Rookie linemen rise to occasion for Rutgers

Whether he played the role of riverboat gambler in his drastic shuffling of the deck or he just played the hand he was dealt, head coach Kyle Flood pushed all the right buttons for the Rutgers football team last Saturday in the 31-21 win over Army at West Point.

While Flood’s decision to flip sophomore running back Josh Hicks to the defensive side of the ball in place of suspended junior free safety Anthony Cioffi got all the publicity, his move to slide junior right guard Chris Muller to center and start two redshirt freshmen at the guard positions slipped under the radar.

Hicks made six tackles, recovered a fumble and made a crucial interception to seal the victory for the Scarlet Knights (4-7, 1-6), but the rookies in the trenches were part of the reason Rutgers had a lead in the first place.

It was, of course, a move of necessity after the offensive line has been riddled with injuries in the 2015 campaign. None were more frightening than the collision between Miller and Nelson at the tail end of the loss to Nebraska a week earlier on Nov. 14.

But Zack Heeman and Marcus Applefield stepped in at left and right guard, respectively, and the Knights followed their blocks to the tune of 254 rushing yards and a season-high 116 yards on the ground for senior running back Paul James.

Muller’s move to center snapped a streak of 35 consecutive starts at right guard and Heeman pointed to the 6-foot-6, 310-pounder and senior left tackle Keith Lumpkin (36 consecutive starts) as the reason he was ready to step up.

“I think Zack Heeman probably had the best quote on that,” Flood said at his weekly press conference on Monday. “Somebody asked him about 'Did those guys help?' He says, ‘When you're in the middle of Keith Lumpkin and Chris Muller and all the starts they've had, they pull you along and make sure you're going in the right direction.'”

Sophomore running back Robert Martin also came close to topping the century mark, but fell just a yard short with 99 yards on 12 carries. 

Sophomore quarterback Chris Laviano had entered the game attempting to shake the cobwebs from a four-game losing streak that had him sacked 15 times over that stretch.

But Laviano was kept upright. The Black Knights hurried him multiple times, but never sacked him. 

As a result, Lumpkin and Muller could not be prouder of the young pups.

“This last game watching Zack Heeman go in there, I felt like a happy big brother because I've been working with him for the last few years so that obviously he can take over the left tackle spot next year,” Lumpkin said. “It was a great feeling to see him next to me playing.”

Muller was a little critical of himself after making his first start of the season at center, admitting he was wiry on some snaps.

But all in all, the line got it done. It protected the quarterback, which Rutgers had struggled to accomplish for over a month and the running game got going again.

“I thought I played okay,” Muller said. “I thought I got a little complacent. I could've finished a little bit better. Besides that, I felt very calm.”

Sixth-year senior fullback Sam Bergen admitted the line looked a little different in front of him than he is normally accustomed to seeing from his 3-point stance behind Laviano. 

As an extension of the offensive line, Bergen deserves some credit as well for pancaking Army defenders on a couple occasions. 

That includes one block to spring James on his longest run of the day — a 54-yarder down the near sideline where he toyed with defenders he was unable to outrun, electing to unleash a few vicious stiff arms instead.

Bergen thought Heeman and Applefield were effective in executing their assignments, which gave the Knights the opportunity to get the victory.

“(Heeman and Applefield) did a great job,” Bergen said. “They went out there and they played hard and did their job. They put us in position to win the game and that's exactly what happened.”

Both Miller and Nelson were listed as questionable with upper body injuries on the injury report released by the team on Monday, which could mean Heeman and Applefield will be called upon yet again.

But if last week was any indication, neither Muller nor Lumpkin expect any drop-off in game two. Lumpkin likened the relationship between he, Heeman and Applefield to a big brother, little brother dynamic.

But Muller saw it more like a proud papa.

“It's like a father with their sons, just passing their driving test and it's the real deal now," Muller said. "There's no more training wheels. I was happy to see them both succeed in both played extremely well.”

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @KevinPXavier and @TargumSports on Twitter.