Rutgers WRs must build on a better performance this past Saturday
Saturday’s 24-17 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers was a tough one to swallow for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team.
After an opening drive touchdown led by freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski, things went south for the Scarlet Knights, as they punted their next two possessions, followed by Sitkowski throwing a drive-killing interception in the red zone on their third. Despite some late game heroics by the defense, and the offense able to take advantage of Indiana’s mistakes, it just wasn’t enough to propel Rutgers to its first Big 10 win of the season.
But it was enough to inspire hope.
The numbers might tell a different story (51% completion percentage, 154 yards, one touchdown, and an interception), but Sitkowski seemed efficient as a passer for Rutgers. He managed the offense well, hitting his receivers in stride and going through his progressions to find open targets. And while that can be mostly attributed to the true freshman improving for Rutgers, the glory goes more towards the young receiving core.
In the post-game press conference, Rutgers Head Coach Chris Ash talked about getting guys more reps on the field and being just as, if not more, efficient in the passing game as Rutgers has been in the running game.
“We have to get more guys involved and we have to get the ball in more guys' hands and we were able to do that today,” Ash said. “I think we threw the ball more than we have today and we were able to protect well against four-man rush. That was a positive… Art made good decisions. We ran good routes. All 11 were working together when we had success.”
Ash’s message was echoed by wide receiver coach Lester Erb after practice on Tuesday, putting an emphasis on getting the younger players more reps in games and improving themselves in practice.
“Biggest thing I talk to with those guys is getting better every day,” Erb told The Knight Report. “I know, I sound like a broken record, but that’s really what we’re striving to do and, again, the best thing that can happen to these guys is getting more game experience. We did some good things on Saturday, and now we have to build on them.”
Erb’s right on that, as Rutgers’ receivers did a good job moving the ball through the air better than they have all season, which is rare, given how reliant the Scarlet Knights are in the running game. Senior tight end Jerome Washington led the team with two catches for 55 yards, while the young receiver core of sophomore Bo Melton, freshmen Shameen Jones & Eddie Lewis had 10 combined catches 89 yards and a touchdown. The score was Jones’ first of his career.
Erb has had nothing but praise for his young receivers, especially Lewis and Jalen Jordan.
“That’s the thing, it goes back to what you do in practice, what you do every single day out here, and these young guys deserved a chance to go out there and make a play for us. Of course, with freshman, you don’t always know what they’re going to do, but they’re taking advantage of their opportunities,” Erb said about his freshman receivers.
Erb sees Lewis as a true freshman getting his feet wet. Lewis has all the physical talent you could want in a pass catcher. He just needs to adjust well into the college level as he gets his reps in. As for Jordan, Erb sees the 6-foot-5 receiver as a natural talent with great body control and strength, deserving of more game-time snaps.
When asked about how he sees Rutgers’ offense going forward, Erb said, “Yeah, we’re not perfect, we haven’t played a perfect game yet. We’re still building as a team, and all you can do is build on the positives and hopefully more positives stuff comes out of it.”
Beat writer Chris Nalwasky contributed to this article