Big East: Ryan Blaszczyk
It wasn't a great day for wideout Tim Brown, who didn't receive an NFL combine invite and probably needed a good workout. Brown measured in at just 5-foot-6 and 3/4 inches and 151 pounds. He had been listed at 5-8 during his college career. His actual size makes what he accomplished at Rutgers even more impressive, but it doesn't exactly thrill tape-measure obsessed scouts.
And Brown, who had been dealing with an ankle injury, ran just a 4.52 and a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash.
Rutgers' two possible first-rounders, Devin McCourty and Anthony Davis, did most of their work at the combine. Davis didn't do any drills Wednesday, while McCourty focused only on position work.
Center Ryan Blaszczyk had the best performance on the bench press, hoisting 225 pounds 31 times. Fullback Jack Corcoran, who weighed in nearly 70 pounds less than Blaszczyk, managed to 30 reps.
Linebacker Ryan D'Imperio had a nice day, running a respectable 4.65 in the 40 and showing off good athleticism in the other drills. He also worked some at fullback. Defensive lineman George Johnson measured in at 6-foot-4 and 3/8 and 268 pounds and put in some time at linebacker.
You can view the complete Rutgers pro day results here.
The Scarlet Knights' Pro Day will be broadcast live on Scarlet Knights.com beginning at 1:50 p.m. Here is the list of players who are participating:
Blair Bines
Ryan Blaszczyk
Pat Brown
Tim Brown
Jack Corcoran
Anthony Davis (will not participate in every drill)
Andrew DePaola
Ryan D’Imperio
Shamar Graves
Kevin Haslam
George Johnson
Stephante Kent
Zaire Kitchen
Jabu Lovelace
Devin McCourty (will not participate in every drill)
Damaso Munoz
McCourty and Davis each worked out at the NFL combine and are considered potential first-round picks.
So what about those who just missed the cut? Making a list of just 30 players across an eight-team league means some really good players have to be left off. Let's start with a look at those on my preseason list who failed to duplicate the honor in the postseason:
No. 3: Matt Grothe: A terrific career, obviously, but the South Florida quarterback's season was cut down by a knee injury before it ever really got going, and his pro potential is questionable at best.
No. 7: Victor Anderson: Another guy who's season was hampered by injury. Anderson posted only 473 rushing yards for Louisville, though he remains capable of big things in the next two years.
No. 10: Reed Williams: The West Virginia linebacker could have easily made this list, as he's not only an excellent player but a terrific leader. Just missed because he, too, was limited at times because of injuries.
No. 11: Ryan D'Imperio: The Rutgers linebacker wasn't nearly as productive as he had been, with his tackles dipping down to 76. But he wasn't fully healthy either.
No. 12: Scott Lutrus: Starting to sound like a broken record here. The Huskies linebacker missed huge chunks of time with various injuries and was surpassed on this list by teammate Lawrence Wilson. But he'll be a prominent preseason candidate for top 30 designation.
No. 15: Aaron Berry: The Pitt corner had a solid but not spectacular season.
No. 16: Robert Vaughn: The UConn safety dropped because of a poor overall performance by the Huskies' secondary.
No. 17: Scooter Berry: The West Virginia tackle missed significant time with injuries and a suspension.
No 19: Scott Long: My most controversial preseason pick had the misfortune of playing for a bad offense. But the Louisville receiver did get an NFL combine invite.
No. 21: Jessie Hester: The South Florida wideout struggled with injuries for much of 2009 and never regained his '08 form.
No. 22: Ryan Blaszczyk: The Rutgers offensive line disappointed, dragging its center's ranking down with it.
No. 24: Brandon Hogan: Improved as season went on; could easily make the preseason list this summer.
No. 25: Mike Williams: Was arguably the league's top receiver for half the year. But you don't quit your team midseason and expect to make a list of the league's best.
No. 27: Jock Sanders: A tough, tough omission from the list, especially considering he had 72 catches for West Virginia. What decided it for me was that he averaged fewer than 10 yards per catch and had only three touchdowns, and his production took a nosedive late in the season.
No. 28: Nate Byham: Still a terrific blocking tight end, but his pass-catching opportunities instead went to Dorin Dickerson, and I didn't want to put two Pitt tight ends on the list.
