Gary Nova Named Starting Quarterback For Rutgers

Rutgers rotated quarterbacks, either due to inefficiency, injury, or both, for virtually all of the final two seasons under Greg Schiano. New Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood is attempting to put an end to shuffling today by announcing that sophomore Gary Nova has won the quarterback battle with junior Chas Dodd. In a brief statement released today, Flood said:

"We are fortunate to have two talented quarterbacks who have won big games for us," Flood said in the statement. "This has been an excellent competition but Gary's body of work ultimately earned him the job."

Nova shared duties with Dodd last year, completing 116 of 227 attempts for 1,553 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He's a New Jersey native that played his prep football at nearby powerhouse Don Bosco Prep. According to Tom Luicci with the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Nova won the job after completing 7 of 13 passes in a Saturday night scrimmage, including two long touchdown passes to Mark Harrison and Miles Shuler.

Now, for the first time in recent memory, all eight Big East teams will enter the season with a settled starter at quarterback. South Florida, Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Temple and Cincinnati all return quarterbacks that started at least enough games last year to be incumbents. Connecticut ended its quarterback battle early when Paul Pasqualoni named junior college transfer Chandler Whitmer the starter.