of Tennessee for unlawful pregnancy discrimination and won $150,000 in damages. Hermann has never taken responsibility for the statement or the suit. According to myCentralJersey.com, Hermann said, "It was litigated and although I do not believe in the outcome, there is nothing more to say on the subject."

Was Hermann lying when she claimed she forgot about the letter, the wedding, the meeting, calling her players whores, the video and so on?  According to former New Jersey governor Richard Codey, she definitely was. On ESPN radio, Codey said, "She’s lying, obviously. What would these young ladies’ motivation for lying be?”

Do the powers that be at Rutgers think Hermann's the best choice to lead the athletic department into the Big 10, or are they afraid that admitting an error in hiring would be another embarrassment for the state university, possibly a costly one? 
 
Did Hermann spend so much time at a June 5 press conference talking about the student athletes because she feels they should be her main focus as athletic director or because she has no perspective on funds, facilities and scheduling, etc.?

Either way, this controversy is not going away.

The Big Ten should not be having second thoughts as the nation watches the mess that is the Rutgers-Julie Hermann situation play out. Sure, it's ugly and been handled poorly by the university. 

And, yes, Hermann, should she keep this job, is going to be an intriguing element in the conference going forward.

But that doesn't mean that true second thoughts on the Scarlet Knights are in order.

Rutgers is coming into the league, and while this escalating situation gives folks pause, in the end the conference has made the smart power move. Even with the scandal, the Scarlet Knights will do what they were brought in to do: expand the conference's sphere of influence as the arms race against the rest of the major leagues continues.

Rutgers' ineptitude at the administrative level—starting with Mike Rice and moving to the Hermann hire —is not why Jim Delany brought it into the fold. Cornering the New Jersey market and trying to push into New York City is the reason behind the expansion move. Unless the administration is going to mismanage Rutgers out of Piscataway and the entire state of New Jersey, the Big Ten's goals remains intact.

Television screens will be lit up with the Big Ten Network, cable and satellite subscribers will be forking over dollars to pay for something they may not even watch, and the cash will continue to flow for college football's richest conference.

Right now, Rutgers is a Rutgers problem. The divide among the fans is growing, but more importantly, as Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger points out, the athletic department divide is becoming its own issue. Negative press is one thing, dissent in the ranks as many question the new hire's ability to perform her job takes things to a more intense level.

Delany is wise to watch. The athletic directors in the Big Ten will be well served to keep their eyes on just how Rutgers handles things. They should do so not to possibly take away the invite or change their minds, but rather to recognize the struggles of their newest member, especially given how this situation could reflect on the league if they allow it to get uglier or drag on toward Rutgers' official move to the conference in 2014.

Paying attention to the Rutgers' scandal is not about second-guessing, it is about being aware. The Big Ten might even be best served reaching out to its new member in an effort to help it calm the storm.

After all, it is going to have to work with these people soon.

Rutgers' newly hired athletic director Julie Hermann has suffered the latest case of Scarlet Knight memory loss. She forgot about the scathing letter every player on her University of Tennessee women's volleyball team signed accusing her of emotional and physical abuse—tactics that sound very similar to former Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice's.

Hermann also forgot about attending and catching the bouquet at Ginger Hineline's wedding.  Ginger Hineline is the woman who won a judgment of $150,000 against Tennessee for Hermann's pressuring her not to get pregnant while she was an assistant coach for the women's volleyball team.

Over the last year, Rutgers president Robert Barchi forgot to oversee the firing of Rice, forgot to do a thorough background check on the newly hired men's basketball coach Eddie Jordan and forgot to check the credentials of Julie Hermann.

All three of these folks need to hand in their resignations immediately.

Jordan Is Toying with the Careers of Young Players

Eddie Jordan's credentials in basketball are impressive.  The former Rutgers star led his team to a Final Four, won an NBA championship as a member of the Lakers and has been head coach of three NBA teams.  Unfortunately he doesn't have a college degree.

Jordan apparently forgot to notify Rutgers that he wasn't the holder of a college degree when he went through the interviewing process back in April.

Has he made any statement about his intent to finish his degree?

He's toying with his players' futures because he's already signed four recruits and has given them and those players who've remained at Rutgers the impression he'll be their coach.

