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TagsBY MATT SUGAM
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
PISCATAWAY- Rutgers held its annual Scarlet-White game today, marking the end of spring practice. With spring coming to a close, it’s now time to look ahead to training camp. Here are the five biggest story lines heading into August.
1. The quarterback competition
Kyle Flood has made it clear that he’d like one quarterback. He also made it evident he didn’t expect Chas Dodd or Gary Nova to win the job in the spring. Neither did. So the competition will rage on into August, and may not be solved until a week before Rutgers travels down to New Orleans to take on Tulane in the season opener September 1.
2. Carries for running backs
Jawan Jamison and Savon Huggins have looked even all spring. In all likelyhood it will remain that way through training camp. So as long as both stay healthy, neither will be the feature back and Rutgers will go running back by committee.
3. Who will make up the offensive line?
There wasn’t much continuity on the line this spring due to injuries and seeing what some young players can do. That’s never a good thing for a unit that needs to build chemistry so they can be five guys that work as one. How much mixing and matching occurs in August to find the best five remains to be seen.
4. The defensive line
On paper, Rutgers defense is good. Really good. They have one of the top secondarys in the country and the linebacking core may be in that conversation as well. The question mark on defense will be up front. They lose two starters in Manny Abreu and Justin Francis. In turn, it’s the least experienced group on the defense. Not only who will start, but also what the rotation will be and how deep it goes will need to be determined.
5. How will freshman kicker Kyle Federico do?
OK, so we really won’t know what Rutgers has in its true freshman place kicker until he does it under the lights in September. But for a kid who will be going back home in a couple of weeks for his senior prom and high school graduation, he looked good throughout the spring. While it’s nowhere near game pressure, there will be a bit more pressure on him in training camp. With a clear leg up on the competition — no pun intended — it’s his job to lose come August.
For more Rutgers football coverage follow Matt Sugam on Twitter @MattSugam and on Facebook.
