Background:
Tom Savage:
- 4 star QB
- Offers from RU, PSU, Tennessee, Miami, etc.
- Ranked #8 Pro-Style QB according to Rivals.com
The Debate:
Should Coach Schiano play Savage or redshirt him? This is a heavily debated topic within the Rutgers Football world.
In my opinion, it is imperative to give Savage playing time. Here are a couple reasons to support my thinking:
- Remember 2005 Rutgers fans? Of course you do! This was the first time Rutgers Football made a bowl game in 30 years! Incumbent QB Ryan Hart, coming off his prolific junior year (3rd year starting) was set to break nearly every school record. Coincidentally, much heralded freshman QB Mike Teel had just joined the scarlet knights on the banks. Teel was widely known to be the Rutgers QB of the future. Coach Schiano decided to play Teel in 2005 and he made 101 pass attempts. Teel looked nervous and shaky at times, but the experience from 2005 served to be invaluable in his progress as a quarterback. Going into the 2006 football season, Rutgers fans felt much more comfortable having a starting quarterback with some playing time under his belt. It is feasible to surmise that without gaining the game experience in 2005, Rutgers great success in 2006 may not have occurred.
- As a Rutgers fan, if you believe in the success of your program, you must believe you can recruit a player of Tom Savage's caliber every 2-3 years. If this is the case, burning his freshman year of eligibility is a non-issue.
The Bottom Line:
- Allowing Tom Savage to get some reps under his belt is imperative for having a successful 2010 season. Their will be ample opportunity for Savage to get playing time versus weaker opponents on the 2009 schedule and I hope Schiano will take advantage of those opportunities. As long as Rutgers continues to win, getting another "Tom Savage" in 3 years should be expected.
What do you think?
Few things..
ReplyDeleteYou guys lost all of your skill positions. Not to mention few T-FR QBS can come in and play early. Then add the fact Most big schools went away from him and never came through with a written offer it raises warning flags. It does no good to throw him to the wolves and get killed with poor decision making.
Add in the fact unless he starts or gets a considerable amount of snaps it makes no sense to burn his shirt to play 20 snaps of handoffs against Cal Tech Southern.
Unless you start him shirt him.
Avishai,
ReplyDeleteYou should call this the Adeleki blog.
i think we should be more worried about filling the stadium but if we faulter early it can be trouble... Play him. play him early.
ReplyDeleteFilling the stadium will come with winning. A win against Cincy (season opener) will go a long way for us this season. Not to mention, we owe them a serious beat down for the past few years.
ReplyDelete