No. 29: Jon Dempsey: Had a fine year (107 tackles), but it was hard to tell by the end of the season whether he or Chris Campa was Louisville's best linebacker. No Cardinals made the postseason top 30, which gives you an idea of the challenge facing Charlie Strong.
No. 30: Moe Petrus: The UConn center was part of a terrific line, but Chris Jurek and Sampson Genus edged him out for the first- and second-team All-Big East center positions as voted by the coaches.
OK, now that we've exposed how far off my preseason list was, here are a few other players who barely missed the postseason cut:
Zach Collaros, QB, Cincinnati: An interesting decision here. He was outstanding in less than half a season's worth of work, including a record-breaking performance against UConn. And his potential is off the charts. Probably should have included him, but I just felt he didn't play enough in 2009. He'll definitely be on the preseason list, and probably awfully high.
Zach Hurd, UConn, and John Malecki, Pitt: Two of the best guards in the league, a position which sadly wasn't represented on this list. Guards are like the Rodney Dangerfield of football.
J.T. Thomas, West Virginia, and Adam Gunn, Pitt: Excellent linebackers in a league that's stacked at that position.
Armon Binns, WR, Cincinnati: He was at times the Bearcats' best weapon when defenses concentrated on Mardy Gilyard. You wonder how much the system inflates the stats of receivers. Binns, though, will surely appear on the summer list.
Chris Neild, NT, West Virginia: I thought he was one of the top two or three interior linemen in the league. Just missed.
I'm sure I'm failing to mention other worthy candidates, but I've already gone on and on long enough. Sound off on other players you think should have made it, or why I'm crazy for not including some of these on the list.
Reviewing Rutgers' St. Petersburg Bowl win
On Friday, I offered three keys to the game for the Scarlet Knights: develop some type of running threat even if it is Mohamed Sanu in the Wildcat, stop UCF running back Brynn Harvey and come up with a play or two on special teams.
While Rutgers had only 86 yards rushing, Sanu ran for two touchdowns out of the Wildcat. It was enough to keep the UCF defense off balance, and Tom Savage threw for 294 yards. Harvey, who was the Knights' top weapon, had only 32 yards on 13 carries as Rutgers allowed only 35 yards rushing the entire game.
As for special teams, Damaso Munoz scored off an onside kick return, though the game was well in hand at that point. Rutgers gave up some serious yards on kick returns and Sanu muffed a punt.
I thought it might be a low-scoring game, but I was way off about that. The Scarlet Knights got key contributions from injured receiver Tim Brown (four catches, 100 yards and a 65-yard score) and scored on an interception return by Billy Anderson just before the half. That and Munoz's touchdown gave Rutgers nine non-offensive scores on the season. The offensive line, which had disappointed much of the year, turned in a strong performance to keep Savage clean.
It was the fifth straight bowl appearance and fourth consecutive postseason victory for the Scarlet Knights, who now need to build on this win with Sanu and Savage returning for their sophomore years. The team needs to avoid the slow starts in 2010 that have plagued them in recent years.
The program will lose some significant players, including Brown, center Ryan Blaszczyk, defensive end George Johnson, linebacker Ryan D'Imperio, cornerback Devin McCourty and left tackle Anthony Davis, who has called a news conference for Tuesday to announce his intentions to leave for the NFL draft.
But the departing seniors see a bright future for Rutgers, Tom Luicci writes in The Star-Ledger.
“You need to be consistent before you can be great," head coach Greg Schiano said. "We’re going to be great someday ... someday soon."
Rutgers Scarlet Knights season recap
Still, Rutgers had things lined up to do so much more this season. The Scarlet Knights played no one of consequence in the nonconference schedule and had most of their toughest league games at home. Viewed in that light, 8-4 isn't much to crow about.
The season got off to the worst possible start, as Cincinnati ruined the opening of the expanded Rutgers Stadium with a 47-15 pounding on Labor Day. Midway through that game, head coach Greg Schiano decided to cast his lot with true freshman Tom Savage at quarterback. It was the right call, as Savage was better than senior Dom Natale, but it also meant that the offense would be on training wheels most of the season.
