Previewing Rutgers With A Scarlet Knight Insider

With the Michigan Wolverines' football team set to take on Rutgers this Saturday at The Big House, The Knight Report's Richie Schnyderite was kind enough to swing by and break down the Scarlet Knights' squad prior to the matchup.

Schnyderite explained what fans should expect to see from Rutgers this weekend, while also providing his final score prediction at the end.

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• Sophomore QB Artur Sitkowski — Head coach Chris Ash announced on Monday that fifth-year senior McLane Carter (who started the club's first two games) is in concussion protocol and Sitkowski will receive the start as a result. The sophomore is completing 61.4 percent of his passes this season with one touchdown and two picks, after connecting on just 49.1 percent of his throws last year with four scores and 18 interceptions.

• Junior RB Raheem Blackshear — The do-it-all-weapon in Rutgers' offense is once again off to a fabulous start, leading the team in catches (22), receiving yards (255) and scoring grabs (two), despite serving as a running back. Blackshear is also the second-leading rusher on the team with 23 attempts for 77 yards, trailing only sophomore Isaih Pacheco's 46 touches for 239 yards.

• Junior WR Bo Melton — His nine receptions and 186 yards are both second on the squad, while his 20.7 yards per reception lead the club and are the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten. Melton had the best performance of his career in the season opener against Massachusetts, when he hauled in six grabs for 127 yards and a touchdown.

• Redshirt junior WR Mohamed Jabbie — He has five catches for 50 yards, after only hauling in one grab for 14 yards all of last season. The veteran has nine career starts under his belt, but has reeled in more than 14 yards in a game just once in his career.

• Freshman WR Isaiah Washington — He has started the team's last two contests against Iowa and Boston College, and his 52 yards on the year are the third most on the roster. At 6-3, 198, Washington is four inches taller than both Jabbie and Melton, who are both 5-11.

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• Redshirt freshman TE Matt Alaimo — He wasn't expected to be a starter this year, but has begun two of the team's first three games in the wake of fifth-year senior Kyle Penniston's season-ending injury. Alaimo stands 6-4, 237, and has hauled in four grabs for 51 yards.

• Redshirt freshman LT Raiqwon O'Neal — He has struggled mightily in 2019 according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), checking in with an overall grade of 50.1 (64 is considered average). That mark ranks 26th out of the 28 Scarlet Knight players who have seen offensive snaps this year.

• Fifth-year senior LG Zach Venesky — He was named a team captain prior to the season, and was one of three participants that Ash took with him to Chicago in July for Big Ten Media Days. Venesky's play has not reflected his high honorary stature, however, with PFF slapping him with a below-average grade of 62.2.

• Redshirt junior C Michael Maietti — He has started 24 of the 27 contests since his redshirt freshman season in 2017, including all three this year and all 12 last season. PFF has declared Maietti an outstanding pass blocker, awarding him with a 75.2 grade so far in that department.

• Redshirt junior RG Nick Krimin — He has played in 22 of the club's 27 contests since the start of 2017, earning six starts in that span. PFF has actually pegged him as the team's best pass blocker, awarding him with a phenomenal 79.9 grade in that category.

• Fifth-year senior RT Kamaal Seymour — He is the most experienced of the Scarlet Knight offensive linemen, having started 32 of the team's 39 tilts since the beginning of the 2016 campaign. At 6-6, 324, Seymour is the heaviest player on the entire roster and is tied for the tallest.

• Redshirt sophomore DE Mike Tverdov — His 52.7 overall grade from PFF is the third lowest of the 29 Rutgers athletes who have seen defensive snaps this season. Tverdov has yet to pick up his first sack or tackle for loss, but is tied for the team lead in quarterback hurries with two.

• Redshirt junior DT Julius Turner — His 13 tackles are the most of any defensive lineman on the team, while his 73.9 tally from PFF as a run defender is fourth best on the roster. Turner has participated in all 27 of Rutgers' contests since the start of 2017.

• Fifth-year senior DT Willington Previlon — His two tackles for loss are tied for the club lead, and his 169 snaps played are the third most on the entire defense. PFF has him pegged as the third-best run defender on the squad, with a 74.7 grade in that area.

• Redshirt junior DE Elorm Lumor — He has started the first three outings at the "Jack" position, which serves in a hybrid linebacker/defensive end role. Seven of Lumor's 12 tackles on the year actually came in last week's 30-16 loss to Boston College.

• Redshirt junior LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams — Despite having received 154 snaps so far (fifth most on the defense), his 56.3 grade from PFF ranks 24th out of the 29 Scarlet Knight defenders who have seen action. Maddox-Williams' two tackles for loss are tied with Previlon for the team lead, while his 12 tackles are tied for seventh most.

• Junior LB Tyshon Fogg — The former four-star recruit leads the squad with 33 stops, which is 13 more than any other player on the roster. Fogg's 11 tackles per game are the third-highest mark in the Big Ten, trailing only Purdue fifth-year senior linebacker Ben Holt's 11.6 and Michigan senior viper Khaleke Hudson's 11.3.

