The second scrimmage of fall camp is officially in the books, and any readers looking for much in the way of definitive answers should still be disappointed.
Mark Harrison went down with a head injury, and it's hard to say much more on that front until the extent and severity are known. Rutgers can ill-afford to lose a starting receiver after losing Tim Wright for the year, and Quron Pratt in the slot for the next few weeks. Harrison is still a bit of a work in progress, but his combination of size and speed are the best of any receiver on the team. Only Jonathan Baldwin is probably better in the Big East. Tom Savage absolutely needs a full array of weapons this year in order to help grow into his potential as a dynamic playmaker. That, or the screen pass will have to go back into this year's playbook at least.
Jeremy Deering looks primed for slot duty in Pratt's absence. He could be pressed into starting if Harrison's injury is serious, just as Sanu was a year ago. As good as Deering and fellow freshman J.T. Tartacoff have reportedly looked over the past couple weeks, it's extremely disheartening to see what was looking to be a potential strength possibly turn into a relative weakness if Pratt and Harrison aren't able to return fast enough to 100%.
This situation brings to mind the 2006 season. Marcus Daniels and Keith Taylor were felled early that year, and Shawn Tucker's broken ankle against Howard essentially ended his once-promising career. Dennis Campbell, Willie Foster, Tiquan Underwood, James Townsend, and Shamar Graves all played at various points. With Foster and Underwood hurt, it eventually fell to two true freshmen in Kenny Britt and Tim Brown to start in the Texas Bowl. Britt, of course, broke out after finally getting up to speed, and Brown had what would have been the best game of his career against Kansas State if it weren't for the Jasper Howard game last year.
Sorry for the gratuitous interruption, but I am contractually bound at this point to once again embed the Savage to Brown TD. I'm sure you all will understand.
If Rutgers is going to finally replicate that dream season, Joe Martinek will probably need some help carrying the rock out of the backfield. Casey Turner was looking to be that guy in early going (Rocket, Rocket, wherefore art thou, Rocket? - actually, Schiano did briefly mentioned him on Saturday...), but hasn't played in a couple days because of a yet-to-be-explained injury. Mason Robinson is still working his way back from a bum knee, but the primary benefactor of this muddled committee may be true freshman Jordan Thomas now that he's back on the field. There's no denying his raw talent, but the high school back initially started out in camp as a receiver. The coaching staff will need to carefully weigh roster needs with Thomas with respect to his long-term future.