Receiver Tim Brown, true freshman Mohamed Sanu and running back Joe Martinek gave the offense some punch, but the veteran offensive line disappointed. The team went back to the earlier days under Schiano by relying on defense and special teams to create opportunities; Rutgers was one of the best in the nation in forcing turnovers, coming up with 32 of them on the year.
The Scarlet Knights had a chance to salvage something special out of this season, but a blowout upset loss to Syracuse and an inability to get past West Virginia in the home finale left them thinking about next year.
Offensive MVP: Brown. After years of playing a complementary role behind Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood, the diminutive Brown stepped forward as a true No. 1 receiver this season. He had 51 catches for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 20.6 yards per catch. That he did it with a true freshman quarterback and cautious playcalling in the passing game made Brown's year all the more impressive.
Defensive MVP: Devin McCourty. The best cornerback in the Big East was also one of the league's most disruptive forces on special teams. He'll join his twin brother, Jason, in the NFL next season.
Turning point: The Scarlet Knights had just fallen behind UConn 24-21 with 38 seconds left on Halloween afternoon. A loss would have saddled them with a 5-3 record and 0-3 Big East mark. But Brown rescued Rutgers with an amazing 81-yard catch-and-dash for a touchdown just 16 seconds later. Who knows how the season would have unfolded without that play?
What's next: With Savage and Sanu on the verge of superstardom, the future looks pretty bright. Still, the Scarlet Knights lose key seniors Brown, McCourty, defensive end George Johnson, center Ryan Blaszczyk and linebacker Ryan D'Imperio and most likely junior left tackle Anthony Davis to the NFL. Rutgers needs to develop a more consistent running game, find more receivers who can contribute and avoid the slow starts that have plagued the last two seasons.
ESPN.com's preseason All-Big East team
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
The Big East doesn't put out an official preseason all-conference team. But I do. Below are my picks for the best in the league for 2009. Pittsburgh leads the way with six selections.
Offense
QB Tony Pike, Cincinnati
RB Noel Devine, West Virginia
RB Victor Anderson, Louisville
WR Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
WR Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh
OT: Anthony Davis, Rutgers
OG: John Malecki, Pittsburgh
C: Ryan Blaszczyk Rutgers
OG: Art Forst, Rutgers
OT: Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh
TE: Nate Byham, Pittsburgh
Defense
DE: George Selvie, South Florida
DT: Arthur Jones, Syracuse
DT: Scooter Berry, West Virginia
DE: Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh
LB: Ryan D'Imperio, Rutgers
LB: Scott Lutrus, Connecticut
LB: Reed Williams, West Virginia
CB: Aaron Berry, Pittsburgh
CB: Brandon Hogan, West Virginia
S: Nate Allen, South Florida
S: Robert Vaughn, Connecticut
Specialists
P: Rob Long, Syracuse
PK: Jake Rogers, Cincinnati
KR: Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati
PR: Jasper Howard, Connecticut
Cincinnati, Rutgers focused in prep for Week 1
Lots of college football teams will use opening weekend to beat up on some FCS school while working out the early-season kinks.
Not so for Cincinnati and Rutgers. The Bearcats go to Piscataway on Labor Day, not only giving both teams a stiff challenge in Week 1 but also creating a conference showdown that could affect the entire Big East race.
Because of that, when both teams start practice next week, things will be a little different than usual.
"It's probably the biggest change I've had to make at my time here in Cincinnati," Bearcats coach Brian Kelly said. "You don't have time to mess around with who's starting at defensive end. You don't have time to mess around with two guys platooning. You've got to get your best guys ready to play.
"That's not usually the way I like to do things. I like to keep the competition moving a little slower in preseason camp. But we have to get to business early."
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano had to get his team ready to play Fresno State in last year's opener, which was no easy task. And the Scarlet Knights lost that game at home. Still, Schiano said he will change some things in preseason camp as well.
"I'd be lying if I said we'd approach things the same if we were opening against someone who we were clearly better [than] personnel-wise," he said. "The time horizon is a little different for developing your squad. We've got a league football game opening week, so some things like the kicking game are critical."
