SOPHOMORE FULLBACK BRINGS DIFFERENT SKILLS TO Scarlet KNIGHTS

Home News Tribune

PISCATAWAY — Jack Corcoran , photo, may play the same position as Brian Leonard, but that doesn\’t mean Rutgers University\’s new fullback has the same role in the offense.

So despite the fact that Corcoran hasn\’t had a carry and only has one reception through two games, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said Corcoran\’s lack of touches aren\’t indicative of his performance.

\”You notice we\’re not doing the same things like we did with Brian,\” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. \”It\’s not an apples to apples (comparison). It\’s not really comparing the same position, even though it is the fullback on paper. The things we\’re asking him to do are different.\”

Things like sacrificing touches for the greater good of the team and serving as lead blocker for a Heisman Trophy candidate, Corcoran said.

\”Once you get to this level you have to adjust to certain things,\” said Corcoran, a sophomore who rushed for nearly 4,000 yards and scored a school-record 70 touchdowns in his career at St. Joseph-Hammonton. \”It\’s not going to be the same in high school, where you get this many carries.\”

Heck, Corcoran said, if he was Rutgers\’ offensive coordinator he\’d phase himself out of the game plan, too.

\”If the receivers are open and they\’re getting the ball, I\’m OK with that,\” the 6-foot-1, 230-pounder said. \”If I was (quarterback) Mike Teel, I would hit those guys, too. Why hit a short pass when you can go for it all?\”

It wasn\’t long after Rutgers\’ season opener against Buffalo that someone asked Corcoran if he could remember the last time he didn\’t touch the ball in a game. One of South Jersey\’s all-time leading rushers couldn\’t, conceding the possibility that it might\’ve been the first game in which he failed to receive a single carry.

\”Sometimes,\” he said, \”you have to make sacrifices.\”

For now, Corcoran is satisfied serving as the lead battering ram for Ray Rice, Rutgers\’ standout tailback who\’s rushed for a nation-leading 359 yards through two games.

\”I think it indirectly indicates how I\’m doing,\” Corcoran said.

Schiano said Rice\’s gaudy statistics are a reflection of Corcoran\’s blocking ability.

\”Jack is as good as anybody as a blocker,\” Schiano said. \”Jack will lead up and splinter you.\”

But in the same breath, Schiano noted how Corcoran isn\’t much different than a typical first-year starter.

\”He looks like a young fullback who does some things where you sit there and say, \”Jack!\’ \” the coach offered. \”He knows. He just needs to learn to do it right. It\’s no different from where Brian started. He made mistakes, too.\”

Corcoran, however, isn\’t trying to live up to what Leonard did in his record-setting career at Rutgers. Not yet anyway.

Not in an offense with as many weapons as Rutgers has these days.

\”When it comes,\” he said of his time to make an impact, \”I\’ll be ready to make something happen.\”

Source http://www.thnt.com