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Defenseless Rutgers ('98: 5-6, 2-5 Big East)
Posted: Wednesday August 11, 1999 05:50 PM
The Plot
The rebuilding effort -- really, there was nowhere to go but up -- continues in New Jersey, where Terry Shea's bunch comes off one of the best turnarounds in college football history. He's got an experienced quarterback who is comfortable with the West Coast offense, and even though Rutgers lost six starters, there is reason for optimism at the skill positions. Defense is another story.
The DirectorTerry Shea -- fourth year, 7-26; 22-32-2 overall
StarringRB Jacki Crooks -- Leading returning rusher in the Big East (827 yards, 5.2 per carry, 74.6 per game), ran for at least 100 yards in four consecutive games at the end of '98.QB Mike McMahon -- Senior returns after passing for 2,203 yards last season.
Co-starringDefensive front seven -- Wayne Hampton (DE) and Dax Strohmeyer (LB) headline the group, which returns five of the seven starters responsible for this indecency: ranking 110th in rush defense.S Garrett Shea -- Coach's son returns as the strongest link to the conference's best pass defense (134.1 yards allowed). WR Walter King -- Sat out the '98 season with a lower-back injury, but made some big plays in '97 and will be counted on heavily with such an inexperienced receiving corps. And introducingWR Errol Johnson -- Began his college career at BYU, but left after a redshirt '96 freshman season for Foothill (Calif.) JC, where he set seven school receiving records and was named a juco All-America in 1998.
Why it will workRutgers couldn't have two better guys returning on offense in Crooks and McMahon, and some young, talented receivers -- recruits and transfers -- could give the offense some versatility, if not depth.Why it won'tThe secondary's success is misleading (why pass over an opponent when you can ran roughshod through it?), and as presently constructed, the defensive front is probably too small to hope for much better results in '99.
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