Schiano said punt, kickoff and field goal units tend to be rusty after long layoffs, whether that's in Week 1 or in bowl games. He plans to spend more time than normal on special teams this month, because those things "get you beat more often than not" in a situation like his team is facing.
Rutgers center Ryan Blaszczyk said the schedule definitely caught the attention of the Scarlet Knights players.
"It's a tall order," he said. "It definitely causes us to focus a lot more over the summer. This is going to be one of the hardest training camps ever."
Kelly said -- surprise! -- he was not in favor of opening the season on the road in conference and that he complained about it to Nick Carparelli, who oversees the league's football operations.
"I screamed," he said. "I yelled. It did no good."
He said he understood that the Big East wanted to maximize exposure by having two of its teams play on national TV on a day when there's not much other competition. At the same time, he wishes the league would try harder to protect its teams from difficult assignments.
"Hopefully we don't have to continue to go down this road," he said.
Yet that's the path Cincinnati and Rutgers face, and it's going to make for a different route to the opener than they normally would take.
Big East position groups that are simply loaded
All teams are not created equal. And not all positions on a given team are on a level playing field.
There are some position groups that are much stronger than others. Today, we take a look at the areas where some Big East teams are simply loaded:
• South Florida's defensive line: Probably the most impressive-looking group, physically speaking, that I saw all spring. The Bulls' D-line is full of tall, rangy, athletic specimens. There's George Selvie, of course, but don't forget about Terrell McClain and Aaron Harris. And when Jason Pierre-Paul and Ryne Giddins come in this summer, the defensive line is going to be even more loaded.
• Pittsburgh's defensive line: The Panthers defensive front is just as strong as South Florida's, but in a different way. Dave Wannstedt prefers undersized, hyper-athletic players up front, and he's got them in spades with Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard and Mick Williams, among others.
• Rutgers' offensive line: The Scarlet Knights return all five starters from their offensive front, the only team in the Big East to do so. But this is more than just a collection of veterans. There are real stars on this unit in left tackle Anthony Davis and Rimington Trophy candidate Ryan Blaszczyk at center. Throw in improving right tackle Kevin Haslam, and you've got one loaded line.
• Connecticut's linebackers: All three of the Huskies' starting linebackers -- Scott Lutrus, Lawrence Wilson and Greg Lloyd -- are back, as well as the top three backups. And one of UConn's top recruits, Mike Osiecki, also plays linebacker. This is one position that's in extremely good hands for Randy Edsall.
Others considered: Cincinnati's wide receivers, Connecticut's safeties, Louisville's wide receivers, Rutgers' linebackers, South Florida's wide receivers, Syracuse's running backs and West Virginia's defensive line.
Rutgers' Blaszczyk, Syracuse's McKenzie on Rimington Watch list
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Rutgers senior Ryan Blaszczyk and Syracuse junior Jim McKenzie are two of 44 players named to the spring watch list for the Rimington Trophy, which is given annually to the nation's top center.
Blaszczyk, who enters his third season as Rutgers' starting center this fall, has been recognized by the Rimington Trophy committee for the second straight year. The fifth-year season has started 26 consecutive games over the last two seasons.
McKenzie started 10 games as a freshman and all 12 last season. He's not a guy you hear much about, though, and I was kind of surprised that he was chosen over Cincinnati's Jason Kelce and West Virginia's Eric Jobe.
The full list can be found here.
The Big East's best: Ryan Blaszczyk, No. 22
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Ranking the Big East's top 30 players ...
No. 22
|
Ryan Blaszczyk, C, Rutgers
Why him here: There is one group of people hoping that Blaszczyk stays in the shadow, and that is the sportswriters who have to spell his vowel-challenged name. Looks like we'll have to deal with it. Blaszczyk (can we just call you Ryan B. for short?) can make a strong claim as the best center in the Big East. He's entering his third year of starting, with 26 consecutive starts as the captain of the Scarlet Knights' line under his belt.
At 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds, Blaszczyk has ideal size for a center. He has been credited with being the vocal leader of the O-line, helping keep things together last year when the unit was scuffling and searching for the right formula during a 1-5 start. That's why he's a preseason Rimington Trophy candidate, and why he's one of our Top 30 Big East players.
