Rutgers Faced With Impossible Decision At Quarterback

This season has been a complete disaster for Rutgers and it just took another turn. Dylan Lonergan exited Saturday’s 42-14 loss to Northwestern after just three plays. He suffered a head injury and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. If Lonergan is going to miss a significant amount of time, head coach Greg Schiano has the impossible decision of choosing between backup quarterbacks. AJ Surace came in and went 7-for-18 for 64 yards while Sean Ashenfelder completed just 2-of-9 for 36 yards. Both threw interceptions and held QBRs under 8.0. Lonergan’s tenure at Rutgers has been up and down but he is coming off his best game of the year. In the win against Maryland, Lonergan finished 23-for-35 for 291 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. “I really felt like he was coming on very strong, like he was really against Maryland, I thought he had control of the offense and I was pleased,” Schiano said. “Then sure enough third offensive play of the football game: boom. So, it’s hard.” Surace seems to be the next man up as he has been in the QB2 role since training camp. He has played in five games this season but has extended action in just one. Surace started against Boston College and threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns but had four interceptions as well. “Unfortunately, (there is a) little bit of a compound effect,” Schiano said. “When you don’t name a starter until the end of training camp, you’re splitting reps because it’s got to be a fair competition. So then when you name your starter, he’s really got to get the reps. Then he gets hurt in two different occasions. So when he comes back, he’s really got to get the reps. So, the other guys suffer.” The season is lost and Schiano is sitting on one of the hottest seats in the nation. With how this season has gone, choosing between two backups with little success is not the position the coaches want to find themselves.