Jourdan Brooks is taking his dreads elsewhere....

.A bunch of Scarlet Knights news flying around the internet today, so let's take a quick look around the worldwide web:

• Rutgers has received a commitment from Malcolm Cater, a 6'1 225 pound linebacker.  Cater had originally committed to Syracuse, but the 5th ranked player (by Scout.com) in New York state has instead decided to come to the Banks of the Raritan.
• Cornerback Devin McCourty was named team MVP, and cleaned up with some other trophies at the team's annual Awards Banquet.
• RB Jourdan Brooks and DL Wayne Thomas have have decided to transfer from Rutgers.  Thomas played sparingly for Rutgers, but Brooks was the 2nd leading rusher for RU in both his freshmen and sophomore years.  Brooks will transfer to Morgan State.
• Rutgers will be represented in the Super Bowl for the fourth consecutive year.  Defensive captain Gary Brackett, and back-up lineman Eric Foster will represent the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV against the New Orleans Saints.
• Greg Schiano is flying around, literally, with National Signing Day right around the corner. 
• The Bleacher Report wonders if Mohamed Sanu could win the Heisman Trophy.
• And in case you missed it over the weekend, Greg Monroe and the Georgetown Hoyas destroyed the Scarlet Knights, 88-63, and it wasn't even that close.
• Rutgers heads to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a date with Marquette tomorrow night.  The Knights are looking to break an eight game losing streak.  I'm going to attempt to watch as much as the game as possible before puking from the putrid play of this Rutgers team.  I'll have an update on the game on Wednesday.

A Friday links round up to wet your appetite before this college football weekend.  What a great game last night for Miami, looks like they'll be a competitor in the Big East ACC this year.

• NJ.com previews the Florida International game
• NJ.com also has a nice take on the tiny but effective #2, WR Timmy Brown
• Bleed Scarlet has his own links round up, in paragraph form.
• ESPN.com blogger Brian Bennett thinks the Knights will prevail over their de-facto step brother, FIU, by 14.
• Scouting Rutgers vs FIU, from Scarlet Scuttlebutt
• RUjerseys.com has a 7FOR7 deal going on this weekend

One thing is highly apparent going into this game.  Rutgers needs to play solid football against a not so middling opponent.  This is a team they should beat.  Savage needs to manage the game and not turn the ball over.  The defense needs to play like they are supposed to: poised, together, attack oriented.  FIU's coach, Mario Cristobal, is a Rutgers decibel, meaning he knows how Rutgers works and how to beat them.  This is a pivotal, pivotal game for Rutgers.  A loss here would send the season into oblivion.  It should not and will not happen.  Wins in the next 2 weeks will propel this team to a 1-3 loss season and a possible BCS birth.  I still believe, even after the Cincinnatti loss, the Rutgers can and will come back and make this season a statement season for the program.

Go Knights, Beat FIU!

The future is now! Tommy Savage put up some numbers against an inferior squad, all you can ask for from a freshman QB.  The competition will ramp up a little bit this week with FIU coming to town, but it will be a good test and if RU is up to the challenge, they should come away with a solid victory.

Here's your Monday links recaps:

• Team gets 2 days off.  Much needed due to the intensity of playing 2 games in a row without a normal break.
• Official game recap from ScarletKnights.com
• Bleed Scarlet takes a look at what we've learned
• ESPN.com blogger Brian Bennett still needs to see a bit more from Rutgers as they come in at #6 in his weekly power rankings.
• Scarlet Scuttlebutt likes the moxie of Tom Savage
• #7 jersey tees now available from RUjerseys.com. Get em while you can and support the savior!

We'll have some recaps of the win vs. Howard later this week, along with an FIU preview.  Stay tuned!

Kickoff is coming!  Only 9 days til the Scarlet Knights take the field against the Bearcats, a huge in conference game that will have season long implications.  It's been a while since our last posts, but we're getting on the horse with Rutgers football on the horizon.

• Head man Greg Schiano was non committal about his starters less than 2 weeks before kickoff.  Dom Natale is entrenched as the starting QB, and back up Jabu Lovelace came in to provide a change of pace in a more high speed offense, a la Chris Leak / Tim Tebow a few years back (but probablyyyy not as dynamic!).
• Three more game times have been set. Rutgers will play Howard on September 12th at 3:30 pm, Florida International on September 19th at 5 pm, and homecoming against Texas Southern will have a 3:30 pm kick off on October 10th.
• ESPN.com's Big East Blogger Brian Bennett thinks that Rutgers boasts the BE's best offensive line by far.
• The kicking game is an underrated part of football, and kicker San San Te (best name ever) is getting used to the new winds in Rutgers Stadium, practice that could prove to be vital come fall.
• Sports Cream is worried about the RU tight end situation.

We'll be back on the horse in full force next week, with plenty of previews and predictions about the Big East and Rutgers football.  Let's go Knights!

Kenny Britt caught his 1st NFL Touchdown pass over the weekend...

