2015 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

2015 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	East Division
2015 record	4–8 (1–7 Big Ten)
Head coach	Kyle Flood (4th season; first 2 games) Norries Wilson (next 3 games) Kyle Flood (remainder of season)
Offensive coordinator	Ben McDaniels (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Rossi (2nd season)
Home stadium	High Point Solutions Stadium (Capacity: 52,454)
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

2015 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 6 Michigan State xy$^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 4 Ohio State x		7	–	1					12	–	1
No. 12 Michigan		6	–	2					10	–	3
Penn State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					6	–	7
Rutgers		1	–	7					4	–	8
Maryland		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 9 Iowa xy		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 23 Northwestern		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 21 Wisconsin		6	–	2					10	–	3
Nebraska		3	–	5					6	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					6	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					5	–	7
Purdue		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It is the Scarlet Knights' second season as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and second as a member of the East Division. The team was led by Kyle Flood, in his fourth year as head coach, and play its home games at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

The season began with controversies over an investigation into violations of NCAA regulations and school policy concerning coach Flood's improper contacting of a professor concerning a student's academic status; and the arrests and dismissal of several football players on violent felony charges connected to an April 2015 home invasion robbery in New Brunswick. Coach Flood was suspended for three games after the investigation found improper contact was made.

Before the season[]

Previous season[]

The 2014 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team finished the regular season 7–5, with a highlight win against Michigan for the team's first Big Ten Conference win. After defeating Indiana the Scarlet Knights become bowl eligible and were invited to play in the Quick Lane Bowl against North Carolina of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Rutgers defeated the Tar Heels in Detroit, Michigan 40–21 finishing their 2014 Season at 8–5.

Controversies and legal issues[]

The 2015 football season began with the shadow of several incidents of alleged misconduct and criminal charges.^[1] On May 24, 2015, redshirt freshman defensive back Darian Dailey was arrested in Florida on felony robbery charges.^[2][3] In late August 2015, head coach Kyle Flood suspended five players from the first half of the season opener for violating team policies on breaking curfews. These players were Ruhann Peele (cornerback), Leonte Carroo (receiver), Tim Gleeson (punter), Chris Laviano (quarterback) and Kevin Marquez (linebacker).^[4][5][6][7] There were doubts that Flood would be coaching the season opener and some speculation amongst news media and fans about the possibility of Flood's firing or resignation.^{[8][9][10][11]} Around this time, many fans had called for the return of Flood's predecessor, Greg Schiano as head coach.^[12][13] According to The Asbury Park Press, students remarked that the recent controversies tarnish the university's reputation.^[14]

On September 3, 2015, ten suspects, including six players, were arrested and charged with felony assault, armed robbery, criminal restraint, conspiracy, riot, and weapons possession charges stemming from an April 26, 2015 incident in New Brunswick, New Jersey characterized as a home invasion robbery.^[4][15] One victim, identified only as a 19-year-old male Rutgers student was reported to have had his jaw broken in the assault.^[16] Five players—Ruhann Peele (cornerback), Nadir Barnwell (cornerback), Razohnn Gross (fullback), Delon Stephenson (free safety), and Andre Boggs (cornerback)—were dismissed from the team moments before the season-opening football game against the Norfolk State Spartans.^[4][15] Former player Tejay Johnson (free safety and wide receiver), was also arrested on September 3.^[17] A sixth player, Lloyd Terry (fullback) was arrested a few days later.^[16][18] Several of the players arrested in this incident had previous arrests in 2013 and 2014 for other criminal charges.^[15]

One of the suspects, Barnwell, was the center of an ongoing investigation into head coach Kyle Flood for possible violations of school policy and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations prohibiting the athletic coaching staff from contacting faculty regarding the academic eligibility status of a player.^[4][15] According to New Jersey Advance Media, publisher of the Star-Ledger and other statewide newspapers, Flood defied academic support staff by contacting one of Barnwell's professors and that sources stated that Flood attempted to "circumvent the process and trying to get the kid eligible".^[19]

