rutgers report

smazza · August 19, 2008

Rutgers' offensive line unsettled after injury

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

BY TOM LUICCI

Star-Ledger Staff

Take away the mediocre rushing numbers from the first intrasquad scrimmage last Wednesday, and it has almost been impossible to tell that Rutgers has been trying to rebuild most of its offensive line this summer.

There has been a quiet consistency to the unit most of the preseason.

Until yesterday.

First, starting left guard Kevin Haslam went down in practice with an injury to his right ankle -- the same one he had surgically repaired in April, causing him to miss the spring game.

Coach Greg Schiano said it was too early to speculate on the severity of the injury, though Haslam needed to be helped off the field and later needed the aide of crutches to get around.

Then Schiano gave a lukewarm endorsement to redshirt freshman Caleb Ruch as the potential right guard starter, saying he needed to see more from the 6-4, 285-pounder in tomorrow's scrimmage.

Here's the problem: For now, walk-on Howard Barbieri is the backup at both guard spots, meaning a time-consuming injury to Haslam or less-than-stellar performance tomorrow by Ruch could throw the offensive line into a state of flux.

That's not a good thing for a unit that relies heavily on precision and timing -- and now has 13 days before the opener to get its act together.

"Every day I want to come out and perform my best," Ruch said. "Hopefully, (Schiano) will see what he needs to in the scrimmage."

Ruch said he felt he was having a solid summer to this point.