• Junior LB Olakunle Fatukasi — His 20 stops are the second most on the squad, behind Fogg's 33. PFF has tabbed Fatukasi as the best tackler on the Scarlet Knight defense, awarding him with an 86.7 mark in that department.

• Sophomore CB Avery Young — He burst onto the scene last year as a freshman, starting the team's final 11 games and finishing third on the club with 66 tackles. Young is once again off to an outstanding start, with his 71.3 PFF grade checking in as the highest of the 11 projected defensive starters.

• Senior CB Damon Hayes — He has started 23 clashes since the start of the 2017 season, with 12 of them coming at safety and 11 at corner. Hayes has once again settled in at the latter spot for his final campaign and leads the defense with 215 snaps played through three games.

• Sophomore S Jarrett Paul — His 17 tackles are the fourth most on the team, though he has yet to record an interception or pass broken up from his safety spot. Paul's 59.2 PFF pass coverage grade checks in 19th out of the 24 Scarlet Knights defenders who have been asked to defend the pass this season.

• Fifth-year senior S Malik Dixon — He did not see action in 2018 after transferring in from Eastern Arizona Community College and having spent two years at South Florida prior to that. PFF has tagged him with a 52.4 mark through three tilts, which checks in 28th out of the 29 Rutgers defensive players who have seen game action in 2019.

• Junior K Justin Davidovicz — He has been perfect on his field goal attempts, connecting on all five with a long of 50 yards. Davidovicz has also recorded touchbacks on eight of his 15 kickoffs.

• Redshirt junior P Adam Korsak — He is averaging 45.6 yards on 16 punts, and has dropped 12 of his 16 kicks inside the opposing 20-yard line. Korsak was tabbed to the Ray Guy Award (nation's best punter) watch list in July, and took home the accolade's National Punter of the Week honor last Saturday against Boston College when he landed all five of his punts inside the 20-yard line.

"The biggest strength of the offense is the group of running backs that Rutgers has," Schynderite explained. "Blackshear has multiple 100-plus yard receiving games this season, Isaih Pacheco is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and leads the team with four rushing touchdowns, and now freshman Aaron Young has been getting thrown into the mix more often as both a slot wide receiver/running back, most recently catching the ball three times for 35 yards against BC.

"You'll see Rutgers run multiple running back sets and do a lot of motion stuff to get the ball in these guys' hands. Overall the group is by far and away the most talented group on the offense and maybe even the team."

Pacheco has taken over as the club's primary rusher this year, with his 79.6 rushing yards per contest checking in as the fifth most in the Big Ten and his four rushing scores tying for sixth.

Blackshear, meanwhile, has only accumulated 77 yards on the ground after racking up 586 last season.

"The biggest weakness is the offensive line, without a question," the analyst noted. "This offseason Rutgers lost a lot of experience on the O-line when Tariq Cole [42 games, 34 starts] graduated and Jonah Jackson [29 games, 16 starts] transferred to Ohio State.

"This unit has struggled to block and create just about any type of holes for the running game recently, hence why the Scarlet Knights were only able to put up 76 rushing yards total against an average Boston College defense.

"I expect them to struggle once again against Michigan this weekend."

Rutgers' rushing attack is averaging a dismal 3.9 yards per carry through the first three contests, which is tied for 82nd nationally.

The club is also mustering just 120 yards on the ground per game, which is deadlocked for 103rd in the country.

"At the beginning of the season I would've likely said the linebacker unit, but now I'm not really sure," Schnyderite explained. "However, if I had to pick a unit, I'd say the cornerbacks are probably the best of the bunch.

"Sophomore Avery Young has been pretty good so far as the team's No. 1 corner. Damon Hayes was moved from safety this offseason back to cornerback and struggled a little in games one and two versus UMass and Iowa, but bounced back against Iowa a little.

"No. 3 corner and former OSU/Toledo defensive back Tre Avery has been very impressive so far in coverage and was The Knight Report's defensive player of the game for week one versus UMass."

The Scarlet Knight secondary has been outstanding statistically this season, allowing just 174.7 yards through the air per game (22nd nationally).

Opposing clubs are also having a difficult time connecting on passes at a high rate; Rutgers has only yielded a 55.7 opposing completion percentage, which is the fourth-best mark in the Big Ten and 26th overall in college football.

"The weakest part of the defense right now is the defensive line," Schnyderite revealed. "This unit has struggled mightily over the past two games to generate any type of pass rush at all against Iowa and Boston College recently. Not to mention that same unit played a role in giving up 280-plus rushing yards to the Eagles last Saturday.

"If the defense wants to succeed at all, this unit needs to start generating some type of pass rush."

The squad's rush defense statistics aren't pretty as a whole on the year, with the front seven surrendering an average of 218 yards per game on the ground (118th nationally).

The Scarlet Knights have also had trouble finding their way into opposing backfields, with their 1.0 sack per contest ranking 113th overall in the land and their 4.6 tackles for loss an outing checking in 103rd.

"I'm going to predict a big Michigan win this weekend," Schnyderite said. "I know the spread is -29 right now, and I fully expect the Wolverines to cover.

"After that big loss to Wisconsin last week, I expect the Wolverines to come out right away and pour on as many points as possible."

Michigan 55, Rutgers 3

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