Flood suspended wide receiver Leonte Carroo indefinitely after his arrest on September 13, 2015. Carroo was arrested by the Rutgers University Police Department and charged with simple assault stemming from a domestic violence incident that occurred on campus shortly after the end of the game against Washington State. Carroo was the seventh Rutgers player arrested in ten days.^[20][21][22] Star-Ledger and New Jersey Advance Media sports columnist Steve Politi described Carroo as "another casualty of the season from hell" and called the incident further proof that Flood had lost control of the team. Politi mused, "you wonder how soon before his head coach joins him on the list"—implying that Flood's tenure as coach should be ending with his termination.^[23]

The 15-member Rutgers Board of Governors, one of the school's two governing bodies, and university president Robert Barchi met on September 11 in a closed-door emergency session to discuss ongoing "athletic matters" and the potential for litigation in the wake of these controversies and arrests.^[24][25][26] On September 16, 2015, after the conclusion of a university-led investigation into his conduct determined he improperly contacted a professor to get Barnwell's grade changed, Flood was suspended for three games and fined $50,000 by Rutgers president Robert Barchi. Flood would be suspended during and miss an away game against Penn State (September 19, 2015), and home games against Kansas (September 26) and Michigan State (October 10).^[27][28] Associate head coach Norries Wilson would fill-in as head coach for those three games during Flood's suspension.^[28]

After Flood's reinstatement, questions continued to circulate about possible drug problems within the program in the wake of former Scarlet Knights' fullback Lloyd Terry telling police that "he failed multiple drug tests while on the football team".^{[29] [30]}

Flood, along with athletic director , was fired at the end of the season.

Coaching staff[]

Coaching changes[]

2014 offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen relinquished his position as offensive coordinator due to age and stayed on as a special assistant to the head coach.^[31]

Ben McDaniels, 2014 wide receiver coach and brother of former Denver Broncos head coach and current New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, was promoted to offensive coordinator.

2014 graduate assistant and former Rutgers defensive lineman Charlie Noonan was hired as defensive line coach at Holy Cross.^[32]

Graduate assistant Sam Williams' two years of graduate assistant-ship expired and was hired by Penn State working with special teams and recruiting quality control.^[33]

2014 Graduate assistant and former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel was hired by his alma mater Don Bosco Preparatory High School as offensive coordinator^[34][35]

2014 undergraduate student assistant Sean Barowski stayed on as a graduate assistant upon graduating.^[35][36]

2015 staff[]

Name	Position	Seasons at Rutgers	Alma mater
Kyle Flood	Head coach	10	Iona College (1992)
Norries Wilson	Running backs/associate head coach/interim head coach	4	Minnesota (1989)
Ben McDaniels	Offensive coordinator	1 (first as OC)	Kent State (2003)
Joe Rossi	Defensive coordinator	4	Allegheny College (2000)
Phil Galiano	Special teams/tight ends	10	Shippensburg University (1999)
	Offensive line	1	Capital University (1979)
Anthony Campanile	Wide receivers	4	Rutgers (2004)
Jim Panagos	Defensive line	4	Maryland (1992)
	Linebackers	5	Allegheny College
Darrell Wilson	Defensive backs	4	Connecticut (1981)
Jeremy Cole	Strength and conditioning/assistant AD	9	University of Findlay (2005)
Rocco Dimeco	Offensive assistant	1	Norwich University
Scott Vallone	Defensive assistant	0	Rutgers (2012)
Sean Barowski	Graduate assistant	0	Rutgers (2015)
Ralph Friedgen	Special assistant to the head coach	1	Maryland

Schedule[]

Rutgers announced their 2015 football schedule on June 3, 2013. The 2015 schedule consist of 7 home, and 5 away games in the regular season. The Scarlet Knights will host Big Ten foes Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Nebraska and will travel to Indiana, Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin.^[37]

The Scarlet Knights hosted three of their four non conference games against Kansas, Norfolk State and Washington State. Rutgers will match up against Army on November 21 at Michie Stadium at West Point.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	12:00 pm	Norfolk State*	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPNews	W 63–13	47,453
September 12	3:30 pm	Washington State*	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPNU	L 34–37	46,536
September 19	8:00 pm	at Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	BTN	L 3–28	103,323
September 26	12:00 pm	Kansas*	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 27–14	46,136
October 10	8:00 pm	No. 4 Michigan State	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	L 24–31	50,373
October 17	3:30 pm	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	W 55–52	40,567
October 24	8:00 pm	No. 1 Ohio State	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ABC	L 7–49	53,111
October 31	12:00 pm	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	BTN	L 10–48	74,575
November 7	3:30 pm	at No. 16 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	L 16–49	108,879
November 14	3:30 pm	Nebraska	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	L 14–31	45,606
November 21	12:00 pm	at Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	CBSSN	W 31–21	30,113
November 28	12:00 pm	Maryland	High Point Solutions Stadium Piscataway, NJ	BTN	L 41–46	44,846
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[38]

