Rutgers Football // A Preview of the Saturday Scrimmage

The Obvious

Quarterbacks

The QB competition has gone into overtime, extra innings, a shootout, or whatever you want to call it. Kyle Flood has extended his 7-10 day period for choosing a starter, but I can't disagree with his choice. Both players have been neck and neck with no one doing enough for Flood to pull the trigger on his man. 88% of our readers said that Hayden Rettig should be the starter. While I agree with the outcome, I think the race is a lot closer than that. By Monday, a starter should be named and the decision will heavily be based on how Hayden Rettig and Chris Laviano perform tonight in the scrimmage.

Secondary

As I mentioned yesterday, the secondary is very young but also talented. Both QBs will most likely be slinging the ball all over the field as a final test to see who will be the starter. This means that the youngsters will have plenty of chances to make plays and showcase their raw talent. I would not be surprised to see them get torched tonight, but it is a controlled scrimmage and Leonte Carroo is a little above their pay grade. Regardless, it will be a good chance for the coaches to see how they hold up against a pass-heavy offense like Washington State.

The Not-So-Obvious

Long Snapper

What? Who the hell cares about long snappers? I do! Alan Lucy is on scholarship to be a long snapper but has struggled a fair amount to this point. Alex Hutchings has been pretty consistent so far and it is interesting to see how this plays out. Long snapper is not a position where you can just put anyone since it has the ability to make or break a game. If Hutchings clearly out-performs Lucy, then Kyle Flood will have no choice but to start him. I wonder how Flood would handle the scholarship situation given that it makes no sense to have a backup LS on scholarship.

Middle Linebacker

It seemed as if this battle was over when Kaiwan Lewis moved up on the depth chart. isaiah Johnson, however, has no intentions of settling for second-string. He has strung together his best practices since being demoted and could still push Lewis for the starting job. A strong push from Johnson can also lead to Lewis elevating his game. Regardless, either player represents a great option and both will see the field this year.

Other things to look for

• Third Sting QB Battle
• RB reps
• Offensive Line playing time
• Injury Report
• Kyle Federico's consistency
• Tight End play
• Punting competition
• Visiting Recruits
• The Fridge/Anthony Davis