“Rutgers coach does about-face, will allow Tom Savage to talk with Florida and Miami” |
| Rutgers coach does about-face, will allow Tom Savage to talk with Florida and Miami Posted: 01 Feb 2011 06:03 PM PST Rutgers' coach Greg Schiano had blocked transferring quarterback Tom Savage from talking to Miami and Florida, but he has softened that stance. AP File Photo Tom Savage is free to transfer wherever he wants. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has given the Cardinal O'Hara graduate permission to talk with Miami and Florida, even though an appeals committee upheld Schiano's decision to block Savage from contacting those schools, according to a report in the Newark Star Ledger. Savage, a sophomore quarterback who earned freshman All-America honors in 2009, announced last month ago that he was leaving Rutgers after losing the starting job to freshman Chas Dodd last season. Savage reportedly gave Schiano a list of 25 schools Savage wanted to contact. That list included Miami and Florida. Schiano reportedly blocked eight of those schools, including the Hurricanes and Gators. The Savage family appealed the decision and an appeals committee upheld Schiano's decision Monday. However, the Rutgers coach said he had a change of heart following a fact-to-face meeting with Savage, according to the Star Ledger. "I have a better understanding of his reasons for wanting to contact those schools after speaking with him," Schiano told the Star Ledger. "Because of my relationship with Tom and everything he has meant to the program I have given him permission to contact the University of Miami and Florida." Neither Savage nor his father, also Tom, could be reached for comment. The younger Savage did not return several messages left on his cell phone. However, Savage did tell the Star Ledger that he will most likely wait until the spring to finalize his decision and that it would be to an FBS school, which means the 6-5, 225-pound quarterback would have to sit out the 2011 season. "I'm going to stay home, train, and figure out what my plans are," Savage told the Star Ledger. Savage was the third true freshman and the first since Ryan Hart in 2002 to earn the starting job at quarterback since Schiano took over as the head coach in 2000. Savage won the starting job prior to the second game of the 2009 season and went on to pass for 2,211 yards and 14 touchdowns to earn freshman All-America honors and lead the Scarlet Knights to a 9-4 record that included a 45-24 victory over Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Continued... He opened the 2010 season as the starting quarterback, but lost the job when he injured his right (throwing) hand in the second quarter of a 17-14 loss to Tulane Oct. 2, 2010. He missed the next two games because of the injury, returned in a reserve role against Pittsburgh and was back as the starter in a 13-10 loss to Sryacuse. However, he was benched again after completing just 6 of 12 passes for 76 yards against the Orange and did not play again the rest of the season. Savage said he initially wanted to return to Rutgers and fight for the starting job, but after much though, decided to transfer. "I just felt like it was better for my career to go elsewhere and re-group," Savage told the Star Ledger. "That's just how I felt. Competition is going to be everywhere. It's going to be at the next school I go to. I know how it works. There was a lot of me that wanted to come back (to Rutgers) and prove myself. That's the competitor in me. But I also felt like I needed a new start somewhere else." Rutgers' coach Greg Schiano had blocked transferring quarterback Tom Savage from talking to Miami and Florida, but he has softened that stance. AP File Photo Tom Savage is free to transfer wherever he wants. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has given the Cardinal O'Hara graduate permission to talk with Miami and Florida, even though an appeals committee upheld Schiano's decision to block Savage from contacting those schools, according to a report in the Newark Star Ledger. Savage, a sophomore quarterback who earned freshman All-America honors in 2009, announced last month ago that he was leaving Rutgers after losing the starting job to freshman Chas Dodd last season. Savage reportedly gave Schiano a list of 25 schools Savage wanted to contact. That list included Miami and Florida. Schiano reportedly blocked eight of those schools, including the Hurricanes and Gators. The Savage family appealed the decision and an appeals committee upheld Schiano's decision Monday. However, the Rutgers coach said he had a change of heart following a fact-to-face meeting with Savage, according to the Star Ledger. "I have a better understanding of his reasons for wanting to contact those schools after speaking with him," Schiano told the Star Ledger. "Because of my relationship with Tom and everything he has meant to the program I have given him permission to contact the University of Miami and Florida." Neither Savage nor his father, also Tom, could be reached for comment. The younger Savage did not return several messages left on his cell phone. However, Savage did tell the Star Ledger that he will most likely wait until the spring to finalize his decision and that it would be to an FBS school, which means the 6-5, 225-pound quarterback would have to sit out the 2011 season. "I'm going to stay home, train, and figure out what my plans are," Savage told the Star Ledger. Savage was the third true freshman and the first since Ryan Hart in 2002 to earn the starting job at quarterback since Schiano took over as the head coach in 2000. Savage won the starting job prior to the second game of the 2009 season and went on to pass for 2,211 yards and 14 touchdowns to earn freshman All-America honors and lead the Scarlet Knights to a 9-4 record that included a 45-24 victory over Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl. He opened the 2010 season as the starting quarterback, but lost the job when he injured his right (throwing) hand in the second quarter of a 17-14 loss to Tulane Oct. 2, 2010. He missed the next two games because of the injury, returned in a reserve role against Pittsburgh and was back as the starter in a 13-10 loss to Sryacuse. However, he was benched again after completing just 6 of 12 passes for 76 yards against the Orange and did not play again the rest of the season. Savage said he initially wanted to return to Rutgers and fight for the starting job, but after much though, decided to transfer. "I just felt like it was better for my career to go elsewhere and re-group," Savage told the Star Ledger. "That's just how I felt. Competition is going to be everywhere. It's going to be at the next school I go to. I know how it works. There was a lot of me that wanted to come back (to Rutgers) and prove myself. That's the competitor in me. But I also felt like I needed a new start somewhere else." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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