Tag: Scarlet Knights

Bo Melton hypes up brother Max before Rutgers Week 1 game

Former Scarlet Knights Bo Melton took to Twitter to hype up Rutgers and his brother Max Melton

In football, there’s the Rutgers family – and then there’s family-family.

Former Scarlet Knight Bo Melton played for the program just last season. Just because Bo is no longer a student-athlete at Rutgers, doesn’t mean that he can’t continue to hype up his former squad and especially his younger brother and current Rutgers cornerback, Max Melton. He took to twitter to do just that:

Bo was taken in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He had the privilege of playing together with his younger brother, Max at Rutgers for the last two years. The brothers played on opposite sides of the field with Bo playing wide receiver and Max playing cornerback, and were able to help each other grow. They battled each other while lifting each other up day in and day out.

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Max has used his experience with his brother and the Scarlet Knights to elevate his game, and experts were talking about him as a potential breakout candidate for this coming season. Knowing his brother will be watching closely this weekend may inspire him even more.

Bo was waived a few days ago as a result of offseason roster cuts, but signed back with the Seahawks to join their practice squad.

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Rutgers vs. Boston College: Stream, injury report, broadcast info for Saturday

Rutgers takes on Boston College in their season opener. Here’s how to watch, the injury report, and key players for Saturday’s game

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights play the Boston College Eagles on Saturday in the season opener, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

This is a northeast battle between former Big East conference mates. Historically, the Eagles have owned The Scarlet Knights. However, Rutgers is 9-4 in season openers under head coach Greg Schiano, including victories the past two years over Michigan State and Temple. The team is 79-64-9 all-time in openers.

Rutgers is going to have a much tougher time getting off to a hot start this season, however, as Boston College is not a cookie-cutter opener you might see to get a team rolling. This is a Power Five school that finished with a record of 6-6 and earned their way into a bowl game outright last season. Despite being in the midst of a rebuild, Rutgers did lose some key players from last season where they finished 5-8. With uncertainty at the quarterback position and a rotation in the back field, Rutgers will look to find some consistency in this one while trying to improve Schiano’s record in Week 1.

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Two teams still rebuilding in tough conferences should lead to a lot of trying new things and figuring out what works. But with both teams having strong conference schedules, it will be a fight to see who gets the very important first victory.

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

  • Date: Saturday,
  • Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ACC Network
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here)

Rutgers at Boston College injury report:

Rutgers:

  • RB Aaron Young – Questionable (Undisclosed), DL Mohamed Toure – Out for season (knee), LB Moses Walker – Out for season (knee)

Boston College:

  • TE Joey Luchetti – Out for season (Undisclosed), OL Christian Mahongany – Out for season (knee)

Players to watch:

Gavin Wimsatt (Rutgers – QB): One of the top rated recruits in program history, Wimsatt is undoubtedly the future at the position for the Knights. However, incumbent Noah Vedral is a veteran who was named as a team captain for the second straight season. Schiano has been non-committal to a starter. Expect to see both during the game, but also expect Wimsatt to outshine the competition.

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Pat Garwo III (Boston College – RB): Garwo was a 1,000 yard rusher as a sophomore last season, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Knowing that he will has the lion’s share of the carries again this season and after a full offseason of training, Garwo will look to make a lot of noise. And the opportunity may present itself against a young, smaller Rutgers defensive line. This matchup may be the difference maker in the game.

Initial USA TODAY 1-130 re-rank released: How does Rutgers stack up?

Paul Myerberg released his initial re-rank of all 131 FBS schools on Wednesday, with updates set to come every week. Let’s take a look at how the Scarlet Knights lined up with the rest of the Big Ten conference.

