Five Rutgers Players Who Can Establish Their Roles As Big Ten Play Begins

After losing to UMass in the opener, the Scarlet Knights followed that up with a 28-21 loss to Boston College. Rutgers is now 0-2 heading into Big Ten play, with No. 12 USC coming to SHI Stadium on Saturday.

The preseason expectations are gone. There's really no point pretending otherwise.

But that doesn't mean the first two games have been completely useless from an evaluation standpoint.

Rutgers has gotten a chance to see several players in meaningful situations, and a handful of them have started to separate themselves. This isn't a list of the five best players on the roster. Guys like KJ Duff and Antwan Raymond have already established themselves as cornerstones for this team.

Instead, these are five players who could establish their roles as the season moves forward.

Moses Walker might be the easiest player to put on this list after what he did against Boston College.

Walker picked off two passes against the Boston College Eagles, recording the first two interceptions of his career. He also added a sack as Rutgers' defense forced three turnovers.

That's the kind of performance that can change how a player is viewed.

Rutgers needs playmakers on defense. The Scarlet Knights have had stretches where the defense looks capable of getting stops, but they have also struggled to consistently get off the field and have given up too many explosive plays.

Walker showed that he can create something when the opportunity is there. And after missing most of last season with injury, he was named as a Comeback Player of the Week due to his efforts to keep the Scarlet Knights in the game for as long as possible.

KJ Duff has already established himself as Rutgers' top receiving threat.

The next question is who can consistently give the Scarlet Knights something alongside him. Although Ben Black doubles Duff on the outside, Rutgers could use a reliable option in the slot.

Houston has been involved early in the season and has shown the ability to give Rutgers another option in the passing game. That's particularly important because Big Ten defenses are going to have a lot more ways to try to take Duff away.

As the starting slot wide receiver, Houston recorded four catches for 42 yards against UMass before adding five catches for 40 yards against Boston College. He can be a reliable option to pick up yardage on early passing downs, and with the quarterback situation as poor as it is, they could use all the short yardage they could get.

Clay Thevenin is another player whose role appears to be growing.

Thevenin had three carries against UMass, but his workload increased against Boston College. He carried the ball seven times for 36 yards and also recovered a fumble.

That's not exactly a massive statistical performance, but that's not really the point of this article. Thevenin is showing that he can contribute when his number is called.

Antwan Raymond has already established himself as one of Rutgers' most important offensive players, so this isn't about replacing him. Rutgers doesn't need Thevenin to suddenly become the starting running back.

During the second half at Chestnut Hill, the Knights had a physical one-two punch, and Thevenin mirrored Raymond's style by running uphill and fighting for extra yardage on the ground. Rutgers churned clock and pressured the Eagles' defense, unfortunately the offense was not able to capitalize enough to get the win.

That could prove to be useful, especially in Big Ten play, where running the ball is paramount to success.

Bradlee Jones hasn't necessarily produced the biggest numbers through two games, but he's another player who has shown the ability to make an impact play.

Jones forced a fumble against Boston College, giving Rutgers another example of a defensive player creating a turnover rather than simply making a routine tackle.

In a struggling secondary filled with newcomers, Jones posted a 91.8 PFF grade in run defense, 79.1 in tackling, and 46.5 in coverage, leading Rutgers' defensive backs with a defensive grade of 74.8. With speed being his biggest attribute, the Citadel transfer should be starting at left cornerback while Kevyn Humes is a strong candidate to start opposite him, especially with Kevin Levy and Mikey Munn getting injured early last week.

Rutgers picked up defensive end Sekou Kromah in the transfer portal late in the summer after he was ruled eligible by a court ruling. At 6' 3" and 275 pounds, Kromah has the size to immediately anchor the defensive line and put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The Temple transfer had two tackles in his Rutgers debut against UMass, but against BC, he had three tackles including one for loss. More importantly, he recorded three pressures against the Eagles, showing his potential to be disruptive to opposing quarterbacks.

Last season, Kromah tallied 14 tackles with 4.5 for loss and three sacks, including a sack at #18 Georgia Tech. In Temple's home game against #13 Oklahoma, he was a force to be reckoned with, posting seven tackles, 2.5 TFLs, a sack, and a pass breakup. Look for that talent to travel to Piscataway this season.

Farell Gnago deserves a mention here as well.

Gnago may not be getting the same number of snaps as some of the other players on this list, but he's one of those players who seems to make an impact whenever he's on the field.

That's something I've noticed dating back to last season, when Gnago helped force a fumble that led to Rutgers' game-winning field goal at Purdue.

It doesn't always have to be a huge statistical performance. Gnago just seems to find a way to make a play — whether it's getting into the backfield, making a stop or creating some kind of disruption.

He could spend a lot of this season playing second-team snaps, but that doesn't mean he can't carve out a role. He currently has Rutgers' lone sack of the season, which he registered against UMass.

Gnago has shown that he can make his snaps count. He has earned a bigger role with the defense.

There's no changing the fact that Rutgers is 0-2.

The losses to UMass and Boston College are on the record, and now the Scarlet Knights have to move forward with one of the toughest games on their schedule.

USC is coming to Piscataway, and Rutgers will have a chance to see how some of these early-season developments translate against one of the better teams on its schedule.

But even with the season already going off course, Rutgers still has an opportunity to figure out what it has.

Walker has shown he can make game-impacting plays on defense. Houston can potentially become another important receiver to complement Duff. Thevenin is earning more opportunities in the backfield. Jones has shown a knack for creating turnovers. Kromah has been disruptive up front. And Gnago remains a player worth watching whenever he gets onto the field.

There are ten games left. Rutgers has the responsibility to find out what they have on this roster.

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