Rutgers receiver Kenny Britt announces his intention to leave school early for the NFL. (Staff photo by Mark R. Sullivan.)

Our high school boys basketball beat writer Mike New filled in to cover the Kenny Britt press conference this afternoon where the Big East’s all-time leading receiver declared his intention to leave school for the NFL Draft.

Here’s his account, as it will appear in tomorrow’s editions of the Home News Tribune and Courier News.

Britt follows dream to NFL
By MIKE NEW
Published Jan. 4, 2009

PISCATAWAY  — Rutgers’ Kenny Britt made the final catch of the 2008 season a big one, reeling in the go-ahead 42-yard touchdown reception to beat North Carolina State in last week’s PapaJohns.com Bowl.

As it turns out, that was the final catch of the junior wideout’s college career.

Britt announced his intentions to forgo his senior season Saturday, declaring for the NFL Draft and leaving Rutgers as the school record-holder in single-season receptions and receiving yards.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to go to the NFL,” Britt said. “And this is the gateway for me to get there.”

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Kenny Britt’s decision to leave for the NFL didn’t catch anyone by surprise. Like Ray Rice before him, there is nothing left for him to prove on the collegiate level. He’s a great kid and can only get better as a pro. This is just another indication of the quality players Rutgers is bringing in. In fact, it was a year ago this week that Rice ran for 280 yards in the International Bowl win over Ball State, in what was his last game as a college player.
And speaking of Rutgers, if I had a vote I’d put the Scarlet Knights in the final Top 25 poll. Seven in a row? Why not?
And speaking of rankings, now that Utah has finished unbeaten by nailing Alabama Friday night, should the Utes finish No. 2 behind the BCS championship game winner? I think so. If Florida beats Oklahoma, then the only two teams to have beaten the Tide would be Florida and Utah. So what’s the point? Well, Bama was No. 1 before the SEC championship game. So you do the math.
The only other candiate to claim No. 2- again, should Florida beat Okie - is Texas, which, if it wins its bowl game, obviously has the win over Oklahoma as well.
Texas Tech didn’t do much for the Big 12 by losing to SEC member Mississippi. As for Southern Cal, its “best college defense ever” let Penn State score too many. And the Oregon State loss was a much too bad loss.
So don’t blame Utah for playing the schedule it did. They won every game, beat up Alabama. Playoffs anyone? BCS championship game winner vs. Utah. At the Silver Dome (Detroit deserves to see some good football).
And speaking of bowl games, can it really be 38 years since the North beat the South in the Hula Bowl - January 9, 1971? Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett and Penn State linebacker Jack Hamm were named offensive and defensive MVPs, respectively. They went on to have pretty decent NFL careers as well.

They were freshmen when their season ended in the Sweet 16, a 76-69 loss to
Tennessee in Cleveland.

   As sophomores their season once again ended against Tennessee, and again in Cleveland, but
this time they lost in the national championship game, 59-46.

   Last year, in Knoxville, they came so close to being on the winning side that they actually
were. But then there was that clock malfunction, where No.‚5 Rutgers began to celebrate its
58-57 victory over No.‚1 Tennessee before it was realized that the clock froze. By being
allowed at least two seconds after the horn sounded, Tennessee had just enough time to rebound
the ball, get fouled, make both, and take the game 59-58.

   Kia Vaughn and Heather Zurich are seniors now, and this may well be their last shot at the
two-time defending national champions.

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   Rutgers junior Kenny Britt is scheduled to announce his NFL intentions Saturday at noon in a press conference on campus.

 The third-team All-America became the Big East’s all-time reception leader with 3,043 yards in 34 career games. His 14 100-yard games tied him for first in the conference. In 12 games this season he gained 1,371 yards on 87 catches, both single season records at Rutgers and No. 2 all-time in the Big East.
    His 17 career touchdown receptions tied 1994 Rutgers graduate Chris Brantly for the school record.  He also led the conference in receiving yards per game with 114.2 and average receptions per game with 7.2. He averaged 15.8 yards per catch as well.
    Catching a pass in 31 straight games ranks him seventh all-time in the conference in that category. His 178 career receptions are fourth all-time in the Big East.

   Britt, 6-4, 215 out of Bayonne, had six catches for 119 yards and a touchdown in the 29-23 win over North Carolina State in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

4 thoughts, 4 quotes:

– Knew this game would be close—Rutgers matches up well with Pitt. The difference was Pitt’s bench, which posted a 31-9 scoring edge. That’s why Pitt is No. 3 in the country. There was little drop-off when the subs were called upon in the second half. One of those, Seton Hall Prep grad Ashton Gibbs, buried a dagger of a 3-pointer from the left corner.

– Rutgers is playing much better offensively now that Freddie Hill has loosened the reigns and is letting his guards push the tempo. That’s where they are most comfortable.

– After Rutgers torched them in the first half, Pitt switched to zone for the first time all year. It threw Rutgers off just enough, and that’s why Jamie Dixon is one of the best in the business.

– It looks like Rutgers has turned the corner but they’re going into a hornet’s nest Saturday and I expect a blowout loss.

“We were right there,” Anthony Farmer said. “We did the things we needed to do to win down the stretch. That’s why you’ve got to give them credit. They’re the No. 3 team in the country. They fought back and executed and pulled this one out.”

“That was the first time in all the film we watched that Pitt played zone. They had to come out what they wanted to do,” Rutgers coach Fred Hill said. “In the second half they went zone probably for about 10 possessions, and in those 10 possessions we got the ball where we wanted—-we just weren’t able to convert and finish.”