Jordan needs to step down not because he didn't obtain a degree, there's no NCAA regulation requiring a coach to have a degree, but for not disclosing the fact that he didn't obtain one.

Hermann Will Be Gone by the End of the Week

There's no way Julie Hermann keeps her job because of the embarrassment she has brought upon the university.

As with Jordan, it's not as much about what she did or didn't do but rather about the case of Scarlet Knight memory loss she developed.

President Barchi Needs to Leave Now

Robert Barchi hasn't shown the leadership a president needs to show.  He's been a huge reason why this university has become the laughing stock of the nation's educational system.

With a few solid performances in 2012 sandwiched between a slow start and a dreadful finish, fans and alumni have every right to be wary about the type of season that junior quarterback Gary Nova may put forth in 2013. On the sidelines, however, is capable senior Chas Dodd—along with several underclassmen—just waiting for an opportunity to become the starting signal caller for the Scarlet Knights.

Historically, defense and a running attack have been the hallmarks of Scarlet Knights football, not a dazzling aerial attack. However, there have been several quarterbacks whose careers at Rutgers did forge memorable moments in the nearly-40-year history of RU D-I football:

1. Mike Teel - Teel owns most of the Scarlet Knights passing records, but it may well be due to the fact that he played the most games and was surrounded by superior talent. Teel benefited from sharing the field with future-NFL players like Kenny Britt, Tiquan Underwood, Ray Rice and Brian Leonard.

With 59 TD passes and a QB rating of 135.4 for his career, Teel also led the Scarlet Knights to their first-ever postseason victory in the 2006 Texas Bowl. The team MVP in 2008, Teel was also the quarterback for some of the biggest victories in RU history, including wins over No. 3 Louisville and No. 2 USF. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

2. Ryan Hart - Hart played in just 38 games (10 less than Teel) in his four years at Rutgers, amassed 8,482 yards passing and threw for 52 touchdowns. He finished with a QB rating of 124.5 and averaged 223.2 yards passing per game. Despite having a lower level of talent around him than Mike Teel (Hart played just one year with Underwood and Rice), he was the RU quarterback that ended the 27-year bowl drought, leading the Scarlet Knights to the 2005 Insight.com Bowl.

By the time he graduated, Hart owned almost every major RU passing record, and had many of them by the end of his junior year. The offensive MVP in 2003, Hart had a brief stint with the Albany Conquest of the Arena Football League, but is best remembered for his lawsuit against EA Sports, wherein he contended that the video game company used his likeness in its NCAA football game without his permission.

3. Mike McMahon - With 6,608 yards and 41 TDs, McMahon finished with a 109.7 QB rating in his 35 games for the Knights. In truth, McMahon suffered through the era of head coach Terry Shea, where the only receiver of note was tight end L.J. Smith (who enjoyed a seven year NFL career of his own). Selected in the fifth round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, McMahon played five seasons in the NFL before moving onto the CFL and UFL.

4. Ray Lucas - Despite the fact that he went on to a six-year career in the NFL with the Jets and Dolphins, Lucas' biggest game may have been the 1994 victory over West Virginia. While at Rutgers, Lucas threw for nearly 5,900 yards and 43 touchdowns, with a passer rating of 120.2. Lucas now works as a television and radio analyst.

5. Ed McMichael - McMichael led the Scarlet Knights to a 9-3 record in 1978, which earned them a berth to their first-ever bowl game. The next season, he was the Rutgers QB for 1979's monumental victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. In 33 career games, McMichael posted a 130.6 passer rating, a 61.6 passing percentage, 20 touchdowns and 3,584 yards through the air. McMichael later went on to a brief professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.

6. Scott Erney - Erney was a prolific passer at RU, slinging 41 touchdowns and 7,188 yards through the air in just 39 contests. The signature game of the Scott Erney Scarlet Knights was the 1988 victory over Michigan State on the Spartans' home field. The team MVP in 1987, 1988, and 1989, Erney went on to a brief professional career with the Barcelona Dragons of the WLAF.

7. Eric Hochberg - Hochberg's greatest moment as a Rutgers quarterback came on November 10, 1984, when he led the Scarlet Knights to a 23-19 victory over West Virginia. In 42 games as Rutgers' quarterback, Hochberg had a rating of 105.7, with 3,825 yards passing and 18 touchdowns.

