PISCATAWAY – Antwan Lowery started jawing in camp.
Superstar left tackle or not, future first-round pick or not, Anthony Davis needed to hear some smack, Lowery thought. And he was the one who could dish it, the freshman defensive tackle figured. Still figures. Even if fellow freshman Jamil Merrell thinks he’s nuts.
“I sure don’t want to get ‘AD’ too mad,” Merrell said Wednesday. “I won’t go to the point Antwan will. No matter how far we push AD, he’s still going to get us eventually.”
Yes, Davis does indeed eventually upend Rutgers’ scout team line. But not as much as he once did, center Ryan Blaszczyk said. None of the offensive linemen do, the senior captain said.
“This is definitely the best scout team defensive line we’ve ever had here,” Blaszczyk said. “They come out every day with all this energy. They get hyped and they really embrace their role on this team.”
Which is to mimic the Scarlet Knights’ weekly opponent – in this case Syracuse - and to get under the starting offense’s skin too.
Keep reading about how these freshmen aren’t deferring to anyone right here.
Aditi Kinkhabwala has written a regular column for SI.com and been published in Sports Illustrated.