The countdown
No. 23: Jeff Linkenbach, OT, Cincinnati
No. 24: Brandon Hogan, CB, West Virginia
No. 25: Mike Williams, WR, Syracuse
No. 26: Nate Allen, S, South Florida
No. 27: Jock Sanders, WR, West Virginia
No. 28: Nate Byham, TE, Pitt
No. 29: Jon Dempsey, LB, Louisville
No. 30: Moe Petrus, OL, UConn
Spring Q&A: Rutgers coach Greg Schiano
Rutgers football was a wasteland for decades. Until Greg Schiano took over.
Schiano has built the Scarlet Knights into something more than just a respectable program. He has it seemingly on the cusp of becoming a powerhouse. Even after a disastrous 1-5 start a year ago, Rutgers rebounded to finish with seven straight wins, including its third straight bowl victory. With recruiting on an uptick, it only seems like a matter of time before Schiano has the Scarlet Knights in a BCS game.
 | |
| Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger/US Presswire | |
| Coach Greg Schiano hasn't settled on a starting quarterback yet. |
I caught up with Schiano last week before his team finished out spring practice for our weekly spring Q&A series.
How has the spring gone for you guys?
Greg Schiano: I think we've improved. We're young in some areas, so that improvement isn't always as fast as you'd like it to be. And in some areas, I think we've made substantial strides. So I think we've put ourselves in position to give ourselves a chance to have a real good summer and come back and have a real good camp. And from there, who the heck knows?
You've expressed disappointment with how the passing game has developed, particularly with the wide receivers. How big of a concern is that for you?
GS: We had some injuries at the wide receiver position. And two of the three quarterbacks that are working this year are redshirt freshmen. So my expectation levels weren't that high. And then we get a few receivers bumped, and it really affects it. We've had some wind affect some things. I think it's a combination of things. We're better at throwing and catching than we've shown, but you've still got to play in the elements that you're dealt and you've got to play with who's healthy. We didn't perform up to our potential in that area, but we just need to make sure we have a real good summer throwing and catching -- our kids do a great job of doing that on their own -- and then come back and have a great preseason camp. I have confidence our guys will do that.
Dom Natale separated himself a little bit at quarterback this spring, but do you see that as an open competition again this fall?
GS: Yeah, it'll be an open competition. Jabu Lovelace was our backup QB until he hurt his ankle, and he will be healthy and ready to go this summer. I think there's going to be a good competition there. I think D.C. Jefferson will get more and more comfortable with what we're doing and Tom Savage is coming in. I think we'll have some good competition there. We'll get about 10 days out, and if it doesn't declare before then, you're almost forced to make a decision because you've got to lock in your game plan.
You're the only Big East team to return all five offensive line starters from a year ago. How much of a boost does that give you?
GS: We have a chance to be better on the offensive line. Our two guards, one of them will be a true sophomore and the other one will be a redshirt sophomore. We're still young on the inside. [Center Ryan] Blaszczyk is obviously an experience senior, and one of our tackles is an experienced guy in Kevin Haslam. Anthony Davis has been playing a lot; he's only going to be a junior but he's played a lot. So I think we have a good mix of experience and youth and we have a chance to be good. I think this summer is going to be critical for this whole group.
Defensively, you lost some good players but return a solid core. How good do you feel about that side of the ball?
GS: We've got a chance. It's going to depend on if we can stay healthy and then have some guys step up, primarily in the secondary. You know, we lose Courtney Greene and Jason McCourty, two guys that played a ton of football around here. Up front, I feel good that we finally have a little bit of depth. Anytime I've been part of a good football program, there's been a good defensive line. So hopefully that will carry through.
You had a highly ranked recruiting class, especially with a couple of top-flight defensive linemen. How many of those guys do you think can play right away?
GS: I hesitate to ever comment on that because you never know how they're going to adapt to college. They're leaving home and they're doing so many things for the first time, going to a much tougher academic environment and maybe being homesick. Athletically, I think all of them are physically developed enough guys that they can step on the field and in some way contribute. It's just going to be a matter how focused they are, how committed they are this summer, how committed they are right now even. The good thing is that, as I've mentioned, we have now some depth that is staggered within all age groups. We have some senior leadership up front, some real good juniors and some talented young guys, and these recruits will be part of that young group.