8. Tom Savage - It's difficult to assess what might have been with Tom Savage, but if his first season was any indication, it is likely that he may well have re-written the Rutgers record books by the time his career was done. After a stellar true freshman campaign (for which he won the offensive MVP in 2009), he was injured in his sophomore year.

A very public falling out with head coach Greg Schiano followed, and Savage transferred from the Scarlet Knights. He is now enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh for the 2013 season. For his career at Rutgers, Savage had 16 TDs and 2,732 yards passing in just 18 games with the Scarlet Knights.

9. Bryan Fortay - In his two years as Rutgers' starting quarterback, Fortay threw for 25 TDs and 2,374 yards in 20 games following his transfer from the University of Miami, FL. The highlight of his RU career was the 1992 Homecoming Game, where he led the Scarlet Knights to a come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech. Fortay had a brief professional stint with the Frankfurt Galaxy of the WLAF.

10. Bert Kosup - The quarterback of the Scarlet Knights during their last undefeated season in 1976, Kosup was the first Rutgers QB of the Division-I era. Although he was only a 47.8 percent passer for his career, Kosup threw for 25 TDs in three years as the Scarlet Knights' starting signal caller and still ranks eighth in passing yards (3,613).

While current QBs Gary Nova and Chas Dodd may eventually find their way onto this list, neither seems poised to set school records any time soon. The 2013 recruiting class brings in freshman quarterback Chris Laviano, while 2014 will see QB prospect Tyler Wiegers join the Scarlet Knights. Whether Laviano or Wiegers will make their marks in the University's record book remains to be seen, especially given Rutgers' future competition in the Big Ten Conference.

In 2014, Rutgers will join the Big Ten, and with the expectation of a higher level of competition,the Scarlet Knights have begun securing talent for the first season in their new conference. The Knights have already secured 10 commitments from five different states, comprised of four defensive recruits and six on offense.

Those already secured for the 2014 recruiting class include:

Sidney Gopre—OLB—The Newark, N.J. prospect is 6'0" and 190 pounds, and has a 3-star ranking from both Scout.com and Rivals.com. 

Saquan Hampton—S—The 6'2", 185-pound N.J. product is evaluated as a 2-star prospect by Rivals.com, and was recruited by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Penn State.

Zack Heeman—OT—Pursued by Maryland and Penn State, the 6'7" N.J. prospect committed to Rutgers on March 15. Rivals.com rates Heeman as a 2-star recruit.

Justin Herron—OG—The 2-star (Rivals.com) prospect is a Maryland native, and despite pursuit by the Terrapins and offers from Boston College and Connecticut, the 6'5", 285-pound lineman chose the Scarlet Knights on May 16.

Josh Hicks—RB—A 3-star prospect from Florida, the 6'0", 175-pound running back reportedly had low-level interest in both Cincinnati and USF, but committed to Rutgers in October, 2012

Pete Mokwuah—DT—Spurning offers from Connecticut and Pittsburgh, the 6'5", 305-pound prospect from Staten Island, N.Y. committed to Rutgers in May, 2013. 

Justin Nelson—DE/LB—A number of high-profile programs pursued the 6'1" LB/DE, including Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla), Penn State, South Carolina, UCLA and West Virginia. But recruiter Dave Cohen got a commitment from the Wayne, N.J. native on February 27. Rivals.com lists his 40-yard dash time as 4.7 for this 3-star prospect.

David Njoku—WR—Following in the recent mold of Rutgers receivers, Njoku is tall, standing 6'4" and 215 pounds. Despite pursuit by Ohio State and Penn State and an offer from Boston College, the Cedar Grove, N.J. product chose to stay home, committing to the Scarlet Knights on April 9. He is ranked as a 3-star prospect.

Jacquis Webb—OG—Despite offers from Old Dominion and Buffalo, the 6'4", 290-pound lineman chose Rutgers for his commitment in 2014. Per Rivals.com, Webb bench pressed 285 pounds and runs a 5.4 second 40-yard dash.