Rutgers football is in the midst of a rebuild. The return of heralded head coach Greg Schiano and his prolific recruiting ability has jump started the program at the perfect time. As the already daunting Big Ten continues to grow, Schiano and his staff had a large challenge ahead of them. After going 5-8 last season, including a surprise bowl appearance, they are looking to get back to a .500 record or better for the first time since their inaugural season in the conference. After losing in the Gator Bowl to Wake Forest as a replacement for Texas A&M to close out the 2021 campaign, fans and coaching staff alike are hoping the team can earn a bowl bid outright in 2022.

Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY released his initial ranking of all 131 FBS schools on Wednesday, and he also releases a re-ranking each week during the season.

After a hot start to last season, including a 3-0 start and a tough fought week 4 loss against Michigan – Rutgers got as high as No. 56 in the rankings. By the regular season’s end, however, they settled in at No. 85. This year, they will start at No. 91 in Myerberg’s rankings.

The Big Ten is strong throughout the rankings, as usual, with five schools in the top 25, and 10 of the 14 programs in the top half of the rankings. Only two programs are in the triple-digits, with Rutgers just nearly missing out on that third digit as well.

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We will update you weekly with the current week and prior week’s rankings for all Big Ten schools. Stay tuned and hopefully watch Rutgers climb throughout the season.

Teams This week’s rank
Ohio State 2
Michigan 4
Penn State 11
Wisconsin 16
Iowa 25
Michigan State 31
Nebraska 49
Minnesota 52
Purdue 57
Maryland 61
Northwestern 76
Rutgers 91
Indiana 109
Illinois 112

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Three Rutgers Field Hockey Players Named as Players to Watch in 2022

Three Rutgers field hockey players named to Big Ten Preseason Watch List

The Big Ten Conference announced its 2022 field hockey preseason honors on Tuesday, and three Rutgers student-athletes were named Preseason Players to Watch on Wednesday.

Forward Lucy Bannatyne, midfielder Guillermina Causarano, and halfback Iris Langejans were recognized after each had a stellar debut campaign for the Scarlet Knights in 2021, being main contributors on the eventual Big Ten Tournament championship squad.

Bannatyne started in 16 of the 21 games she played in. The Auckland, New Zealand native tied for the team lead with eight goals, the most goals for a Rutgers freshman since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten Conference. She also added one assist to finish second on team with 17 points. The freshman earned one Big Ten Freshman of the Week award last year.

Causarano started 21 of her 23 games played in the midfield. Also a freshman, she had one goal and two assists, with the goal coming as the game-winner over No. 20 Monmouth. The Salta, Argentina native earned her Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades as a result.

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Langejans was a starter all year in her first season as a Scarlet Knight.The redshirt junior should start all year at right halfback once again. The Almelo, Netherlands native earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice in 2021, and had one assist across 23 starts.

The field hockey team is ranked No. 8 in the NFHCA National Coaches Poll. They kick off their schedule this weekend, hosting the “Battle on the Banks” tournament. The tourney will feature some stiff competition, as Rutgers will welcome No. 18 Duke and No. 16 St. Joe’s in a round robin style event. Admission to all three games is free. Each game will be live streamed on B1G+.

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Where does Rutgers football fall in ESPN Ranking of all 131 teams?

ESPN released their preseason tiered ranking of all 131 college football teams. Where does Rutgers land?

It is well known that Rutgers football is in the early stages of it’s rebuild. Greg Schiano is trying to improve on a 5-8 record last season. It is his second stint with the team and – although he took them to new heights previously – it is a much bigger task to climb to the top of your conference when that conference is the Big Ten.

ESPN recently released their annual ranking of all 131 FBS programs, this time with a twist. All of the teams were separated into tiers in a true attempt to remove contenders from pretenders and point out who is on their way up.

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There are a total of 24 tiers. With tiers containing as little as three schools and as many as 11 – the ranking was done in conjunction with some of the best prognosticators in the world – the writers for The Simpsons.

Rutgers has so much competition in the Big Ten. So much so, that Tier 1 – “The clear favorites” – includes Ohio State from the conference. Let’s check out where the Scarlet Knights fell in the rankings.

