— Sam Hellman
The Rutgers football team suffered from its first spurt of inclement weather at practice today with the rain coming down solidly throughout the two-and-a-half hour practice. Neither Tom Savage nor Chas Dodd were extremely sharp throwing the ball in the rain, but the running game made some strides against the first team defense. After practice, coach Greg Schiano met with the media to discuss injuries and his expectations for the team’s first scrimmage…
Martinek gets more involved, hungry to return to full-form
While Joe Martinek was in high school on his way to becoming New Jersey’s all-time leading rusher, he never missed a practice or a game.
While Martinek worked on the scout team as a defensive back and running back for the Scarlet Knights, he never missed a day of work. His last two seasons as Rutgers’ running back were the same story.
That’s why sitting out now has been so tough for him.
“My whole life, I’d never missed a practice, a game, anything,” Martinek said. “To have to sit out during a live competition is very frustrating. Right now I feel a lot better. I got a few reps today and I’m improving.”
Martinek got more work at today’s practice, but is still limited and on the mend. Schiano said he’s unlikely to play Saturday in the first scrimmage and the plan is to bring him back slowly.
Martinek, though frustrated by the injury, agrees that taking it slowly is the best way to make sure he doesn’t make things worse.
“The main thing I don’t want to do is get out there too early and be stupid and push myself when I’m not ready,” he said. “The training staff has done a great job. They probably get annoyed with me because I’m in there all hours of the day. Any time we’re not meeting, I’m in there.”
Joe Martinek returned in limited fashion today, but still may miss Saturday's scrimmage. (Sam Hellman)
Five players likely out for scrimmage
With only one practice standing between the Scarlet Knights and the first scrimmage of training camp, Martinek and freshman cornerback Gareef Glashen’s statuses are unsure for the game with center Howard Barbieri and slot receiver Quron Pratt probably out, Schiano said.
Sophomore quarterback Steve Shimko was not mentioned, but has yet to throw the ball during camp.
As far as the scrimmage itself, Schiamo plans to assess nearly every situation. Scrimmages under Schiano typically run over the three-hour mark.
“We’ve put an incredible amount in,” Schiano said. “So we’ll have almost every situation in I think. There may be a few things in the kicking game that we don’t have in. We’ll bop around a bit but I want to play in the field the majority and then we’ll get some situations we may not get in with every group.”
Bad weather hampers quarterbacks
Starting quarterback Tom Savage had a rough day in practice throwing the ball. How much of it was the constant fall of rain and how much was general failure to execute, however was unclear. Schiano theorized that part of the struggles for the quarterbacks came in how many plays have been put in.
“It’s always more difficult to throw the ball with a wet football,” Schiano said. “I think we had a lot in [the playbook] right now. We would never carry that much into the game. … There’s always a chance in camp that things can overload and over circuit. I’m not saying that’s what happened. I’ll have to see the tape.”
Pair of freshman running backs impress Schiano
The running game helped bail out the passing game today with Jordan Thomas and Casey Turner both railing off some solid runs during 11-on-11 drills.
“[Thomas] has been impressive, and Casey,” Schiano said. “He does things that catch your eye.”
Saturday’s scrimmage will be important for both with many repititions available.
Sophomore De’Antwan Williams continues to receive first team work alongside senior Kordell Young and walk-on Tyrone Puttman. Last season, the Woodbridge, Va., native ran for 132 yards and a touchdown against Texas Southern on 19 touches.
“It’s hard to tell if he has [made progress from last year],” Schiano said. “I think the scrimmage will be big for him. Thud is good, can you see if they made the right reads and [be] patient getting to the line? The difference from being a great back or not is can you make a guy miss or break a tackle and the next thing you’re 40 yards down the field. ”
Robinson making strides in return game
After touching the ball just once before season-ending knee surgery last year, Mason Robinson wants to get back on the field.
But with Martinek and Young fighting for time as veterans and a slew of young backs on the roster, his best chance may be at punt returner where Schiano said he “has done a better job than anybody.”
“He’s much improved,” Schiano said. “I think Coach Fleck has done a good job coaching all those punt returners. Hopefully, that will manifest itself in results during the season.”
Commits come out in droves
The Scarlet Knights hosted Class of 2011 verbal commits Mike Bimonte, Daryl Stephenson, Kyle George and Kevin Snyder at today’s practice.
what a great site
Good.