Receivers endorse Laviano as quarterback
PISCATAWAY >> The juices started flowing through Carlton Agudosi’s mind when the fifth-year senior heard the news Monday that Chris Laviano will start at quarterback in Rutgers’ season opener Sept. 3 at Washington.
“Let’s go,” the wide receiver said of his reaction Tuesday after practice. “Chris has been working very hard. He’s a great guy. I’ve seen how hard he works, so I was just happy for him because it was a competition that he won.”
While he isn’t Laviano’s roommate, Agudosi is one of his closest friends on the team. The two frequently work out on their own and play catch together during the offseason. Coming out of this year’s spring camp, Agudosi said he witnessed Laviano studying more film than ever before.
“Chris is a relentlessly hard worker,” Agudosi said. “He’s focused. Each year, he revved it up even more and I’ve seen the same thing that I’ve always seen from Chris. He always wants to be first in whether it’s sprints or workouts or whatever we’re doing.”
Despite their close friendship, Agudosi isn’t alone in the sentiment.
When Chris Ash announced his quarterback decision, the head coach cited how through a “tremendous summer,” Laviano had grown as a leader and earned the trust of his teammates and coaches. That level of respect wasn’t quite there in the spring, but with determination and a conscious effort to alter his lifestyle off the field, Laviano reported to camp this month clearly revamped in the nuances of Rutgers’ new spread offense.
Laviano, a 6-foot-2, 221-pound junior, passed for 2,247 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2015.
“I think he just came in this year with a whole new attitude,” wide receiver Andre Patton said. “He wants to do the best for his team and his teammates, and he wants to go out and get wins.
“He’s been very consistent. He’s been a leader, and he’s been very vocal. Being consistent and trying to be a leader, I think that goes a long way of earning the trust of your teammates.”
Vance Matthews, currently slated to start out wide opposite Patton, theorizes that the number of chips in Rutgers’ quarterback room played a role.
The addition of TCU transfer Zach Allen in June increased the count of Scarlet Knights scholarship quarterbacks to six. Allen and Laviano were listed as co-starters on Rutgers’ two-deep depth chart at the start of August camp. Laviano responded by winning his second open competition in two seasons.
“I think the competition that was instilled here with Zach and all the other quarterbacks, I think that really, really put Chris’ focus at a top level,” Matthews said. “That’s what you want in a squad. You want everyone to have competition, and that drives everyone to get better. Obviously he got better throughout the summer.”
The same goes for Rutgers’ receivers. Following the graduation of star Leonte Carroo, now a Miami Dolphin, the Knights return 1,097 yards between Patton, Matthews and slot receiver Janarion Grant, projected starters.
Wide receivers coach Jafar Williams said Grant, expected to be featured in Rutgers’ spread system, has done an “exceptional job” in camp and shown improved hands and route running. Underrecruited true freshman Dacoven Bailey out of Pilot Point, Texas is expected to play right away as one of the team’s fastest players, Ash said last week. And size with the likes of Agudosi (6-foot-6, 218 pounds), Patton (6-foot3, 210 pounds) and Matthews (6-foot-3, 213 pounds) solidifies the unit as versatile.
Williams said in the spring, “We’re going to have to have six or seven guys that are ready to play at any given time.”
“We have a very talented receiving corps, one of the most talented I’ve been around,” Agudosi said. “This offense is going to really play to all of our talents. I see us having a great year and see a lot of guys being involved in our offense.”