Rutgers spring camp rejuvenates freshman, sparks competition

If there was ever any doubt about Kiy Hester’s dedication to the Rutgers football program, it can be put to rest now.

Sporting a fresh new Rutgers tattoo with a block ‘R’ embedded into the artsy design cast on his right forearm, Hester’s commitment to the Scarlet Knights lifts to a level louder than a National Letter of Intent could ever speak.

With the past behind him and a new dawn underway as spring camp continues in Piscataway, the redshirt-freshman safety feels right where he belongs.

“It definitely feels huge,” Hester said on beginning fresh in spring. “I feel like it’s gonna be a huge year for us on defense and offense, (if) we find the right pieces to offense and defense.”

Once a headliner for the 2014 recruiting class as a four-star safety by Rivals.com, the DePaul Catholic product de-committed in November of 2013. The decision reportedly came when Hester’s desire to take official visits at other schools conflicted with the Rutgers coaching staff.

He landed in the sunshine at Miami, but things began to add up. The combination of being far away from home and the immediate change in lifestyle as a college athlete took its toll on Hester.

When his mother became sick, he didn’t need anymore verification for the decision to transfer out of Miami.

The Hurricanes granted Hester his release. Shortly after he returned back home to his ailing mother, he was welcomed back to his other family at Rutgers.

“I feel like people looking at my situation see that I left and didn’t see other schools and I came back and I stayed and I want to preach to them that the grass isn’t always greener going to another school,” Hester said. “… It’s about politics at other schools and, staying home, you know they’re going to give you the best opportunity to play and they’re going to work you in.”

The culture shock has been everything Hester expected it to be. After his second day of spring ball, the Wayne, New Jersey, native said the increase in speed and intensity stuck out to him.

For now, he’s the backup to junior Davon Jacobs at the strong safety slot — but that hasn’t stopped him from leading and competing.

“I feel like anyone on our team can lead. That’s what our coaches installed in us, that any of us can be a leader either by action or by vocal leaders,” Hester said. “So I feel like, me being the safety, I’m the quarterback of the defense, so I have to lead — regardless of if I want to or not because I’m making a lot of calls.”

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As April pushes forward, all eyes will be on the competition for starting quarterback.

Head coach Kyle Flood said he “saw some good things from both guys” after Rutgers wrapped up Day Two of spring camp, referring to the progress of sophomore quarterbacks Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig.

If Flood were to ask Nick Arcidiacono for his input, the junior tight end’s guess would be as good as anyone else’s.

“I love catching from all of them, actually,” he said, declining any preference. “They’re all competing and I think they’re all doing pretty well.”

Listed as a co-starter at tight end along with sophomore Matt Flanagan, Arcidiacono finds himself in a position battle of his own.

Statistically, his two years on the gridiron don’t tell much.

Splitting time as a backup before Tyler Kroft declared for the NFL Draft at the end of last season, Arcidiacono returns as most experience at the position with six receptions for 55 yards.

Despite the limited stat line, Arcidiacono attributed part of his growth to the advice Kroft has had to offer.

“(I’ve learned) a lot from Tyler (Kroft),” Arcidiacono said. “Just little tips, little game tips he’s taught me and he’s really helped me mature, helped me out with my route running and we worked a lot on one-on-one and stuff, so he’s helped me a ton.”

Flood said he believes Arcidiacono’s 17 games played and versatility is an advantage, adding another potential option to Knights’ arsenal on offense.

“I think the experience definitely helps, and I think where you see it help him is in our ability to use him in some different spots,” Flood said. “He’s a guy who lines up on the line, he lines up flexed out, he can line up in the backfield, so he’s a very versatile player and it’s hard to be a versatile player before you’ve got a little bit of experience and some knowledge of the game.”

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With a stable of five experienced running backs, Rutgers finds itself with a good problem to have.

Distribution of carries may vary, but Flood made it clear that each Knight in the backfield will have an equal shot to make his case for time in the rotation.

“All of those running backs — I looked at this the other day — protect the ball, protect the quarterback and then show us how much you can do,” Flood said. “The ability to be flexible, the ability to play in multiple spots, to catch the ball out of the backfield, I think that’s the strength of the group as a whole.”

After leading the unit with 115 carries last year, Desmon Peoples has been doing everything from weightlifting to speed training in order to make his case.

“My only focus is I just wanna get better,” Peoples said. “I know I can improve on a lot of things and there’s always room for improvement, so that’s just my mindset. I just wanna become a better player.”

The shifty, 5-foot-8 running back rushed for 447 yards and three touchdowns. He expanded his game further as an all-purpose threat, hauling in eight receptions for 132 yards.

Asked whether or not he saw himself taking reps in specific packages that featured him as the third down back or catching balls out of the backfield, Peoples said he was open to the options to help the team in whichever department he may be able to thrive in.

“I believe I can do it all,” he said, “so I’m willing to take on the role that I can achieve.”

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Per Flood, Rutgers’ first injury report of the spring.

Out: Junior wide receiver Janarion Grant (lowed body), redshirt-freshman offensive lineman Zack Heeman (lower body) and junior running back Paul James (lower body).

Limited: Junior cornerback Nadir Barnwell (upper body), junior cornerback Anthony Cioffi (upper body), redshirt-freshman safety Saquan Hampton (upper body), junior defensive end Quanzell Lambert (upper body), senior offensive lineman Keith Lumpkin (lower body), redshirt-freshman Ntwademela Perry (lower body) and redshirt-freshman linebacker Brandon Russell (lower body).

For updates on the Rutgers football team, follow @GarrettStepien and @TargumSports on Twitter.