The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 137 BY RYAN TICE The 2015 season ended Rutgers' streak of four straight bowl appearances and nine in the last 10 years, but former head coach Kyle Flood might have been on the way out even if he found a way to win two of the three games the Scarlet Knights lost by a touch‑ down or less. Off‑the‑field problems and an academic scandal marred the program, which crawled to a 4‑8 finish. Former Wisconsin, Arkansas and, most re‑ cently, Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash was tabbed to lead the turnaround, and there is plenty of work for him to do. It starts on the defensive side, where Rutgers allowed 462.0 yards and 34.9 points per game — marks that ranked 111th and 104th nationally. Seven starters are back on defense, but the best might not be included in that total — fifth‑year senior tackle Darius Hamilton, the defensive MVP in 2014 who was limited to one appearance last fall. Fifth‑year senior end Quanzell Lambert will join him up front after racking up a team‑best 7.5 sacks in 2015. Ash has a major rebuilding job ahead at linebacker, where last year's top three tack‑ lers lined up before graduating, but all four starters return to the secondary. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Isaiah Wharton enjoyed an encouraging debut — he led the team with 10 passes broken up, had one interception and leads all returners with 57 tackles. Senior safety Anthony Cioffi provides experience and has at least tied for the team lead in interceptions each of the last two years, picking off six passes in that time. Offensively, Ash is expected to utilize a run‑heavy spread system, and the unit should benefit from the return of both quarterbacks who combined to start every game last year, plus the top two rushers, seven of the top eight pass catchers and four starting linemen. Redshirt junior Chris Laviano opened 11 games last year under center, and threw for 2,237 yards with 16 touchdowns and 12 in‑ terceptions, but he must hold off classmate and LSU transfer Hayden Rettig once again. Rettig actually started the 2015 season opener after Laviano ran into some off‑the‑ field trouble, but the latter was put in at halftime and played the majority of the year. Rutgers had three running backs gain at least 544 yards and four touchdowns last year, and the top two return in juniors Robert Mar‑ tin and Josh Hicks. The duo combined for just three starts in 2015 (one of which was Hicks at safety), but they have productive and similar career stat lines — Martin has rushed for 1,197 yards and 13 touchdowns; Hicks has produced 1,114 yards and six scores on the ground plus contributed a receiving touchdown. Senior wide receiver Andre Patton, who stands 6‑3, ranked third last year with 34 catches and second with 432 receiving yards. Carlton Agudosi, a 6‑6 wideout who was lim‑ ited to nine games and four starts last year, is another intriguing weapon on the outside. However, if the spring game was any in‑ dication, do‑it‑all 5‑10 speedster Janarion Grant is in line for a bigger role from his slot position (11 catches for 140 yards in the ex‑ hibition). The two‑time all‑conference pick at returner scored in four different ways last year — receiving, passing, and running back three kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns. Grant led the Knights with 1,583 all‑pur‑ pose yards (984 on kickoffs, 352 receiv‑ ing, 167 on punts and 80 rushing) in 2015 and ranked second with 35 grabs. He boasts 3,596 all‑purpose yards and seven scores (plus the throwing touchdown) in his career. Rutgers might not have been that far off from bowling last year — and lost to Michi‑ gan State by only seven points. However, with road dates at Washington and Ohio State, plus home games against Iowa and Michigan, in the season's first half, the Ash era might get off to a rough start, but the last six games are more manageable. A strong finish will be required for a bowl appearance, but the real goal is getting the program back on the right track — on and off the field. Notes Rutgers scored six touchdowns on defense and special teams in 2015 — three on kickoff returns and one each via punt return, fumble recovery and interception … The Scarlet Knights have blocked 43 kicks since 2009, the most in the country during that span, although last year was the first time since 2006 they did not deflect at least four (two). ❏ The Scarlet Knights' New Era Will Be All About The Finish RUTGERS • OCT. 8 • GAME 6 2016 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2015 Result Sept. 3 at Washington — Sept. 10 Howard — Sept. 17 New Mexico — Sept. 24 Iowa — Oct. 1 at Ohio State L, 49-7 Oct. 8 Michigan L, 49-16 Oct. 15 Illinois — Oct. 22 at Minnesota — Nov. 5 Indiana W, 55-52 Nov. 12 at Michigan State L, 31-24 Nov. 19 Penn State L, 28-3 Nov. 26 at Maryland L, 46-41 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Tied 1-1 First Meeting: Rutgers 26, U-M 24 (Oct. 4, 2014, at Piscataway, N.J.) Last Meeting: U-M 40, Rutgers 16 (Nov. 7, 2015, at Ann Arbor) Head Coach: Chris Ash, first year at Rutgers and overall Off./Def. Systems: Spread/4-3 2015 In Review: 4-8 overall, 1-7 Big Ten (T-6th East) Final 2015 Ranking: Unranked Returning Starters: 14 (7 offense, 7 defense, 0 specialists) Last Bowl Appearance: 2014 (Quick Lane, vs. North Carolina, W 40-21) Big Ten Conference Championships (last): 0 (4 in school history, shared Big East in 2012) RETURNING LEADERS Passing: Chris Laviano (2,247 yards, 16 TD, 12 INT) Rushing: Robert Martin (763 yards, 6 TD) Receiving: Andre Patton (432 yards, 1 TD) Tackles: Isaiah Wharton (57) Sacks: Quanzell Lambert (2.5) Interceptions: Anthony Cioffi (4) PLAYERS TO WATCH Offense: Robert Martin, Jr., RB — Top rusher in 2015 after gaining 763 yards and six touchdowns de- spite just one start … Debuted with 434 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns in 2014 … Team is 5-0 when he rushes for at least 83 yards … Has averaged 5.3 yards per carry in his career. Defense: Darius Hamilton, 5th-Sr., DT — Son of defensive end Keith Hamilton, who played 12 years in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in 2000 … 2014 All-Big Ten honorable mention, but played in just one game last year due to injury … Two-time captain has posted 110 career tackles, in - cluding 24.5 for loss and 10.5 sacks. Senior wideout Janarion Grant notched his first receiving touchdown in 2015, but he has six scores via punt and kickoff returns in his career. PHOTO COURTESY RUTGERS