Game summaries[]

Home against Norfolk State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Norfolk State Spartans	7	6	0	0	13
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	7	14	28	14	63

On September 5, 2015, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights met the Norfolk State Spartans, a Football Championship Subdivision team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, for the fourth game in their series. Rutgers had won the previous three games against Norfolk State in which the Scarlet Knights outscored the Spartans 128–0.^[39]

Home against Washington State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington State Cougars	7	6	7	17	37
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	0	6	6	22	34

After last season's 41–38 victory against Washington State (Pac-12 Conference) on August 28, 2014, this was the second meeting between the Scarlet Knights and the Cougars. Rutgers lost after a penalty-prone fourth quarter (ending with a spike on 4th down), 34–37.

Away at Penn State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	0	0	0	3	3
Penn State Nittany Lions	0	21	0	7	28

In the first game of head coach Kyle Flood's three-game suspension, associate head coach Norries Wilson filled in as head coach for the Rutgers and Penn State conference opener. Rutgers' only score was posted with 10:35 remaining in the fourth quarter by kicker Kyle Federico who made 34 yard field goal.

Home against Kansas[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas Jayhawks	0	7	7	0	14
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	7	13	7	0	27

This was the first meeting between the Kansas Jayhawks (Big-12 Conference) and the Scarlet Knights. In 2012, Rutgers and Kansas announced two home-and-home series games this season and the 2018 season.^[40]

Home against Michigan State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#4 Michigan State Spartans	7	3	14	7	31
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	0	14	7	3	24

Rutgers hosted the undefeated Michigan State Spartans for their sixth meeting. With Michigan State ranked number 4 in national polls, it was the first time in 6 seasons that Rutgers met a team ranked the top 25 (beating No 23-ranked USF 31–0 on November 12, 2009) and 8 seasons since they upset a No. 2-ranked South Florida in 2007.^[41]

This was the last game that interim head coach Norries Wilson coached during head coach Kyle Flood's three-game suspension.^[29][42]

Away at Indiana[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	7	20	6	22	55
Indiana Hoosiers	10	14	28	0	52

Despite a 52–27 Indiana lead in the third quarter, the Scarlet Knights erased the 25-point deficit by converting three fourth-quarter turnovers into touchdowns and took the lead in the game's final seconds with a 26-yard field goal from Kyle Federico. Leonte Carroo caught seven passes, for 157 yards and three touchdowns before leaving in the second half with an injured right leg.

Home against Ohio State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes	7	14	21	7	49
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	0	0	0	7	7

Away at Wisconsin[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	3	0	7	0	10
Wisconsin Badgers	10	17	14	7	48

Away at Michigan[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	3	13	0	0	16
#17 Michigan Wolverines	14	21	11	3	49

Home against Nebraska[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Nebraska Cornhuskers	14	7	7	3	31
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	0	7	7	0	14

Away at Army[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	14	10	7	0	31
Army Black Knights	0	14	7	0	21

Home against Maryland[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Maryland Terrapins	0	13	14	19	46
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	7	24	7	3	41

Roster[]

