Day: September 13, 2007

SOPHOMORE FULLBACK BRINGS DIFFERENT SKILLS TO Scarlet KNIGHTS

By KEITH SARGEANT
STAFF WRITER

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PISCATAWAY — Jack Corcoran , photo, may play the same position as Brian Leonard, but that doesn\’t mean Rutgers University\’s new fullback has the same role in the offense.



So despite the fact that Corcoran hasn\’t had a carry and only has one reception through two games, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said Corcoran\’s lack of touches aren\’t indicative of his performance.

\”You notice we\’re not doing the same things like we did with Brian,\” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. \”It\’s not an apples to apples (comparison). It\’s not really comparing the same position, even though it is the fullback on paper. The things we\’re asking him to do are different.\”

Things like sacrificing touches for the greater good of the team and serving as lead blocker for a Heisman Trophy candidate, Corcoran said.

\”Once you get to this level you have to adjust to certain things,\” said Corcoran, a sophomore who rushed for nearly 4,000 yards and scored a school-record 70 touchdowns in his career at St. Joseph-Hammonton. \”It\’s not going to be the same in high school, where you get this many carries.\”

Heck, Corcoran said, if he was Rutgers\’ offensive coordinator he\’d phase himself out of the game plan, too.

\”If the receivers are open and they\’re getting the ball, I\’m OK with that,\” the 6-foot-1, 230-pounder said. \”If I was (quarterback) Mike Teel, I would hit those guys, too. Why hit a short pass when you can go for it all?\”

It wasn\’t long after Rutgers\’ season opener against Buffalo that someone asked Corcoran if he could remember the last time he didn\’t touch the ball in a game. One of South Jersey\’s all-time leading rushers couldn\’t, conceding the possibility that it might\’ve been the first game in which he failed to receive a single carry.

\”Sometimes,\” he said, \”you have to make sacrifices.\”

For now, Corcoran is satisfied serving as the lead battering ram for Ray Rice, Rutgers\’ standout tailback who\’s rushed for a nation-leading 359 yards through two games.

\”I think it indirectly indicates how I\’m doing,\” Corcoran said.

Schiano said Rice\’s gaudy statistics are a reflection of Corcoran\’s blocking ability.

\”Jack is as good as anybody as a blocker,\” Schiano said. \”Jack will lead up and splinter you.\”

But in the same breath, Schiano noted how Corcoran isn\’t much different than a typical first-year starter.

\”He looks like a young fullback who does some things where you sit there and say, \”Jack!\’ \” the coach offered. \”He knows. He just needs to learn to do it right. It\’s no different from where Brian started. He made mistakes, too.\”

Corcoran, however, isn\’t trying to live up to what Leonard did in his record-setting career at Rutgers. Not yet anyway.

Not in an offense with as many weapons as Rutgers has these days.

\”When it comes,\” he said of his time to make an impact, \”I\’ll be ready to make something happen.\”

Source http://www.thnt.com

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Coast Guard searches for missing kayaker

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The Coast Guard is searching today along with the New Jersey State Police for a missing boater off Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.

Missing is Frank Dalessandro, 52, of Point Pleasant.

The Coast Guard received the report today from a concerned family member after Dalessandro failed to meet her for a scheduled lunch date.

The Coast Guard launched rescue boat crews from Coast Guard Stations Manasquan Inlet, N.J., and Barnegat Light, N.J., a rescue helicopter crew from Atlantic City and a C-130 Hercules air crew from Elizabeth City, N.C.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Albacore, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat homeported in Virgina Beach, Va., is making preparations to join the search.

Also assisting in the search are boat crews from the New Jersey State Police Marine Services Bureau.

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Rutgers should avoid letdown in homecoming week

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By Greg Wiley
The Phanatic Magazine

Homecoming won\’t provide much of a test for Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers has been impressive in its first two games of the season, scoring a combined 79 points. That number could double come Saturday when the 13th-ranked Scarlet Knights host Norfolk State, a FCS (formerly I-AA) program, in its annual homecoming contest.
Norfolk State is not going to provide much of a test for Rutgers, but if Appalachian State\’s upset of Michigan proved anything, the Scarlet Knights have to be ready to play. Give a team like Norfolk State an inch and it\’ll make the most of the opportunity.
So, the moral of the story is score early, score often, and don\’t let up. Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano said during his weekly press conference that he hasn\’t even spoken to any of the reserves regarding seeing any playing time. As a matter a fact, the only thing that matters right now to Schiano is seeing his team play better on both sides of the ball.
\”Twenty penalties in two games. We\’ve dropped passes. Defensively we\’ve made mistakes. We can play better,\” said Schiano.

\”Our football team right now is concerned with how good we can be,\” he said. \”It\’s so early in the year that we haven\’t played to the level that we\’ve expected of ourselves. So that\’s the challenge. The challenge is to find out how good we can be.

\”When we play our best we can beat anybody in the country. We haven\’t played our best.\”
Junior running back Ray Rice needs to continue to his outstanding start to the season. He leads the nation in total rushing yards with 359 and has six total TDs this season. As he goes so will Rutgers and if he wants to rack up some useful numbers come Heisman Trophy time, this is the game to do it.
Mike Teel has been solid at QB this season. He has completed 71.4 percent of his passes this season for 594 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.

Tiquan Underwood and Kenny Britt led the wide receivers. Underwood has 352 yards and two TDs on 16 catches, while Britt has tallied 158 yards and score on just seven catches.

Schiano didn\’t give much incite into Norfolk State. He said that defensively the team likes to blitz and that its blitz coverage is solid. He also said that offensively the team is much like his own, but with a lot less shifting.
The Spartans have played just one game this season, defeating Virginia State, 33-7. Last week they had a bye and therefore have had two weeks to prepare for the biggest game on their schedule.
Daryl Jones is the team\’s leading rusher, going for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in the opener. He also had 21 receiving yards. Dario Walker leads the Spartans with six receptions for 70 yards. Casey Hansen is under center for Norfolk State. He completed 22-of-42 passes for 245 yards with one interception in his first game.
Rutgers will have a bye week before taking the field again on September 29 at home against Maryland.

Source http://daily.phanaticmag.com

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