Tyler Wiegers—QB—The Scarlet Knights have identified several QB prospects on their recruiting list, but the first one that committed was the 6'3", 195-pound Wiegers from Beverly Hills, MI. While Michigan is not usually fertile recruiting ground for Rutgers, this 3-star prospect may be the first dividend from the move to the Big Ten.

The program appears to be moving forward with recruiting thanks to continued success on the football field, but there is no question that the move to the Big Ten will also help to secure  future players. The Scarlet Knights are banking on the opportunity to play Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin in 2014 to convince some fence-sitting recruits that Rutgers can get them the exposure and experience they need to graduate to the NFL.

Now that the NFL draft has concluded, an assessment can be made regarding the Scarlet Knights taken from coach Kyle Flood's program.

The fact that seven players from Rutgers were drafted this year shows the progress the team has made in the past 10 years, especially given that the Scarlet Knights outpaced future Big Ten opponents Ohio State (three players), Michigan (two players) and Penn State three3 players).

Those players fortunate enough to hear their names called at the podium in Radio City Music Hall included:

Drafted Players

Steve Beauharnais, inside linebacker. Projected as a sixth- or seventh-round pick before the draft, Beauharnais was drafted in the seventh round (235 overall) by the New England Patriots, joining two of his fellow classmates under Bill Belichick.

Marcus Cooper, cornerback. The general consensus on Cooper is that he was not likely to even be a late-round pick in this April's draft, but the San Francisco 49ers took a chance by taking him toward the end of Round 7 (252 overall).

Khaseem Greene, outside linebacker. The Big East's leading tackler in 2011 and 2012 (and the conference's Defensive Player of the Year) was projected to be a second- or third-round pick. Incredibly, Greene fell to the third day, and was finally taken by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round (117 overall). 

Duron Harmon, safety. Harmon was forecast as late-round pick, likely a seventh-rounder, but Bill Belichick reached up and took the young DB in the third round (91 overall), again uniting him with teammates Logan Ryan and Steve Beauharnais.

Jawan Jamison, running back. The first 1,000-yard rusher for Rutgers since Ray Rice was projected as a fourth- or fifth-round draft choice, but fell to the seventh round (228 overall), until corralled by the Washington Redskins.

D.C. Jefferson, tight end. The injured Jefferson was not even projected to be drafted by CBSSports.com, but was taken in Round 7 (219 overall) by the Arizona Cardinals.

Logan Ryan, cornerback. Ryan, following a solid showing at the NFL combine, was projected as a second- or third-round choice. New England named Ryan in the third round (83 overall), and only eight picks later, chose his defensive backfield cohort Duron Harmon.

Following a strong showing for the program in 2013, NFL general managers continued to collect talent from Rutgers, quickly moving to sign a number of Scarlet Knights to free agent contracts.

Free-Agent Signings

R.J. Dill, tackle. Many had projected that Dill would not be drafted, and following the conclusion of Round 7, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Dill to a free-agent contract.

Mark Harrison, wide receiver. Projected by CBSSports.com as a possible seventh-round pick, Harrison went undrafted. It is speculated that the now-infamous trashed hotel story (as reported by Doug Farrar on Yahoo!Sports.com) soured teams on reaching for Harrison. Shortly after the draft concluded, however, the Chicago Bears opted to sign Harrison as a free agent, thereby reuniting him with linebacker Khaseem Greene.

Brandon Jones, defensive back. Undrafted, Jones was quickly snapped up by the New England Patriots, where he will contend with fellow Scarlet Knights DBs Duron Harmon, Logan Ryan and Devin McCourty.

Timothy Wright, wide receiver. While he went undrafted, Wright was fortunate enough to get a free-agent invite to join the Oakland Raiders. 

Not surprisingly, there were prospects from the 2012 Scarlet Knights that did not get drafted, but what was unexpected was the player who was left standing when the music stopped. 

Undrafted and Unsigned Scarlet Knights

Scott Vallone, defensive tackle. Despite being rated as the No. 31 DT in this year's draft, NFL teams passed on Vallone, and teams have yet to sign him as a free agent.

When Gary Nova won the first-string quarterback job in 2012, it surprised a number of Rutgers fans and alumni. As the third starting QB for the program in as many years, Nova struggled at the beginning of the season against the easiest part of the schedule. Despite three victories over sub-par opponents (Tulane, Howard and USF), his completion percentage was just 55.1, with four TDs and two interceptions.

