Givens becomes a Scarlet Knight…

ScarletNJ.com take…

After a whirlwind tour from Penn State to the Carolinas and finally to Rutgers University, ESPN 150 & Under Armor All-American Darrell Givens will report to camp for Rutgers this week. Givens joins four-star Logan Ryan and strong athlete Abdul Smith as part of the best incoming CB class in RU history.

Givens is a tall a lanky player that may look more like a WR than a DB. From the videos we have seen he is an instinctive player and tackles well. We can see him bulking up to 195-200lbs and possibly becoming a FS or a solid press corner. Many of the recruiting sites say he needs to work on his backpedal, but his natural athletic ability allows him to make up for his mistakes in his mechanics. A few years in the program should help him develop his footwork.

The three incoming freshman CBs along with David Rowe should give RU a lot of quality depth in the defensive backfield even against teams who will line up 4 and five wide. While McCourty and Rowe should have the two starting positions locked-up Givens, Smith, Ryan should all compete with veterans Brandon Bing and Billy Anderson for the Nickle and Dime coverage positions.

RU gets no love from the Big East Media…

From NJ.com….

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2009/08/rutgers_picked_to_finish_fifth.html

NEWPORT, R.I. — If Rutgers ends up winning the Big East conference title for the first time in school history, it will be an underdog achievement.

Why? Well, because the Scarlet Knights have been picked to finish fifth in the league, according to the preseason media poll, which was released Tuesday morning at the Big East’s annual media day.

Pittsburgh, which received eight first-place votes, was the pick to finish first. West Virginia (five first-place votes) is second, followed by defending champion Cincinnati. The Bearcats received eight first-place votes.

South Florida — which has gotten off to hot starts the last two seasons, only to fade — received three first-place votes to be selected in fourth place.

Following Rutgers is Connecticut, Louisville and Syracuse.

Despite finishing second in the conference in two of the last three seasons, it doesn’t appear that Rutgers has gained any traction. However, what likely sank Rutgers’ chances with the voters (at least to move up higher in the preseason poll) is the fact that the Scarlet Knights have two big question marks, at wide receiver and quarterback.