With an impressive outing against the Hoosiers to get the Scarlet Knights into a position to be bowl eligible, the Gavin Wimsatt Era has its first official milestone at Rutgers. Despite this, it is hard for alumni to not look forward to next year, and the arrival of the latest quarterback recruit, A.J. Surace, who already has risen to the level of savior-in-waiting upon which Rutgers fans have pinned their long-suffering hopes.
While the Scarlet Knights have produced a number of quarterbacks that have gone on to the professional ranks, none of them rises to the level of legendary in the same fashion as other collegiate programs. But, moving on to a professional career is not necessarily an indication of that quarterback’s importance to the collegiate program, as fans of Tim Tebow or Ryan Leaf can attest.
Over the past four-and-a-half decades, a number of quarterbacks have stepped onto the field to lead the Scarlet Knights. Many of these were beloved by fans and alumni, and no one can dismiss the contributions of competitors like Noah Vedral, Giovanni Rescigno, Tom Tarver, Chad Schwenk, Chas Dodd or even Jacque LaPrarie.
With that, here are the Top 10 Rutgers quarterbacks since the Scarlet Knights joined the ranks of D-I programs:
No. 10 -- TOM SAVAGE
While it’s true that Rutgers fans did not get a full four years to appreciate Savage, the brief time that he was with the Scarlet Knights was one of great hope and expectations for RU fans. The team’s Homer Hazel Award winner in 2009, Savage set conference passing records for a true freshmen, and seeing the young quarterback throwing to the likes of Mohamed Sanu, Mark Harrison, and Tim Brown had Rutgers fans excited about the future. Savage was such a prolific passer, in fact, that he ranks fourth in yards-per-attempt (7,4), tied with Gary Nova, among RU quarterbacks having at least 100 passing attempts. While it appeared that Savage would likely re-write the RU record books by the time he was done, he finished his collegiate stint at Pittsburgh and went on to an NFL career. With a QB rating of 123.4, Savage ranks sixth among RU signal callers. Despite his short stay at RU (18 games), he amassed 16 TDs and 2,732 yards passing (which ranks thirteenth for Rutgers D-I quarterbacks), spending a good deal of his sophomore season on the injury list.
SIGNATURE WINS: USF (2009); UCF (2009)
No. 9 -- ERIC HOCHBERG
In fairness, the Scarlet Knights had a respectable season with Hochberg in 1984, where they posted a 7-3-0 record, which today, would easily have earned them a bowl appearance. Hochberg may be one of RU’s forgotten gems, who posted a solid 105.7 passer rating with 3,825 yards but just 18 touchdowns in 42 games. His finest moment may have been the Scarlet Knights’ 23-19 victory over West Virginia, a feat that would not be replicated for another 10 years, when Ray Lucas led RU to a victory over the Mountaineers.
SIGNATURE WINS: West Virginia (1984)
No. 8 -- BRYAN FORTAY
Like Savage, Fortay had a limited time at Rutgers. Whereas Savage had transferred out of RU, Fortay was a transfer in from the University of Miami (Fla.). During his two years with Rutgers, Fortay threw for 25 TDs and 2,374 yards. The highlight of his career remains an endearing moment for Rutgers fans and alumni alike, when he directed the Scarlet Knights to a last-second come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech in the Homecoming Game in 1992. Leading Rutgers to a 7-4-0 mark that season would easily have earned the Scarlet Knights a bowl game in modern college football, but not in 1992. Following his time at RU, Fortay had a brief professional career with the Frankfurt Galaxy.
SIGNATURE WINS: Virginia Tech (1992); West Virginia (1992)
No. 7 -- ED MCMICHAEL
Playing in the early days of D-I football for RU, McMichael was blessed to be coached by Rutgers’ legend Frank Burns (a former RU quarterback who still ranks sixth in touchdown passes on the all-time list). As part of the team that finished 9-3 in 1978 and earned the Scarlet Knights’ first-ever bowl appearance (Rutgers was actually extended an invitation to the Independence Bowl in 1976, but declined the bid) in the inaugural Garden State Bowl. In that game, he was the backup to QB Bob Hering in a loss to Arizona State, but he emerged as the starter in 1979. In that season, he quarterbacked the team to a road victory over the Tennessee Volunteers, 13-7, in a game that Burns would later say was the greatest victory of his coaching career. The Knights would go 8-3-0 in 1979 and 7-4-0 in 1980, which certainly would have propelled them into bowl games in modern times. In his Rutgers career, McMichael ranks first in yards-per-attempt for D-I Rutgers quarterbacks (7.5), threw for 20 touchdowns, had 3,584 yards passing and posted a 130.6 passer rating. He later enjoyed a brief professional career in the USFL.