But Nova appeared to arrive as a quarterback last season in game four against Arkansas, when his 71.4 passing percentage, 213.9 QB rating, 397 yards passing and five TDs seemed to affirm head coach Kyle Flood's vision that the young sophomore was the obvious choice as the team's leader.

However, it was the defense that carried the Scarlet Knights in weeks five and six, and other than a four-touchdown afternoon against struggling Temple, Nova's contributions to the team's success were minimal.

The tide turned completely in week eight against Kent State, when Nova threw six interceptions on the way to Rutgers' first loss of the season, 35-23. From there, the young QB's performance dropped, and for the rest of the season, Nova would either throw more (or at least as many) interceptions as touchdowns in each remaining game.

In the last three contests of the season, the young QB could not manage to complete 50 percent of his passes.

"Everybody has problems at the end of the season," Nova explained recently regarding his 2012 late-season slide (per Bobby Deren of ScarletNation.com). "Your arm gets tired and you throw a lot of balls in training camp and the whole first half of the season. But that's not any excuse to why my production dropped."

Through spring practice of 2013, Nova has maintained that he has matured (per Patti Sapone's article in The Star-Ledger), and it appears that Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood maintains that his junior signal caller is the starting quarterback, 

The sentiment is one echoed by new Rutgers offensive coordinator Ron Prince. "I think Gary has done a real nice job preparing," remarked Prince (as quoted by Tom Luicci of The Star-Ledger). "I think he’s listened and has internalized not only the plays and the routes and the route progressions, but how we want to play the game."

By all accounts, Nova has had a good spring camp and has looked sharp in practice. The annual 2013 Scarlet-White spring game gave him the chance to showcase his development, and he responded by going 11-of-16 for 222 yards and three TDs. But while Flood has again anointed the junior signal caller as his starter, he reminded fans and players alike that there are others right behind Nova who are just waiting for their chance to shine.

In their final year as a member of the Big East, the Scarlet Knights are still seeking their first-ever solo finish atop the conference. With that goal in mind—as well as a their first-ever BCS bowl bid—coach Flood continues to believe that Nova is the new-and-improved man for the job.

“I was confident that he would take the next step going forward and I think he has, and now the most critical thing for Gary is where can he get to by the time we start training camp,” Flood explained following the game (per Mike Becker of The Daily Record). “He needs to come back to training camp a better athlete, and a better quarterback, and a better football player, and a better leader than he is today.”

Rutgers University has some healing to do with respect to its current athletic programs, but that does not extend to the football team, where Kyle Flood's program is coming off a 9-4 season, sending multiple players to the NFL each year and getting ready to join the Big Ten. 

The 2013 Rutgers spring game posed a chance for new talent to stake its claim toward starting jobs next season. It also gave the team a chance to support the Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund and let some younger fans play on the field, capping a positive end to Rutgers' 2013 spring football slate (h/t NJ.com)

Team Scarlet jumped out early and never looked back, earning a 45-0 win over Team White. 

It was a beautiful day for football in New Jersey on Saturday, as you can see by this tweet from the Scarlet Knight on Twitter—there wasn't a better place to catch a football game on Saturday in Jersey than High Point Solutions Stadium:

Rutgers Spring Game 2013 come out you still have time. #RFamily #RSpringGame pic.twitter.com/GmcGaMSXEX

— Sir Henry (@rusirhenry) April 27, 2013

On a weekend in which former defensive standouts Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon and Khaseem Greene all are headed for the NFL after the 2013 draft, the big storyline heading into the summer months is still the development of returning starting quarterback Gary Nova and the Scarlet Knights offense. 

Nova, in charge of the Scarlet offense on Saturday, got the scoring started for the dark team, tossing a touchdown pass to Quron Pratt that was the first six of 31 Scarlet points in the first half. 

The running game was really clicking in the first half, too, led by standout running back Savon Huggins' bruising touchdown run to increase the lead as halftime approached. Other highlights from the first half included redshirt freshman Ian Thomas picking up a fumble for a touchdown and a field goal after a Chas Dodd drive stalled and Miles Shuler dropped an easy touchdown pass in the back of the end zone (h/t Greg Johnson):

Drop in the endzone by Miles Shuler ends a 2-for-5, 21 yard drive by Chas Dodd.

