Injury Report: Rutgers hopes to get key players back vs. Penn State

The Scarlet Knights’ Week 6 victory over Purdue was a hard-fought triumph on the field and that is continuing to show on the injury report.

Noah Vedral and Raiqwon O’Neal were both sidelined during Rutgers’ 37-30 victory over the Boilermakers because of unspecified injuries.

Rutgers is hoping to have both players back this week. Greg Schiano confirmed on Thursday that when healthy, Vedral will be back under center.

“I don’t want to overstep here but I think they’re going to be able to play — I don’t know how much,’’ Schiano said Thursday. “But nothing is guaranteed. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes, how they feel. But I think we’re going to have to play several people. Hopefully both of them will get to play on Saturday but I think we’re going to have to do more than just them to get through the game.’’

Artur Sitkowski got the start in place of Vedral in Week 6 and finished 18-27 for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Johnny Langan also played a significant role throwing for 95 yards and a touchdown but it was his legs that did most of the work. Langan carried the ball a team-high 21 times for 95 yards.

Brendon White was able to come back into the game against Purdue, but his status remains up in the air for Week 7.

“We have a lot of guys that have played six straight weeks that the bumps and the bruises are adding up,” Schiano said. “And for some, it’s more significant than that. So we’ll see. He’s (White) going to try but I can’t tell you yes or no right now.”

The Scarlet Knights are banged up at many positions but should get some of their key players back. For how long? That is the question that remains unanswered.

This is where the eight-week, byeless schedule in the Big Ten will begin to where teams down. That is certainly the case for Rutgers. Over the next two weeks, the Scarlet Knights have winnable games and must remain as healthy as possible.