Is the talent level at Rutgers where you'd hoped it would be at this point?
GS: I don't know if I ever put a timeline on where it would be, but I think we're getting better and better players every year. Incrementally, that increase change isn't as much now because we do have real good players, but we still have a lot of upside here. When we're getting every great player within a three-hour radius of Rutgers, that's when we will have arrived.
What will playing in the newly expanded Rutgers Stadium mean for you this year?
GS: It's not done yet, and they're busting their tails to get it done for the opening game but it will be done. It will be neat. It's going to be great for our fans and it's really going to change the dynamics of our stadium. That end zone had a real collegiate feel, and now that's going to be all closed. It was a loud stadium as it was, and it's really going to be deafening now. That end zone is right on top of the field -- it's literally maybe 30-something feet from the back line of the end zone. So it's going to be an intimidating place.
For forever, people said that college sports and college football in particular wouldn't take off here because of the pro markets, but that's been proven wrong. We had a waiting list for season tickets of 12,000 people. So hopefully this expansion will fill that need and we'll start a new list.
This was the second straight year that you had trouble finding a 12th game for the schedule and had to go all the way to the spring before you filled it out. What has been the problem in finding opponents?
GS: People dropped us. We did some great scheduling in advance, but one of the downsides of that is, the price tags of guarantees went way up. And fiscally, for some schools it made sense for them -- even though they were still breaking a contract -- it made sense to break the contract and go out and g
et a higher value. Plus, when they contracted those games years ago with Rutgers, a lot of teams were counting on that as a win. But all of a sudden you've got to go there and risk something, and that wasn't the original plan.
So many of those things are done so far in advance. We had two or three teams cancel on us, one as late as last season canceled for this season. It's not easy. And the issue we've had now with selling the stadium out -- I think we've had 18 or 19 straight sellouts -- is we need seven home games. That's what pays the bills. So we can't go on the road. We tried our rear ends off to get teams to come here, but it's just not an easy prospect, especially this late in the process.
We're set up now for a while going forward now, knowing what happened. We have guarantees that I think will certainly serve as a deterrent for people to just walk away from a game or a series. So I think we're going to be in good shape moving forward. We just kind of had to get through these two years. But I like where we're headed schedule-wise.
You gave up your defensive coordinator role this year and have installed co-coordinators there. How is that going, and what led to that decision?
GS: So far, so good. I had some guys in Bob Fraser -- who's been with me a few years, we go way back -- and Ed Pinkham, and those two guys worked together for a number of years. I just felt like they could do a better job than I would and I could do better things for the program in other ways and not be so focused on one area. And really I wasn't. That was one of the tough things because as you know there are only 24 hours in a day. I think the best thing I can do right now for this program is just be the head coach.
You also have co-offensive coordinators. How is that working out this spring?
GS: It's going very well. Again, as I said when we did this, I don't think you can do this kind of thing very often, just by human nature. It just so happens that we have two guys on this side of the ball that have worked together and have great understanding and respect for one another and have complementary skill sets. I've never done it before or been part of it as a coordinator, and I have no idea if it will work or not. I just did what I felt was best.
You've accomplished a lot here in your time. Is winning the Big East the next step for this program?
GS: Certainly if you're in a conference, you try to win the conference championship and we have not done that yet. We need to do that. I don't know any team in the league that doesn't start the year off thinking that. But like you said, we've built this thing from, some would say scratch but I'd say below scratch because we took over a place that had some pretty bad habits. We've moved it forward. But we've got to keep moving it forward and moving it forward from where we are now -- four straight bowl games, three straight bowl wins -- is to win a league championship and get into the BCS.
And you get the start off the season with defending Big East champion Cincinnati at home.
GS: How about that, right? Hey, if you want to compete for the championship, play the champion.
Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Pittsburgh: Panthers fans were shocked to see Pat Bostick come in at quarterback for the final few plays at Navy for some meaningless handoffs. Bostick played last year as a true freshman after Bill Stull got hurt, and the plan seemed to be to redshirt him this season so he would have three years remaining, as Stull is only a junior. Head coach Dave Wannstedt said he wanted Bostick to get some work in case Stull gets hurt this year. But many around the program are wondering if this means that the coaching staff has soured on Bostick as their quarterback of the future.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers hope to get defensive lineman Pat Liebig back for Thursday's game against Auburn. Liebig, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility, has missed the last three games with a concussion. If Liebig plays, he'll back up Doug Slavonic. West Virginia has also tried to get wide receiver Bradley Starks ready at quarterback in the last week because Pat White and Jarrett Brown have been dealing with injuries.
Rutgers: True freshman Art Forst has started the past two games at right guard. Forst, who enrolled early in January, had spent all of his time working at tackle until earlier this month. He certainly has the size of a tackle at 6-foot-8 and 310 pounds. Center Ryan Blaszczyk is the only player to start at the same position on the offensive line the entire season as the Scarlet Knights continue to seek the right mix up front.
Connecticut: If Zach Frazer isn't able to play Saturday because of the head injury he suffered against Rutgers, redshirt freshman Cody Endres would get the start. Endres completed 4 of 5 passes against Virginia in mop-up work earlier this season. Backing up Endres would be a walk-on freshman, Johnny McEntee, whom coach Randy Edsall likes for his poise and quick release. Receiver D.J. Hernandez, who played quarterback for two years before switching positions, is not in the mix to take over signal-calling duties.
Louisville: The Cardinals defensive front should be at full strength against South Florida. Senior tackle Adrian Grady missed the Middle Tennessee State game with an academic issue but will be back Saturday. Defensive end Rodney Gnat left that game early with an injury but is expected to play. The front four has been very good for Louisville lately, accounting for seven sacks in the past three games.
Rutgers: Looking to spark his slumping offense, coach Greg Schiano made several changes to his offensive line last week at West Virginia. Only two starters, left tackleAnthony Davis and center Ryan Blaszczyk, remained at their original positions. Kevin Haslam moved from left guard to right tackle, Mike Gilmartin switched from right tackle to right guard and split snaps with true freshman Art Forst, and Kevin Haslam went from right tackle to left guard. Schiano was non-committal this week when asked if we would use that alignment again after the Scarlet Knights mustered only 72 yards rushing in Morgantown.
West Virginia: With senior Reed Williams shutting it down and planning for a medical redshirt, the Mountaineers have turned to sophomore Anthony Leonard at middle linebacker. Leonard made his first career start last week versus Rutgers and recorded a team-high nine tackles. He is the fourth different player to start at that position in five games for West Virginia. Meanwhile, a handful of Mountaineers are dealing with head injuries, including quarterbackPat White, center Mike Dent and defensive lineman Pat Liebig.
Louisville: The competition is on again for the Cardinals' backup quarterback spot. Matt Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, has returned from his four-game suspension and split reps this past week withTyler Wolfe . Head coach Steve Kragthorpe said he would decide on a No. 2 signal-caller the day before Friday's game at Memphis. Although starter Hunter Cantwell has recovered well from his ankle injury against Connecticut, Louisville would like the peace of mind of having a reliable backup.
Connecticut: After Bruce Carter blocked three straight punts against UConn on Saturday, North Carolina coach Butch Davis said his team exploited the Huskies' new personal protector. That would be linebacker C.J. Marck, who filled in for injured tight endSteve Brouse . But Connecticut coach Randy Edsall said after watching the film that Marck wasn't to blame, and that it was another player who failed to execute his technique. He declined to identify which player was at fault. With Brouse out several weeks,Martin Bedard has moved into a starting role, and backup offensive lineman Dan Ryan has switched to No. 88 to play tight end in some packages.
Pittsburgh: One reason for the Panthers' resurgence this season is that they have avoided a rash of injuries that's plagued the program in recent years. Linebacker Adam Gunn (neck) is the only serious, season-ending injury that has struck the team through five games. Linebacker Shane Murray, who hurt his knee in preseason, hasn't played a lot of snaps this season but is nearing full strength. With a bye this week, Pitt should be close to full health as it heads into the final seven games.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Andrea Adelson
Adelson joined ESPN.com in 2010 after spending time as a college football columnist at The Orlando Sentinel. She has covered college football since her days as a University of Florida student, and lives in Orlando, Fla.
