The final scrimmage before heading off to Fresno is in the books, and the overall assessment from Coach Flood is that the team is "close to ready" for the first game of the season. Most of the scrimmage involved situational football, so it's difficult to extrapolate anything substantial from the stat line. QB Gary Nova went 9-16 for 116 yards and two TDs, while the running game did not do much to alleviate concerns. Savon Huggins rushed for 30 yards on 10 attempts, while Desmon Peoples got the most carries, gaining 49 yards on 16 attempts.
The rushing game may be suffering from uncertainty at right guard, although Andre Civil is currently the leading candidate to assume the starting role. Inexperience is starting to rear its ugly head for Chris Muller, who held the starting spot at RG since the spring. The rest of the line did not see any changes, although the backups at each spot still need to be set. The defense outperformed the offense on Saturday, but no interceptions were recorded by Nova. This could suggest better decision-making from Nova, although with a fairly green secondary, I'm not sure how much credence there is to that theory.
Leonte Carroo continues to impress:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>After watching every Rutgers practice so far this summer it's obvious that WR Leonte Carroo will be a huge part of this offense.</p>— Tom Luicci (@TomLuicci) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomLuicci/statuses/368933504181993472">August 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
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I would peg him as the No. 2 receiver on game day, with Quron Pratt filling in the No. 3 role, possibly at the slot position.
Kicker looks like a mess with both Kyle Federico and Nick Borgese disappointing Flood during the scrimmage. Federico has an edge over Borgese by default, but neither kicker gives you confidence that Rutgers will be in good hands (feet?) when the game is on the line. Still, Flood believes that the team is in good shape as August 29 looms ever closer. No news is good news for the secondary thus far, but RG and the running game will be taken to the wire until the first snap at Fresno State. Regular game week prep is coming up soon, which means there is only about one week to get the depth chart straightened out.
How do you feel after two scrimmages in the books? Are you more confident or less confident with the team outlook? Leave your comments below.