Hart ready to lead Rutgers beyond expectations
Scarlet Knights open season Saturday in Illinois
BY MIKE McDONALD
Staff Writer

Quarterback Ryan Hart (above), wide receiver Tres Moses (r) and tailback Brian Leonard (l) are among several explosive players the Scarlet Knights return to the offense this season.

Ryan Hart, who last year started at quarterback in all 11 games for the Rutgers University football team, believes that he has done all the right things in the offseason to stay healthy this year.

If there was an ironman award for the college football season, Hart would’ve have earned it over the past three years. This season Hart will look to continue his consecutive string of playing in 27 straight games.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RUTGERS ATHLETICS

“I work hard in the offseason. I take care of my body,” he said.

And the Scarlet Knights are hoping his meticulous work habits off the field lead to a strong season this year on the field.

Hart had a strong 2004 season, breaking his own single-season record for passing yards with 3,154, leading the Big East in passing yards per game (286.7) and completions, posting six 300 yards or better passing games, and setting the Big East record for completion percentage (65.1 percent).

As good as those numbers were, the one enigma for Hart last year was interceptions. Hart threw 18 for touchdowns, but also had 19 picks.

That is a ratio that is not generally considered acceptable by Division I standards, and more importantly is not acceptable to Hart.

“I need to improve on my ability to get the receiver the ball when they are open,” he said. “I now will be starting my third year here and feel more confident than ever. I have worked hard to study defenses and when to release the ball.”

Hart also feels that the improved play of the guys around him will also help him improve his passing.

“I am surrounded this year with a veteran core of receivers and should have good blocking. I think my interception-to-touchdown ratio will be much better this upcoming year,” he said.

On Saturday, Rutgers opens up the season on the road against Illinois. The Scarlet Knights need to play well from the game’s first whistle, and desperately need to build some momentum as they look ahead.

Their first home game of the 2005 season will be on Saturday, September 10 vs. Villanova, at Rutgers Stadium.

One thing they have going for them is a quarterback who is anxious to prove he’s become a better player since last year.

And he also believes in the players and coaches around him.

“I believe we have the makings of a great team,” he said. “I know we have the coach and the players here to put together a successful season. I believe we are going to have one this year.”

Hart and his teammates can go a long way towards making believers out of everyone with a win Saturday.

Individual preseason accolades build optimism

While Hart looks to prove he’s developing into one of the top collegiate quarterbacks in the nation, three of his teammates – fullback Brian Leonard (Gouverneur, N.Y.), tight end Clark Harris (Manahawkin, N.J.) and offensive guard John Glass (Allentown, P.A.) – were recently recognized among the nation’s best at their respective positions by The Sporting News in its 2005 college football preview magazine.

Leonard, a two-year starter for the Scarlet Knights, was rated the nation’s third-best fullback by The Sporting News. He carried the ball 199 times for 732 yards and seven touchdowns in 2004, and also caught 61 passes for 518 yards and two scores. Leonard surpassed the 100-yard mark in all-purpose yards in all 10 games he played in last season, running his consecutive game streak to 18. An All-Big East First Team pick, Leonard led the conference in all-purpose yardage (125.0/game), and was first nationally among running backs in both catches and receiving yards.

Harris, a John Mackey Award candidate last season, was rated the No. 12 tight end in the country by the national publication. He caught 53 passes for 725 yards and five touchdowns in 2004, leading all Big East tight ends in those three categories.

He also ranked second nationally among tight ends in both catches and yards, and registered three, 100-yard receiving games, including a nine-catch, 116-yard effort at Navy on Nov. 20.

Harris has also been named to the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list, presented annually to the college football lineman (offense or defense) who, in addition to outstanding performance and ability, best exemplifies the discipline of Vince Lombardi. He is one of 11 tight ends on the 123-member watch list. The recognition came two weeks after Harris was named to the Mackey Award watch list for a second consecutive year.

Glass was rated the 17th-best offensive guard by The Sporting News after earning All-Big East Second Team honors in 2005. Glass has started all 23 games over the past two seasons at right guard and has helped the Scarlet Knights assemble two of its best offensive seasons ever. In 2005, he anchored an offensive line that ranked first in the Big East and sixth nationally in passing (310.5 yards/game) and set a Rutgers single-season record for passing yards (3,416) for the second-straight year. In 2004, Glass started all 12 games, helping Rutgers amass 4,423 yards of total offense, the second-highest output in program history.

Senior wide receiver Tres Moses (Delray Beach, Fla.) has also been the source of some preseason hype, having been named to the watchlist for the 2005 Biletnikoff Award, presented annually to the nation’s outstanding college football receiver. Moses is one of 31 players on the preseason list.

As a junior in 2004, Moses started all 11 games for the Scarlet Knights and became the first RU receiver to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, finishing the season with 1,056 yards. He hauled in 81 passes, which established a Big East record for single-season receptions and finished second in the league, and tenth nationally, with 96.0 receiving yards/game.

Over the final eight games of the 2004 season, Moses had 948 receiving yards and finished the year with a career-high 168 yards vs. UConn on Nov. 25 – his fifth 100-yard receiving effort of the season. He also finished the year with a 22-game catch streak intact and, with a reception in RU’s 2005 season opener at Illinois, will move into 10th place on the Big East list for consecutive games with at least one catch.

With so many players returning this year, it’s easy to see why the players are so anxious to get started this Saturday.

However, the players expectations are not necessarily matched by the coaches throughout the league, as Rutgers was picked to finish sixth in the eight-team Big East football conference, despite the team’s optimism.

“We’ve been here for four years, and I think we have made consistent improvement in every area,” said head coach Greg Schiano. “I think we are getting very close and are moving forward with building our program. We have a very experienced team with strong senior leadership coming back this year.”

“The league is settled now, and I think one of the greatest things about this league is that there are going to be some very competitive football games,” he added. “Every team in this league thinks they can become that dominant team, and that is exciting for the players, coaches and the fans. In addition to three new teams in the league, there are also two other teams with new coaches, so this is a very exciting time for Big East football.”

While skepticism continues to surround the program, Schiano and his team are ready to prove that Rutgers football is a program on the rise.

“I am very much at peace with where we started, where we are now and where we are going,” added Schiano.