Some schools are holding open competitions for the starting quarterback job this summer. Rutgers is not one of them. Rutgers named Gary Nova the starting quarterback for the 2014 season, the first for the program as a Big Ten member. The decision was far from a surprise.
Nova will get the season opening starting job for a third straight season, with 28 career starts behind him already. Head coach Kyle Flood announced the decision Wednesday evening, but the writing was on the wall for a while. New offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen had commented earlier this summer about Nova’s mechanics being worked on and improving.
nova will start the 2014 season as the fifth all-time leading passer in Rutgers history with 6,407 career passing yards. His 51 career touchdowns are third on the school’s all-time list. By the end of the season, Nova could be the school’s all-time leader in both categories. Last season Nova passed for 2,19 yards and 18 touchdowns, but he was also intercepted 14 times and completed just 54.9 percent of his pass attempts. His completion percentage inside the red zone dropped to 43.2 percent, but he avoided making too many costly mistakes with 11 touchdowns to just one interception and a passer rating of 163.63.
Redshirt freshman Chris Laviano and junior Mike Bimonte were given opportunities to compete for the job, but will now jockey for position on the depth chart behind Nova.