Sorry for the infrequent posting these days guys, I just got a new job, and unfortunately my blogging ability has taken a hit.  Hopefully in the next week or two things will calm down and we'll be back to posting daily.  Here's a look at some of the most important stories going on around Rutgers right now (in round-up style).

• Troubled Guard Corey Chandler has been released from the Rutgers basketball team.  If you remember back during the season there were rumors that Chandler was going to transfer, but it appears that he was let go for violating athletic department policy.
• Points were at a premium in Rutgers 1st scrimmage on Tuesday.  Not a good sign for a team looking to establish a new offensive identity.
• Tom Savage got his first look at live game action in RU's 1st scrimmage of summer camp.  And the results were mixed.
• Starting in 2010, the Champs Sports Bowl will be replacing the Gator Bowl, in the Big East Bowl line-up.  The tie-in for the opponent's conference has yet to be decided.
• In case you haven't been following, preseason All-American Anthony Davis reported to camp overweight and was demoted to the 2nd team.  Davis has worked hard to cut the weight and has been elevated back to the 1st team.
• Former Rutgers women's basketball star Cappie Pondexter has been named to the USA Basketball National team.
• Rutgers and Coach Greg Schiano have announced team captains for the 2009 season.  The captains are seniors Ryan Blaszczyk, Ryan D'Imperio, and Devin McCourty.
• Finally, Rutgers players in the NFL had a pretty good weekend, including Kenny Britt and Mike Teel who both recorded TD's in their 1st preseason action.
  
  
  

With the 4th of July weekend upon us, lets take a look at some Rutgers related news from around the web:

• Rutgers has gotten two more commitments for the class of 2010.  Both recruits come on the offensive side of the ball with WR Jordan Thomas and RB Marcus Thompson.
• The Big East has announced the men's basketball schedule, and here's how it stacks up for Rutgers.
• In The Sporting New's mock draft for next year's NFL Draft, Anthony Davis is pegged as a 1st rounder, 15th overall to the Texans.
• Brian Leonard sees his trade to the Cincinnati Bengals as an excellent opportunity to prove himself.
• Rutgers women's basketball will play in the Jimmy V Classic for the 4th straight season.  RU will host Florida on December 7th at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
• If you really care, Ray Rice has switched agents.
• In an interesting story, former Rutgers QB Ryan Hart is suing video-game maker EA Sports over his likeness in the NCAA College Football series.
• President Obama will be on the Rutgers campus July 16th.  Let's get him some RU gear!
• The Rutger's student section is moving to the new endzone.

Hope you all have a Happy 4th of July weekend! 

"We're #1.....in some dude's preseason rankings!!!!"

Let's take a look at the latest Rutgers news from around the web:

• Another Big East preview, and some more respect for Rutgers.  CBS Sports Dennis Dodd has selected Rutgers as his pick to win the Big East.
• Hopefully for Rutgers the early bird will get the worm as recruiting picks up for New York's top recruit Dominique Easley.
• The Tennesee Titans have come to terms on a deal with former Rutgers CB Jason McCourty.
• Ray Rice is preparing himself for a breakout sophomore season with the Baltimore Ravens.
• Rutgers PG Mike Coburn will play for the Jamaican national basketball team as they attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.
• The Daily Targum summer blog breaks down Epiphanny Prince's decision to leave Rutgers to play professionally overseas.
• The Sporting News ranks Anthony Davis as the best pass-blocking tackle in the nation, as well as ranking the offensive line as the nation's 4th best overall.
• Get to know Rutgers 2009 opponents with CFN's previews of Cincinnati and West Virginia.

That's all for now, don't forget to follow along with our countdown of the Most Anticipated Games of 2009!

Homecoming has been pushed back a week to October 10th.

With Rutgers season tickets going on sale to the public today, it seems like a good time to check out all the Rutgers related news from around the web.  Here we go:

• Former Rutgers Safety Courtney Greene has reached an agreement on a 4 year contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
• As mentioned in an earlier post, the homecoming game against Texas Southern University has been moved.
• Coach Greg Schiano has promised that the stadium expansion will be completed in time for the season opener against Cincinnati.  The stadium now seats 52,454 up from 42,500 last season.
• Some people are not too pleased with the men's basketball team's overseas trip to Spain.  In their defense, they did go 4-0.
• Jerry Carino of mycentraljersey.com has 10 (ok...11) reasons why Rutgers should decline an invitation to the Big 10 if it is offered.
• Check out the latest pictures of the Rutgers Stadium Expansion Project.
• Be sure to read Aditi Kinkhabwala's Q&A with Athletic Director Tim Pernetti.
• Paul Franklin has an in-depth look at what's going into the New Rutgers Stadium.
• Get to know Rutgers' 2009-2010 opponents better with collegefootballnews.com's previews of Maryland, UConn, South Florida, and Pitt.

That should keep you guys occupied for a while. 

And get excited because on Monday, ProtectRturf.com will be counting down the Top 25 games of the 2009-2010 season.  We'll be unveiling one game per day and counting down from #25-#1.  Leave your opinions and suggestions on what games you're looking forward to most this upcoming season.