“A great effort from our bench,” Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. “Everybody gave us everything they had. We’re just very fortunate to have a lot of good players.”

“Coach told us to run, and that’s what we want to do as well,” Corey Chandler said. “Most of our points came from running.”

NOTEBOOK: Departing AD Bob Muclahy addressed the crowd of 6,300 at halftime (great crowd for a holiday, by the way): “This has been a work of love, of passion”

How our Rutgers football beat writer Keith Sargeant projects the Scarlet Knights’ 2009 two-deep lineup:

Offense
WR Tim Brown — Marcus Cooper
LT Anthony Davis  — Desmond Stapleton
LG Caleb Ruch — Howard Barbieri
C  Ryan Blaszczyk — Matthew Hardison
RG Art Forst — Mo Lange
RT Kevin Haslam — Devon Watkis
TE Shamar Graves — Paul Carrezola
WR Dennis Campbell — Keith Stroud
QB Dom Natale — D.C. Jefferson
FB Jack Corcoran — Andres Morales
RB Joe Martinek — Jourdan Brooks/Kordell Young

Defense
DE George Johnson — Eric LeGrand
DT Charlie Noonan — Scott Vallone
DT Alex Silvestro — Blair Bines
DE Jonathan Freeny — Sorie Bayoh
LB Antonio Lowery — Marcus Witherspoon
LB Ryan D’Imperio — Jim Dumont
LB Damaso Munoz — Manny Abreu
CB David Rowe — Brandon Jones
SS Zaire Kitchen — Patrick Kivlehan
FS Joe Lefeged — Khaseem Greene
CB Devin McCourty — Billy Anderson

Rutgers right tackle Kevin Haslam hoists the PapaJohns.com Bowl trophy Monday night. (Photo by Mark R. Sullivan/HNT)

PISCATAWAY — The thrilling come-from-behind win. The hoisting of the PapaJohns.com Bowl trophy. The euphoric locker room celebration.

Pete Tverdov didn’t want it to end.

As one of seven senior starters who played his final game for Rutgers Monday night, Pete Tverdov was among the last players to leave the locker room following the Scarlet Knights’ 29-23 triumph over North Carolina State.

“”I didn’t want to take my equipment off,” Tverdov said.

While the Scarlet Knights nose tackle will explore opportunities to play in the NFL, the 6-4, 270-pound Tverdov doesn’t expect to be drafted. The reality, Tverdov said, is it may have been the last time he played in a meaningful football game.

“”I felt a lot of emotions,” Tverdov said. “”It’s kind of bittersweet because you cap off a great career with a win but at the same time, Now what?”

Now what, indeed.

Or better yet, What now becomes of the Rutgers football program as it embarks on an uncertain future.

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Rutgers coach Greg Schiano addresses the media after his team arrived back at the Hale Center Tuesday evening. (Photo by Alexandra Pais/HNT)

PISCATAWAY — As he walked off Legion Field with a slice of pizza in hand following Monday night’s PapaJohns.com Bowl victory, Jamaal Westerman said Rutgers didn’t just win a football game.

It created a legacy.

“”Four straight bowl games, three straight victories,” Westerman said. “”The younger guys wanted to send the seniors out with a victory, but I think we went out with a legacy.

“”Bowl wins — that’s our legacy.”

The Scarlet Knights returned home Tuesday still basking in their 29-23 triumph of North Carolina State in Birmingham, Ala.

“”Really, it’s big for the program,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said, speaking to reporters outside the Hale Center on Tuesday afternoon. “”Four straight bowl games, three straight bowl wins. We have something cooking.”

Rutgers’ seventh consecutive win to close the season capped a stunning turnaround from a 1-5 start, and marked the first time since 1979 the Scarlet Knights have notched three straight campaigns with eight or more victories.

“”It shows we’ve come a long way,” said senior quarterback Mike Teel, who earned PapaJohns.com Bowl MVP honors after throwing for 319 yards and two touchdowns. “”I think this program three or four years ago might not have been able to have the mental toughness to come back and fight, when everybody said it couldn’t be done. We were 1-5 but we just continued to fight. It shows a lot about the character of the guys on this team, the coaching staff and the people that believed in the football program.”

Bowl-less for 27 years prior to 2005, Rutgers joined West Virginia as the only Big East teams to have won three bowl games in as many seasons.

“”We’ve started a tradition.” senior linebacker Kevin Malast said. “”I remember four years ago, Coach talking about it, trying to get everyone to believe. And now it’s a real thing. That’s just something to be proud of.”

Here a photo gallery of Rutgers’ PapaJohns.com Bowl victory, courtesy of Home News Tribune chief photographer Mark R. Sullivan:

Here is a fan gallery from Monday’s night in Birmingham, Ala., courtesy of Home News Tribune chief photographer Mark R. Sullivan:

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano hands over the PapaJohns.com Bowl trophy to AD Bob Mulcahy following Monday's win over N.C. State.(Photo by Mark R. Sullivan/HNT)

Here is Paul Franklin’s column on the reception out-going AD Bob Mulcahy received following Rutgers’ 29-23 win over N.C. State on Monday night in the PapaJohns.com Bowl:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —The chants began even before the post-game ceremony at the PapaJohns.com Bowl Monday.

“Bob Mull-K-Hee!

“Bob Mull-K-Hee!”

“Bob-Mull-K-Hee!”