2015 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Janarion Grant Jr WR 3 Jawuan Harris Fr WR 4 Leonte Carroo Sr QB 5 Chris Laviano  So RB 6 Desmond Peoples  Jr RB 7 Robert Martin So RB 8 Josh Hicks So QB 11 Hayden Rettig  Jr WR 13 Carlton Agudosi  Jr QB 15 Jack Clements Fr WR 16 Christopher Parker Fr QB 17 Giovanni Rescigno  Fr QB 18 Michael Dare Fr QB 19 Troy Anthony Jr RB 21 Charles Snorweah Fr FB 30 Conor Dowd Fr RB 32 Justin Goodwin Jr RB 33 Greg Jones  Jr RB 34 Paul James  Sr FB 37 Max Anthony Fr WR 39 Sandy Anya  So TE 42 Nick Arcidiacono Jr TE 43 George Behr  Fr FB 44 Sam Bergen  Sr WR 44 Joseph Gause Fr RB 45 Jeffrey Farina Fr FB 45 Shaquan Oliver Fr TE 46 Charles Scarff So TE 48 Anthony Folkerts Fr OL 55 Ryan Brodie  Jr OL 57 Bryan Stonkus  Sr OL 60 Dorian Miller  So OL 64 Skiy Pyrame Fr OL 65 Tariq Cole  Fr OL 66 Jacquis Webb  Fr OL 69 Derrick Nelson  Jr OL 70 Chris Muller  Jr OL 71 Marcus Applefield  Fr OL 72 Manny Taylor Fr OL 73 Jonah Jackson Fr OL 74 Keith Lumpkin  Sr OL 75 Zach Venesky Fr OL 77 J. J. Denman  Jr OL 78 Jack Shutack Fr OL 79 Zack Heeman  Fr WR 80 Alex Schoen  So TE 81 Matt Flanagan  So WR 82 Ntwademela Perry  Fr WR 83 Rashad Blunt Fr WR 84 John Tsimis Jr WR 85 Justice Stewart Fr TE 86 Nakia Griffin-Stewart Fr WR 87 Vance Matthews  Jr WR 88 Andre Patton Jr WR 89 Dontae Owens Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 2 Kiy Hester  Fr LB 3 Steve Longa  Jr DB 5 Ronnie James Fr DB 9 Saquan Hampton  Fr DB 10 Blessuan Austin Fr DB 11 Isaiah Wharton  Fr LB 14 Kaiwan Lewis Sr LB 15 Trevor Morris Fr LB 20 Devan Carter  So DL 22 Quanzell Lambert  Jr DB 25 Jarius Adams Fr LB 26 Deonte Roberts Fr LB 28 Najee Clayton Fr DB 29 Davon Jacobs  Jr LB 30 Andre Hunt  So DB 31 Anthony Cioffi Jr LB 34 Talib Abdur-Ra'oof  Fr LB 35 Eric Margolis  Fr LB 36 T. J. Taylor  So DB 37 Zane Campbell Jr DL 38 Myles Nash  So DB 40 Brian Chase Fr LB 40 Kevin Marquez  Jr DB 41 Brian Verbitski  Jr DB 43 D'Won Walker Fr LB 47 Isaiah Johnson Jr LB 49 Brandon Russell  Fr LB 50 Quentin Gause  Sr DL 51 Sebastian Joseph-Day  So DL 53 Julian Pinnix-Odrick  Jr DL 54 Kamaal Seymour Fr LB 55 Austin Rosa Fr DE 58 Kemoko Turay  So DL 59 Darnell Davis  So DL 67 Kenneth Roman Fr DL 90 Ron'Dell Carter Fr DL 91 Darius Hamilton Sr DL 92 Eric Wiafe  Fr DL 93 Djwany Mera  Sr DL 95 Jon Bateky Fr DL 96 Willington Previlon Fr DL 98 Jimmy Hogan  Fr DL 99 Kevin Wilkins  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 1 Kyle Federico Sr LS 68 Alex Hutchings Fr LS 85 Alan Lucy So PK, P 94 Michael Cintron  Fr PK 94 Chris Gough  Sr P 96 Aidan Murray  Jr P 96 Joey Roth  Sr PK, P 98 David Bonagura  So P 99 Tim Gleeson Sr	Head coach Kyle Flood Coordinators/assistant coaches Norries Wilson (running backs / associate head coach / interim head coach) Ben McDaniels (offensive coordinator) Joe Rossi (defensive coordinator) Phil Galiano (special teams coordinator / tight ends) Mitch Browning (offensive line) Anthony Campanile (wide receivers) Jim Panagos (defensive line) Bob Fraser (linebackers) Darrell Wilson (defensive backs) Jerry Cole (strength & conditioning / assistant AD) Rocco Dimeco (offensive assistant) Scott Vallone (defensive assistant) Sean Barowski (graduate assistant) Ralph Friedgen (special assistant to the head coach) Kenny Parker (head football strength and conditioning) Sean Barowski (defensive assistant) Collin Bauer (defensive assistant) David Galante (offensive assistant) Mark Rosenbaum (offensive assistant) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 23, 2016

References[]