Today is media day in Newport, meaning that there are updates galore on the state of the Scarlet Knights from Coach Flood's comments, as well as the updated official team roster and media guide. The latest:
- Transferring are linebacker Fred Overstreet and safety Rashad Knight. Overstreet was not in line to see playing time this year, but Knight stood a good chance to make the two-deep, so that is a blow. He had a lot of talent, but didn't play last year due to injuries. You figure Duron Harmon is set as one starter at safety, with Lorenzo Waters squaring off with senior Wayne Warren for the other spot. Not only would Knight have provided very good depth in case of an injury, but where this really hurts is in 2013 and beyond. Waters should be entrenched as a starter next year, but after that are a bunch of younger question marks and hypothetical position switches. Speaking of which, don't sleep on J.T. Tartacoff here. He looked good as a slot receiver! Rutgers just had too many receivers over the past few years due to all of the nonsense with switching to the spread offense and back.
- It was literally a crushing blow for David Milewski, who will miss the season with his third ACL tear in as many years. Man, that 2010 class really is dropping like flies. Milewski had taken the time-honored Rutgers transition from linebacker to defensive end in the spring, and may have been in line for playing time there. Rutgers still has decent veteran depth here, but Milewski's injury could open up some more playing time for younger players. Those guys are talented, but also pretty green, so it's a tricky balance. It is unknown at this time whether Milewski will attempt a comeback next season. This is seemingly the week for ACL re-tears (Terrell Thomas and Jonathan Goff from the NFL were victimized yesterday), meaning that Sam Bergen and Mason Robinson probably should be sacrificing something of value to Jobu right about now.
- Guard Frank Quartucci is retiring due to injury, taking up a volunteer support role with the team. Like Overstreet, Quartucci was unlikely to crack the two-deep.
- Freshman athlete Delon Stephenson did not qualify, but everyone else on the bubble made it in.
- Of the walk-ons, one name of note is Aubrey Lewis, who could have been a DI recruit if not for injuries (seemingly a theme today.)
- These moves cumulatively clear up some much needed roster space in case Penn State defensive tackle Jamil Pollard decides to transfer to Rutgers. Rutgers should be right on the line, but there often is not clear evidence with former walk-ons whether they are on scholarship or not. That level of ambiguity is probably deliberate to keep other programs guessing, as it is across the country.