Notebook: Laviano Ready for Spring
Dec 20 | Football
By Tom Luicci
ScarletKnights.com
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The balancing act for Chris Laviano these days is a tricky one. At the same time Rutgers' back-up quarterback has to prepare for being game-ready he's also showcasing himself for the future.
That future starts on Dec. 27, the day after the Quick Lane Bowl against North Carolina - the final game of Gary Nova's college career.
"The time is really now for me because I could play at any moment. We've seen that during the season," said Laviano, who filled in the entire second half for an injured Nova at Nebraska. "But at the same time in the back of my head I know I have to keep building a foundation for next year because that's where the coaches are going to be looking.
"So as far as bowl practice goes, it still feels the same. I know that's going to change right after the game. This is the best time I have to learn, and doing stuff on my own with all of this free time (with exams over) really helps. It gives me a chance to prepare and to start on next year a little."
Laviano, a redshirt freshman, has appeared in five games this season, completing 11-of-28 passes for 107 yards. That makes him the only experienced quarterback the Scarlet Knights will have on their roster next spring, when Laviano and LSU transfer Heyden Rettig will be the frontrunners for the open quarterback job.
"This year was a good learning experience," he said. "I'll take what I learned and apply it in the offseason. I know what's expected now."
If Laviano didn't get quite as much playing time as he may have hoped this season he did get enough to be convinced he can handle a position that he has been angling for since enrolling early at Rutgers in January of 2013.
"I do believe it's my job to lose. I'm confident and I'm sure it's my time," he said. "If anybody is going to do something to stop me it's going to be me. It's not going to be anybody else. I've been working two years, two and a half almost, for this opportunity.
"It's not like after the bowl game my preparation begins for being the starter. I know exactly what I have to do. I've been preparing for this for two and a half years. I've been planning for this. I'm going to work hard and do whatever I have to do to seize this thing."
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Rutgers coach Kyle Flood was pleased with what he saw inside the indoor practice facility today, the team's next-to-last practice on campus before leaving for Detroit Monday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights will practice at home a final time right before departing for their bowl trip.
"(A) good workout today. (Our) best practice of the week," Flood said. "I thought it was noticeable that we're kind of through final exams now and we're really able to focus in on the game plan and come out and play football. I thought we looked pretty good today."
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Don't expect much in terms of personnel changes or playing time variations in the bowl game, according to Flood.
"I feel good about where the team is at," he said. "I don't know that we're going to make any amount of depth chart or playing time changes right now. I feel like we're playing everybody that can help us be 1-0 and we'll continue to do that."
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Rutgers' routine of substituting liberally on the defensive line and running nickel and dime packages in and out will be affected by North Carolina's rapid-fire tempo, Flood said. That's something his team will have to adjust to.
"I don't think you can (substitute as much)," he said. "I don't think you can substitute unless there's a play on your sideline or unless there's a change in personnel from them. So you've just got to be ready when the opportunities present (themselves). If they're playing you've got to play with your guys out there on the field or else you'll be caught with too few or too many."
