Rutgers Football Notebook: Week 4
Rutgers will be taking on No. 19 Michigan on the gridiron on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
But before that, check out this notebook about turnovers or the lack thereof, a pair of defensive backs, a defensive lineman that is upping his game, fan noise, a receiver that is coming on, a special teams threat, penalties, and personnel matchups.
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You have to go back to 2009 when Rutgers didn’t turn the ball over for three straight games. Rutgers accomplished that feat again this year by not conceding a turnover against Temple, Syracuse, and Delaware. Rutgers’ win over the Blue Hens the 31st game under head coach Greg Schiano overall without committing a turnover.
“I think it's a serious commitment and buy-in by our players to what we stress,” Schiano said. “We believe very deeply that the ball is the program. Kirk Ciarrocca brought that here, and that's stuck with us everywhere we've been. And it's very important to us that you realize that when you carry that ball, you're carrying [the program] because -- as crazy as it is, right, you need that ball to score every way except the safety. If you don't have the ball, you can't score.
“To simplify it to the most simple degree, our number has to be bigger than their number otherwise we lose. So kind of common sense, we have to take care of that thing and they are doing a good job of it. We have to continue it. The minute you take it for granted, it spills.
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Wide receiver Brandon Sanders made his way over to Rutgers after three years and two All-Patriot League First Team seasons at Bucknell. Sanders performed well during training camp, and has seen some action in the first three games for the Scarlet Knights. Against Temple, he made one catch for nine yards, but this past weekend, he made a big splash, catching three passes for 84 yards, including a 62-yard bomb from quarterback Naoh Vedral for a touchdown.
“He's a tremendous young man. I remember I flew in to see my son, Joe, play and he was on the team. I think he was a freshman, and he caught a dig back behind him and I remember saying, ‘That kid, he's special’.
“And then as time would tell, he was looking for a place to transfer and he had some options, and he decided to come here. And he's doing a very good job, and he's really a great guy to have on the team. He's fit right in he's helped us on special teams and at receiver and playing both inside and outside. We're very fortunate to have him.”
Rutgers was again with cornerback Patrice Rene this past Saturday, and so Kessawn Abraham earned himself another start -- his second in a row. In 45 snaps on defense, Abraham received a solid 70.3 overall grade per Pro Football Focus and 73.3 in pass coverage on 29 snaps. He didn’t allow a reception on three targets. Abraham finished with three tackles and two pass deflections.
“The only reason he didn't start three weeks is because they started a different personnel group or he could easily add three starts under his belt. Kess really stepped up,” Schiano said. “Kess has had issues with injuries earlier in his career. I think he's made a renewed commitment to playing Rutgers football, and he's certainly talented enough to do that so I love the way Kess approaches things. He's a fighter. He's not the biggest guy in the world but don't tell him that because he's gonna fight you tooth and nail and I think he's played well.”
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Max Melton continued his strong start to the season this past weekend with three tackles and a nice pass breakup down the left sideline. Melton was stride-for-stride with the Delaware receiver and he was able to knock the ball away.
“We are blessed to have Max. He is a really good player. He's a tremendous competitor,” Schiano said. “This guy wants to win every single thing he does and he approaches practice like that, practices that way, and then he goes and plays that way. So I really think he's a very good corner and he's getting better every day. He's still a young guy right, he's played in what, 12 college games -- the equivalent of one season. I think he can really become a great one if he just continues to work the way he is.”
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Aron Cruickshank added to his special teams impact tracker with his first career punt return for a touchdown this past Saturday. Cruickshank now has five total return scores as he also has brought back four kickoffs for touchdowns as well in his career. Cruickshank was named the Big Ten co-Special Teams Player of the Week for his score against Delaware.
“Yeah, I was very excited coming into the year. I thought Aron could be an explosive threat,” Schiano said. “He has started off the season being just that, again, now we have the Big Ten, so it's harder to do what he does in the Big Ten. So let's see, but he is a great returner. On the return, he got some good supporting blocks, but there were a couple points on that touchdown run where he just went right, went left and then went really fast. There were people there and he just ran away from them. He's individually very talented, and I think the units, both the KOR and the punt return, are doing a good job as well.”
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Nose tackle Julius Turner had the best defensive grade on the team PFF this week with a 78.4 including a superb 90. 1 for pass rushing. Turner was constantly able to split defenders and get into the backfield. He had two sacks, three hurries, one hit, and six tackles.
Turner has three sacks this year and he had 3.5 in his five years (four playing) “On the Banks”.
“Well I think number one, he's got an opportunity now,” Schiano said. “He never was out there on third down. Every d-lineman's dream is to be on the third down rush team because of the high level of pass. He's earned that right, and I think he's done a good job. He's pressured the quarterback on first and second down, which he's always been able to do, and now he's doing it on third down as well.”
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As what originally was thought, Rutgers has the ability to be multiple on defense. The Scarlet Knights can utilize an extra defensive back in a 4-2-5, or keep it basic in a 4-3 with three traditional linebackers. In week 1, Rutgers went 4-3 to start, but in the last two games, it was 4-2-5. It all depends on matchups and the opposition.
"It's really a matchups thing, right. If you're looking at a three receiver offense, we oftentimes like to have five DBs on the field," Schiano said. "The structure of it you can call whatever you want, but I just look at it is, you got three or four linemen, you have two or three linebackers and you have five or six DBs, and how that shakes out how you structure it, you know everybody wants to put it in a box. I don't think you because you look at the two teams we just played were 3-5-3's but they didn't even look similar. To me it's more personnel based."
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Rutgers has only been called for a penalty five times through three games. That's third least in the nation. That trend will need to continue is Rutgers is going to do well in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights can't afford to beat themselves.
"I think it's very important. We can't overcome when we make those kind of mistakes, not yet," Schianos said. "Sometimes you can when you're really, really talented and really, really primed and it's the same guys and you've had them forever. You know what, that's when you almost, what's the big deal, we'll make it up.
"That's not us right now. We have to play that way. And I think the two big things, the biggest thing is taking care of the football. The guys have done a very good job with that and the second is if you play efficiently and don't give back yards, you have a chance."
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After the win over Delaware on Saturday, Rutgers quarterback Noah Vedral said preparing for and playing in a place like the Carrier Dome in some ways can help you get ready for an environment like the Big House. Yes, Syracuse's home field doesn't present 100,000 people, but the indoor facility presented a loud crowd.
Saturday's game against Michigan will be Schaino's first on the road against a Big Ten team with a full capacity crowd.
"We have the ability to do it. We did it, getting ready for Syracuse, we did it in the years past. We have crowd noise, we have systems that we've invested money in. You can't hear yourself talk from me to you. It's not gonna be louder than that," Schiano said. "The issue you deal with when you play on the road is you can't let the momentum, you can't judge what's going on, the momentum all those things. You just got to chop your job. Just go and do what you're supposed to do. When you start letting all that other stuff become part of the equation, well now you're playing right into the mess. Playing on the road there's certain things that we talk about all the time and I think our guys understand what it's going to take. But again, it's been a while since we've played on the road in the Big Ten with crowds, not since I've been here. So this is our first Big Ten road game and it's a good place to start."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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