Flood anoints Dodd as starter

Senior quarterback Chas Dodd had no idea why Rutgers head football coach Kyle Flood called him into his office Sunday night at the Hale Center.

“I obviously knew I was coming in for something, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was,” Dodd said.

In the meeting, Flood told Dodd he was the Scarlet Knights’ starter behind center for Saturday at Connecticut, demoting junior quarterback Gary Nova to the bench.

It was a decision Flood felt was in the best interest of the program.

“Ultimately it comes down to us as a staff believing that Chas will give us the best opportunity to win this week,” Flood said. “That is the ultimate goal, to be 1-0 this week.”

Dodd is tasked with jumpstarting a Knights offense that has averaged just 16 points in its past five games after averaging 40 in the first four contests.

He believes Rutgers’ problems are not personnel related.

“I think a lot of it is just execution,” Dodd said. “I know that’s kind of cliché, but when you look at it from our standpoint, that’s pretty much it. We’re just not executing to our ability.”

Dodd is 29-of-46 throwing this season in limited action, accumulating 247 yards through the air with no touchdowns and an interception.

Nova, who was unavailable for comment after yesterday’s practice, is 165-of-303 for 2,159 yards with 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

But he has struggled in the Knights’ past five games. Nova tossed five touchdowns to eight interceptions as Rutgers dropped four of those contests.

Nova’s last game Thursday night at Central Florida was the final straw for Flood.

Nova struggled to find open receivers in the Knights’ 41-17 loss, completing just 11-of-34 passes for 107 yards and an interception.

“On some level, there has to be a certain level of performance that you have to meet or we have to look at other options,” Flood said.

That option is Dodd, a Lyman, S.C., native who has not started a game for Rutgers in nearly two years. His last start occurred Dec. 30, 2011 against Iowa State in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.

Junior wide receiver Brandon Coleman caught an 86-yard game-clinching touchdown in that game from Dodd, his last touchdown pass for Rutgers.

Coleman believes the whole team is behind the decision made by Flood, though he has not lost confidence in Nova.

“We’re excited. We’re going to push Chas and we’re going to push Gary, too,” Coleman said. “They’re both leaders and Gary’s a captain, but Chas has the job right now and we’re behind him 100 percent.”

Dodd will take nearly all of the first-team snaps during the week in preparation for Connecticut. The Knights still need one victory to secure their seventh bowl appearance in the past eight seasons.

With only two regular season game remaining, Dodd understands the urgency.

“I obviously [sense it] and I think everyone does, but that’s the thing, we can’t focus on that and can’t harp on that,” Dodd said. “We just have to go out there and play our game, and if we do that, we’ll come out with a win.”

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