Rutgers football: Could a true freshman start at QB? John McNulty says yes

PISCATAWAY - As John McNulty takes over the Rutgers offense for the second time this fall, it is no secret he has to figure out who his quarterback is.

The widely held assumption heading into spring practice this month was that both true freshmen, Old Bridge native Artur Sitkowski and California recruit Jalen Chatman, would be in the mix. On Tuesday, in the lobby of the Hale Center following the Scarlet Knights' third spring practice, McNulty offered credence to the notion that a freshman could start.

"In fairness to the team, if he's the best guy, he plays," McNulty said. "If they're the better guys and they can handle it, they're going to play. They're here now (enrolled early), and that's a tremendous advantage for them. Both of those guys are very mature, football-smart, talented guys.

"I don't have any reservations about it. If we feel like they can handle the job, that's who we'd have to go with in fairness to the team."

"Of course, that's the goal coming here, that's everyone's goal," Sitkowski said when asked about the idea of a true freshman starting. "For all six of those guys in that locker room, that's the goal, to play. We're all really good guys, and we all want each other to do great and make each other better."

When McNulty met the media on Tuesday for the first and likely only time this spring, it did not take long for the quarterbacks to come up. Of the six, one is the incumbent (Gio Rescigno), another has a season under his belt, albeit under a different offensive coordinator (Johnathan Lewis) and the two freshmen, while talented, are x-factors given neither has taken a collegiate snap.

There may be a lot of moving parts to this situation, but after just three practices, McNulty doesn't sound like he has made up his mind, but he does sound like he knows which road this thing will eventually travel. Although, he did admit detours do happen.

"I think I have a pretty good idea of where we're headed, but right now, we're staying consistent with the reps," McNulty said. "When we start doing these player periods, guys will start switching in and out a little bit more with, quote-unquote, 1's and 2's, and get a little more work with those guys to get comfortable.

"Our plan was, complete the first week more or less equal, first week meaning first five practices. After that, I think we'll have enough on tape to fairly say, 'I'm going to start leaning this way.' It can change, but I think we're going to kind of separate it out as we go.

Rutgers' first five practices have taken a while. The Scarlet Knights practiced on March 6 and 8, took time off for spring break, then returned Tuesday for No. 3. With No. 4 set for Thursday and No. 5 on Saturday, based on McNulty's timetable, there could be real separation by the end of the weekend.

While Rutgers naming a starter coming out of spring practice is unlikely, Ash has indicated he would like to have a depth chart in place sooner rather than later.

"I think competition makes everyone better, I think it makes me better," said Rescigno, who has started 12 games in his career, including the last seven of his redshirt junior season in 2017. "I'm excited about going out there and competing every day because I think without competition, football isn't really that fun. We go out there to compete, whether it's against the defense right now, or against whoever it is in the fall."

Staff Writer Josh Newman; jnewman@app.com; @Joshua_Newman