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Rutgers finished in Tier 14: The rebuilding projects. The Simpsons quote chosen for this tier was “Oh, why must life be so hard? Why must I fail at every attempt at masonry?” It includes five teams: Cal, fellow Big Ten school Illinois, Missouri, and Virginia Tech join Rutgers. Building a winning program is a difficult task. Schiano did it before, but the school was ina very different place and conference than his first tenure. He has used the transfer portal to his advantage and NIL deals have begun to help Rutgers through alumni sponsored groups. The Big Ten is far more challenging than the Big Eastconfines of the Big Ten might take a while. Odds are, this group will pull off a few surprises this season, but getting above .500 will require a lot of luck.

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Watch: Amirah Ali scores go-ahead goal for San Diego Wave

WATCH: Former Rutgers women’s soccer Amirah Ali scored her second career goal in the NSWL

Former Rutgers women’s soccer star, Amirah Ali, is starting to make her presence felt in the professional ranks. She has spent her 2022 season with the National Women’s Soccer League’s San Diego Wave FC.

On Sunday night, Ali scored in the 66th minute. The Wave were adding pressure in the second half of a tie game. Ali’s teammate and National Team/Olympic star Alex Morgan received a pass in the box. Morgan shot wide, but teammate Makenzy Doniak was ready and kept the ball near the net with a strong header. Ali had crashed the net and put the ball high over the keeper’s leg for her second career goal.

Amirah was originally drafted by the Portland Thorns. During the NWSL expansion draft, Ali was traded with another player in exchange for $50,000 in allocation money. Ali was the Thorns’ third-round selection in the 2021 NWSL draft and finished her senior season with Rutgers in the Women’s College Cup last season.

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Ali was a strong contributor for Rutgers in one of the most successful seasons in program history. She received numerous honors in her senior season – including 2021 College Cup All-Tournament Team, All-America Third Team, All-Region First Team, Big Ten All-Tournament Team, All-Big Ten First Team, Academic All-Big Ten, and was named 2021 Big Ten Player to Watch prior to the season’s start.

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With teammates like Alex Morgan, Ali will have plenty of opportunity to shine and continue to grow under incredible guidance. She will be worth watching closely all season long.

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Rutgers Women’s Soccer sits atop Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll

Rutgers Women’s Soccer picked to repeat as Big Ten Champions in preseason poll

The 2022 Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll for college women’s soccer was released on Monday, and it represented a historic day in Scarlet Knight history. Rutgers women’s soccer came found themselves ranked No. 1 in the poll, marking the first time in Rutgers Athletics history a team has been picked No. 1. It also marks the first time in conference history the women’s soccer preseason poll resulted in a tie for the top spot as Rutgers tied with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Rutgers is coming off it’s first Big Ten title in program and school history in 2021, going a perfect 10-0 in-conference during the regular season and finishing 19-4-2 overall. Last season, the Scarlet Knights finished ranked No. 3 in the collegiate poll – their highest ranking in school history. The women’s soccer powerhouse made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.

Additionally – graduate student goalkeeper Meagan McClelland, junior midfielder Sara Brocious, and sophomore forward Riley Tiernan were honored as 2022 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Players to Watch.

McClelland earned All-Big Ten Third Team and All-Region Third Team honors in 2021. The goalkeeper recorded 13 shutouts and 83 saves on the year. She maintained a 0.67 GAA in net, helping the Scarlet Knights extend its streak to eight straight seasons registering a GAA of 0.77 or less.

Brocious was a force throughout the College Cup, tallying four goals and six assists. She showed a penchant for coming up big in clutch situations. The junior provided an assist in the 2-2 overtime win over Arkansas in the NCAA quarterfinals, and scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory to clinch the Big Ten title.

Tiernan was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the ECAC Rookie of the Year, and a United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team selection in 2021. She recorded 29 points on eight goals and a team-high 13 assists – a new program record for a season.

