An unfamiliar foe will feature a familiar face Friday.
Rutgers starting quarterback for most of this season has been Noah Vedral, the Bishop Neumann alum that was recruited by Scott Frost to UCF and followed him to Lincoln.
“I care a lot about Noah,” Frost said. “I want what’s best for him, but we’ll try to protect ourselves (from potential signal stealing) on Friday.”
Vedral played in seven games over his two seasons in Lincoln, throwing for 447 yards and no touchdowns in limited time. This season at Rutgers, he has started six games, throwing for 1,257 yards and nine touchdowns.
“He looks like the player that we thought he was when we recruited him,” Frost said.
Not just for the coaching staff will this be like facing an old friend, but for the players as well.
“Noah is still one of my best friends,” junior tight end Austin Allen. The two grew up playing basketball together. “Just because he went to another school, it’s not like I’m gonna completely put him off to the side. He’s been doing great things at Rutgers. He’s been balling out.
“I think he deserved to be an athlete somewhere.”
Vedral left the Maryland game Saturday with an ankle injury. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano didn’t give any indication today if Vedral would be good to go or if the Scarlet Knights would need to turn to backup Art Sitkowski
“We’re going to have to wait and see,” Schiano said. “He’s working his tail off with treatment and everything. I know he’d love to obviously. It’s where he’s from, it’s where he went to school.”
Schiano knows how much playing against Nebraska would mean to Vedral.
“I’m sure there’ll be emotion,” Schiano said. “Like all of us, he’s got pride. He wants to play against his state school back where he lives and one that he played. But Noah’s uniquely mature for his age. He’s beyond his years.”
Nebraska takes on Rutgers in New Jersey Friday with a 3 p.m. kickoff. This is just the fifth all-time meeting between the Huskers and Scarlet Knights.
Feature Image by Kenny Larabee