SIGNATURE WINS: Tennessee (1979)
RUTGERS HALL OF FAME, 1993
No. 6 -- MIKE MCMAHON
Playing quarterback through the insufferable Coach Terry Shea era, McMahon may truly be the most under-appreciated Rutgers quarterback of all time. Active from 1997 to 2000, the team’s record over that time was 9-35-0, with the infamous 0-11-0 season of 1997. Despite that, his 6,608 yards passing and 41 career touchdowns were enough to earn him a 109.7 career passer rating. McMahon was a fifth-round draft choice of the Detroit Lions, and enjoyed a five-year NFL career before going on to other professional leagues.
SIGNATURE WINS: Pittsburgh (1998)
No. 5 -- RAY LUCAS
Lucas may well be remembered for his six-year NFL career with the Jets and the Dolphins, but he put up some impressive numbers while a Scarlet Knight. In 1994, the Scarlet Knights went 5-5-1, which may have been good enough in the current NCAA bowl environment to earn them a postseason bid. With 5,896 passing yards in his career, Lucas ranks sixth on the all-time list for Rutgers quarterbacks, along with slinging 43 touchdowns. While he did briefly split time with Bryan Fortay, Lucas still finished with a respectable 120.2 passer rating.
SIGNATURE WINS: West Virginia (1994)
RUTGERS HALL OF FAME, 2017
No. 4 -- SCOTT ERNEY
Without question, if RU had had more talent around Erney in the late 1980s, his respectable career at Rutgers would have been even more prolific. As it was, he still amassed 41 TDs and 7,188 yards in his career with the Scarlet Knights. Erney was the team’s Homer Hazel Award Winner in 1987, 1988 and 1989, and enjoyed a brief professional career with the Barcelona Dragons. The team’s 6-5-0 record in 1987 would likely make them bowl eligible today, but RU did not play in any postseason games while Erney was their quarterback. Beloved by RU fans because he is the last quarterback to defeat Penn State, the victory was even sweeter as it came in front of a disgruntled crowd in Happy Valley while Coach Joe Paterno paced the sidelines.
SIGNATURE WINS: Michigan State (1988); Penn State (1988)
RUTGERS HALL OF FAME, 1995
No. 3 -- GARY NOVA
Probably no quarterback leaves RU fans more divided than Gary Nova. While forced to split time in his early career with Chas Dodd, Nova’s up-and-down unpredictability led to a roller coaster ride of highs and lows for Rutgers fans. In his four-year career at RU, Nova ranks first in touchdowns (73), second in yards (9,258) and completions (689). The Homer Hazel Award winner in 2014, he is also second all-time in interceptions thrown (51), but still managed to post a 129.0 career passer rating. During his time at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights went to four bowl games, going 2-2 in those contests (although Dodd was the starter against Iowa State).
SIGNATURE WINS: Arkansas (2012); Cincinnati (2012); Arkansas (2013); Michigan 2014
No. 2 -- RYAN HART
By the time he concluded his collegiate career, Hart owned most of the significant RU passing records despite only playing in one postseason game. Like Mike Teel, he did have several NFL-caliber players as his teammates at Rutgers, but he will forever be known as the quarterback who ended the 27-year RU bowl drought. In that season, the Scarlet Knights earned an invitation to the 2005 Insight.com Bowl against Arizona State. Among D-I Scarlet Knight QBs, Hart ranks second in passing percentage (60.4%), and fifth in yards-per-attempt (7.0). The 2003 co-winner of the Homer Hazel Award (shared that season with Brian Leonard), no one has more career completions (735) than Hart, who is third in career passing yards (8,482) and touchdowns (52), finishing his time at Rutgers with a QB rating of 124.5.
SIGNATURE WINS: Syracuse (2003); Michigan State (2004); Pittsburgh (2005); Navy (2005)
No. 1 -- MIKE TEEL
Sure, Teel had the benefit of being surrounded by a multitude of teammates that went on to play professionally, but he still needed the skill to utilize those players. Teel’s talents served him well enough to be drafted by the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, and he either holds the records, or is in the top three leaders, for most of the Scarlet Knights passing categories. As the QB who got the Knights their first-ever bowl victory (Texas Bowl), Teel finished with 59 TD passes and a QB rating of 135.4 in his career. The Homer Hazel Award winner in 2008, he holds the Rutgers career passing record for yards (9,383).
SIGNATURE WINS: USF (2006); Pittsburgh (2006); Louisville (2006); Kansas State (2006); Navy (2007); USF (2007); Pittsburgh (2008); USF (2008); N.C. State (2008)
For now, 2023 has more football yet to play, and it may well be that Wimsatt ends up becoming one of the Scarlet Knights’ most memorable quarterbacks over the course of his career. Rutgers fans have been teased in the past with names of the next great prospect that would lead the Scarlet Knights out of the Valley of Mediocrity. RU fans will recite the recent names of Artur Sitowski, Chris Laviano and even Hayden Rettig as incoming prospects upon which hopes may have been pinned, but who did not pan out. Notre Dame High School’s star, A.J. Surace, may well be the future leader of the Scarlet Knights, but for now, Rutgers’ fans will enjoy the remainder of a season that has brought something not seen since entering the Big Ten Conference: Bowl eligibility.
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