Rutgers defensive tackle Scott Vallone (94) is impressed with Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh being one of the finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Scott Vallone generally doesn’t give the Heisman Trophy announcement a second thought. Few defensive linemen do. But that was before Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was among the five finalists Saturday night.
“It’s awesome that he even made it to New York (as one of the finalists),” said Vallone, also a defensive tackle. “That’s a testament to him. He’s a great player. He’s a dominant player.”
Vallone, a redshirt freshman who capped off an impressive debut year as a starter by being named a first-team All-America by College Football News, said he was able to catch a few highlights of Suh during the season as his legend grew.
“What he did, that’s what every defensive lineman wants to be — just a dominant force that can’t be ignored,” said Vallone. “Whole game plans are focused around him and he still had (4½) sacks against Texas. That’s crazy. I’m sure they gameplanned for him too.”
Vallone isn’t at that point yet, but he did offer plenty of promise in starting 11 games this year, recording 36 tackles, with seven tackles for loss and six quarterback hurries.
He heads into Rutgers’ first-ever meeting with Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl familiar with at least one player on the Golden Knights’ roster: Back-up quarterback Rob Calabrese, a sophomore from East Islip, N.Y. Vallone is from Central Islip, N.Y.
“I talked to him a couple times at awards stuff (growing up on Long Island) and I’m friends with him on Facebook,” said Vallone.
• Wide receiver Tim Brown (ankle) skipped a third straight practice, though he did participate in some walk-throughs Saturday.
His status remains uncertain for the St. Petersburg Bowl, with head coach Greg Schiano saying earlier in the week that Brown would be a game-time decision.
“He’s getting better,” Schiano said. “It’s just going to be (is he) better in time to play the game?”
Brown, a senior, is Rutgers’ leading receiver with 51 catches for 1,051 yards.
• With Rutgers players in the midst of final exams while preparing for Central Florida, Schiano said he has generally been pleased with the focus in practice.
“It has been good,” he said. “I can tell they’re tired. (Friday night) we had guys — even (yesterday) afternoon — taking final exams. So there were guys up late studying. There were guys up late writing papers.”
Rutgers will leave for St. Petersburg following a morning practice on Tuesday.
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