Rutgers Football: Danny Breslauer Q&A

At the request of Bleacher Report's Big East liason, Ricky Hawkins, Danny Breslauer answers some questions about the state of Rutgers football.

1.) The 2008 recruiting class is ranked third in the Big East behind Pitt and West Virginia according to Rivals.com. How impressed are you with this class and do you think that it is just the first of many great recruiting classes that Rutgers pulls in over the next couple years?

First of all, I'm clearly very impressed with this class because of Greg Schiano's ability to stay true to his word about recruiting the "State of Rutgers."  While the 2009 class will prove to be even more nationally-recognized, there are some staple signings in 2008 as well.

DC Jefferson, a three-star (rivals.com) dual-threat quarterback from Florida, headlines a group that contains three 4-star performers in wide receiver Keith Stroud, defensive lineman Scott Vallone and Manasquan (NJ) offensive lineman Art Forst.

If you look up and down the list of commits, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and southern Florida talents take over the majority.  I believe that Colonia (NJ) linebacker Eric LeGrand will turn out to be the surprise of the class and make an immediate impact on a squad that desperately needs help at the linebacker position on run defense.

West Virginia and Pittsburgh are two very good classes because now Michigan head man Rich Rodriguez and current Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt are two of the best in the nation at recruiting.  As for Coach Schiano, this is just a start to a fast-moving trend of bringing in high-end prospects, as evidenced by 15 commitments to the 2009 class before June 20.

2.) We all know that Ray Rice was a key component of the program over the last couple years. How much is the loss of Rice going to hurt this Rutgers program? How well can Kordell Young fill Rice's shoes?

No Rutgers fan will deny that the Scarlet Knights will severely miss Ray Rice.  Without him, the 2006 miracle run and 2007 winning season most likely never occur.  His ability to see even the smallest holes and shake off top-notch defensive linemen made him one of the best in the nation for the last two years.

2,000+ yards of rushing (last season alone) will be extremely hard to replace and not even Schiano knows exactly what the course of action will be.

In January (at Rice's NFL Draft declaration press conference), I asked Schiano if the running back flexibility would be the toughest adjustment for him come training camp.  He responded that this will be the first time that he wishes he was locked into a decision because replacing Rice will be as daunting a decision as they come.

In my opinion, Kordell Young may not be 100 % ready for the season after rehabbing the ACL injury that sidelined him in mid-September of 2007.  It will probably end up being a serious running back by committee with Young, Mason Robinson, Joe Martinek, Jourdan Brooks and Rashad White all getting touches.

While Young is the best option for the job, if Robinson or Brooks can break out while he?s still hampered with injury, the competition will be up in the air.

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