— Greg Johnson (@gregp_j) April 27, 2013

Although the Scarlet team was playing mostly against second- and third-teamers on both sides of the ball, it made sure it took care of business by taking a 31-0 halftime lead. 

The White team couldn't get anything going for most of the afternoon and will have to settle for a tough loss and some clear motivation to get better and push for starting jobs as the fall season commences later this year. 

Nova came out and increased the lead to 38 points with a touchdown after the second half began, and Dodd added another to tight end Tyler Kroft to complete the scoring and give the Scarlet team the easy victory on Saturday afternoon. 

The game ended somewhat interestingly, as Rutgers invited middle-schoolers affected by Hurricane Sandy to participate in some flag football over the final five minutes of the running clock. Rutgers tied the score at 45 on the board and let the two young teams duke it out on a college field for the first time in their lives, but we'll take the result from the first portion of the day for the use of this recap. 

Different players from the Rutgers roster helped call plays for each of the flag teams, and it was a perfect way to end a great day of Rutgers football. 

As a new era for both the athletic program and the football team begins, Rutgers was able to mix both fun and football in a way that fans and this team won't soon forget. Let's take a look at some grades for key players on both sides of the ball from this game below. 

Grades

QB Gary Nova: B-

Concerns about Nova's ability to improve his accuracy and overall ability to play better against good competition are certainly there, and we aren't going to get a gauge on those concerns against Rutgers' second-teamers. 

However, Nova showed again on Saturday that he has the talent and arm to improve upon his 57-percent completion percent from the 2012 season. He started strong with a touchdown pass on the opening drive and did nothing to convince coach Flood he's not the long-term man for the job. 

Nova also had a minor hiccup to his game as the clock wound down the fourth quarter, lofting a wobbly pass that was intercepted and ended his spring on a somewhat sour note. 

Gary Johnson had this look at his halftime stats:

Nova ends the first half 9-for-11 for 152 yards and 2 TDs. 31-0 Scarlet team at the half. #RFootball

— Greg Johnson (@gregp_j) April 27, 2013

There's a quite buzz around Nova's abilities in New Brunswick, and he'll be expected to both improve his game and help carry this team over into the new season with the loss of key players on both sides of the ball. We'll see if he's up to the challenge when the 2013 season begins against Fresno State. 

RB Savon Huggins: B+

With former Scarlet Knight and recent NFL champion Ray Rice in attendance, Huggins did his best to capture the running-back job outright on Saturday. 

HIs touchdown run in the first half was a big part of that effort, and he looked the part of a back ready to take on more responsibility during the spring game. 

Coach Flood also mentioned during the halftime interview that he thought Michael Burton, listed as a fullback on the official roster, has earned a chance to run the ball more in what could turn out to be a committee approach to replacing the departed Jawan Jamison in the backfield. 

If Rutgers wants to capitalize on its 9-4 campaign in 2012 without taking a step back, finding a running back that can handle the load will be key. Huggins, Paul James and a class of recruits will apparently all be in the mix when fall football starts at Rutgers, a fact noted by ESPN's Andrea Adelson last month. 

LB Steve Longa: A-

Longa is one of the guys looking to help replace the production lost when Greene and Steve Beauharnais both left the middle of the defense this offseason, and he got off to a good start on Saturday. 

He was part of a Scarlet defense that did not allow a point to the White team and ended up with a late interception to stake his claim to one of the starting LB jobs as a sophomore next season. 

Matt Sugam reported earlier this month that Longa was hoping to prove he's worthy of starter time, and he did just that on Saturday:

#Rutgers LB Steve Longa (@StrongaLonga3) hoping to show he's starting material http://t.co/2stsBvSRM9 #RFootball

— Matt Sugam (@MattSugam) April 10, 2013

Rutgers has a relatively light schedule in the Big East during its final year with the conference, and there's no reason why it shouldn't be in preseason conversation for a conference crown. 

Getting there will start with Nova, but could hinge on players like Longa stepping up to fill the void left by departing seniors in 2013. Rutgers fans have a lot to be excited about next season, and the young players on display on Saturday were just a start. 

You can follow Ethan Grant on Twitter: Follow @DowntownEG