Youth Excuse Getting Old For Rutgers

Added by Gregg Snyder on September 27, 2010.

It’s about time head coach Greg Schiano takes some of the blame. Schiano and staff are not getting the job done this season. To often we hear the excuse of a “young” football team. This team is not all that young.

Sure, the depth chart is young but the starting team is not uncharacteristically young. Of the 22 starters on the Rutgers football team, seven are sophomores and none are freshman. That means 15 of the 22 starters are at least in their Junior season.

That’s young? I don’t think so.

Look at some of the top teams in the conference and in the country, they all have starters just as “young” as Rutgers. Alabama, the top team in the country starts one freshman and six sophomores. Ohio State starts four sophomores. The Texas Longhorns start one freshman and five sophomores.

Oklahoma starts four freshman and five sophomores this season. How are those teams fairing? A lot better than Rutgers so far.

West Virginia, the best team in the Big East mainly by default, starts two freshman and eight sophomores.

So, what’s the difference between these schools and Rutgers? It appears the other programs are getting their young players ready to play quicker.  Coach Schiano please stop using the “young” football team excuse. We are getting tired of hearing it. It’s time you and the rest of your staff take the blame for this lackluster start to the season.

Sure, the Scarlet Knights have young players at key positions. So what! We hear how good each recruiting class is and how well they fit into the system. If they are that talented, with the help of the coaching staff, these players should be ready to play.

Sophomore QB, Tom Savage

What we have after three games this season is a Sophomore quarterback who still locks onto his main target. One that consistantly sees his throws sail. One that at times looks scared. All this from the most experienced starting quarterback in the Big East entering this season.

Double G Sports has been a big supporter of the job Greg Schiano and company have done here at Rutgers, but the excuses are getting old. Rutgers is still moving in the right direction but after ten years on the job, you would think Schiano and his staff would have figured out how to get the players ready to play from the beginning.

I also think Schiano’s love of running back Joe Martinek is hurting the team. His ego is getting in the way of him giving De’Antwan Williams a chance to run the ball in meaningful minutes. Sure Martinek has been a team player since he stepped foot on campus. Sure, true freshman Jordan Thomas has shown incredible speed. The best back on this Rutgers football roster might very well be a guy that barely gets on the field.

The only rushing attack Rutgers really had against North Carolina was the wildcat gimmick package. While that had it’s moments and our article earlier last week stated that Rutgers could hurt UNC with those plays, Rutgers still needed the traditional running attack as well. Williams could have provided that. He should have at least been given a chance.

Rutgers stands at a lackluster 2-1 on the year, with two rather unimpressive wins over Norfolk State and Florida International.

Schiano continues to say this is a “young” team that continues to “learn from these experience.”  It’s time to give Rutgers fans some real answers. The fans that continue to show up and support a team with much higher expectations deserve a better showing.

Does Schiano and his staff deserve the blame? I think so….