Last season was one of the best in the history of the program, and the team is bringing back plenty of players from last year. The Scarlet Knights will look to make a third trip to the College Cup in program history.

Every former Rutgers football player’s rating in Madden 23

With Madden NFL 23 set to release next week, let’s take a look at all of the former Rutgers players ratings

It’s August, which means it’s time for the latest edition of EA Sports video game, Madden NFL 23. This year’s version is the 34th edition in the franchises history. and the 32nd straight annual release. John Madden was announced as the cover star in honor of his death at the end of last year. He last appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 2000.

Most players are loyal, champing at the bit for any news at all about the upcoming release. Last month, EA Sports released their highly anticipated player rankings.

Through both stretches of Greg Schiano’s reign as head coach and every year in between, Rutgers has continued to build strong recruiting classes. With strong development, those classes have led the Scarlet Knights to new heights, and has also resulted in more talent making the jump to the NFL from the New Jersey state university.

Rutgers currently has 19 former stars in the NFL, and 14 of them were rated prior to the release before. Let’s take a look at all of their ratings – from lowest to highest.

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Two Rutgers Men’s Lacrosse players to compete in World Championship

Shane Knobloch and Ross Scott from Rutgers men’s lacrosse team will compete in the 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s U-21 World Championship

Two of the student-athletes from Rutgers men’s lacrosse team will compete in the 2022 World Lacrosse Men’s U-21 World Championship. Sophomore Shane Knobloch will play for Team USA and junior Ross Scott will play for Team Canada. Volunteer assistant coach Peter Dolan will serve on the coaching staff for Team Ireland. The event takes place from August 10 to August 20 at the  University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland.

Both Knobloch and Scott were All-Americans for the Scarlet Knights last season while leading the team to a program first Final Four appearance. Rutgers also set records in wins, grabbing 15 victories, and ranked wins, including a win over No. 3 Penn, with six.

Knobloch continued to excel this past year, following up his Big Ten Freshman of the Year campaign with new career-best outputs. He posted 32 goals and 17 assists for 48 points. The Moorestown, New Jersey native even scored a team-best three goals in the NCAA Quarterfinals. He was named Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-Big Ten.

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Scott had a breakout season himself – leading the team in scoring with 50 goals and tallying 25 assists as a junior. The West Linn, Oregon native tied for the most goals in a single-season in Scarlet Knight history. Scott was named a Third Team All-American, Second Team All-Big Ten, and to the All-Tournament teams for the NCAA Tournament and Big Ten Tournament.

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You can watch the event on ESPN platforms, with the event culminating in a championship match at 7:00 p.m. on August 20.

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Rutgers football: Mayan Ahanotu named to Wuerffel Trophy watch list

Rutgers football’s Mayan Ahanotu was named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list, honoring his efforts off the field

Rutgers football Mayan Ahanotu, linebacker for the Scarlet Knights, was named to the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy. The trophy was established in 2005. It honors college football athletes who are serving others, while also achieving greatness on the football field and in the classroom.  As part of the National Football Federation’s Collegiate Awards, it was the first major award honoring the character of service to others.

IN the community, Ahanotu has been active within an initiative at Rutgers called Chop4Change. It was created to spread a message of unity and equality. Ahanotu said through a press release:

“It’s really awesome. I love our #Chop4Change program. It’s really about how we can impact our community right now. We’re just going to do all we can do for all the people in all our communities that we can affect right now.”

Some activities have included participating in the opening ceremonies for Special Olympics New Jersey and the Rutgers Dance Marathon. In addition, Ahanotu has been a weekly mentor for the Middlesex Juvenile Detention Center, leading sessions with young men who are incarcerated.

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The third year Scarlet Knight was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team in both 2019 and 2021. He appeared in all 13 of the team’s games last season, starting in nine – including the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Ahanotu finished last season with 18 total tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble.

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