These guys are really beat up...plenty of bumps and bruises. Steve Shimko is “foggy” following Wednesday’s scrimmage. Not sure if this is a medical term or a state of mind, literally. Stephante Kent is on the road to recovery but Marcus Witherspoon can’t seem to catch a break since enrolling late last summer. He once again injured himself this week, this time a leg muscle, and was referred to as being “snakebit”. George Johnson and Blair Bines appear to be slowly nursing themselves back to health following respective shoulder and leg injuries in the past week. I guarantee that we will see both of them will themselves back onto the field for the Cincinnati opener to the awe of Coach Schiano.

- No one seems to know the exact status of Ryan D’Imperio following his leg injury last week and limited work during Saturday’s scrimmage. Is he back to full health yet?

- TBA…Schiano seems set on holding off any key positional announcements until he absolutely has to. Not sure if this is a strategic move or he’s just not sure. I can understand that he want’s to let Antonio Lowery and Manny Abreu pound it out for a few more days since both have had great camps, but at wide receiver? It seemed like Sanu has this one wrapped up with a bow already behind Tim Brown.

- The running men…Joe Martinek and Jourdan Brooks with a little bit of Rocket sprinkled in put up some ungodly numbers in Wednesdays scrimmage (combined 22 rushes for 243 yards), albeit against a freshman and sophomore laden scout team. Whether you wan to call them a 1-2 punch or running back by committee, these guys are going to give opposing defenses fits this year with the different looks that each offers.

- On the offense…The chatter has been so focused lately on the quarterback battle (which is now down to two plus Jabu) that we’ve all somehow forgotten about how well the rest of the offense has played in camp. True, defense dominated for the better part of the first two scrimmages, but this is exactly what we expected them to do. I would personally have been surprised (and concerned) if the offense put up any kind of big numbers against the 1’s on defense during scrimmages. I’m not saying that the 38-0 hurtin’ that was put to the scout team is what our offense is capable of week in and week out in the Big East. But maybe the reality of this offense is somewhere in between this and the beatings they received in the first two scrimmages as long as they can protect the ball. Stephante Kent

Following NCAA regulations requiring teams to alternate its two-a-day practices, the Scarlet Knights concluded Friday’s practice following the morning workout leaving the team the afternoon to prepare for Saturday’s scrimmage….Here’s what went down.

• Gunners…Schiano commented following practice that Joe Lefeged, Devin McCourty, Brandon Bing and Brandon Jones are competing for gunner spots on punt coverage. The smart money is on Lefeged filling one of those spots. I hope to see many, many Lefeged gunner highlights on youtube this fall. However, I’m sure that G Rob (now defensive coordinator for Rich Rod) hopes he never sees Lefeged again.

• More on D’Imperio…Captain D’Imperio returned to full contact today following a limited workout on Thursday. Apparently Brian Bennett of ESPN was so concerned over the injury that he was preparing to change his prediction of Rutgers finishing atop the Big East depending on the magnitude of his injury…Don’t worry Brian your safe now.

• An interesting position change. Fabian Ruiz, the only other TE besides Shamar Graves with team experience is now working out at defensive end. Howard Barbieri (all 6’5” 300 lbs of him) and Marlon Romulus are now auditioning as blocking TE’s.

• Elsewhere…Tom Luicci reported that Dom Natale had his first “Mike Teel Moment” when he willed his way to a touchdown on a fourth down and goal during Thursday’s practice. While we may all differ on the historical interpretation of a “Teel” moment, Natale has clearly separated himself from the pack and is now establishing himself as the leader of this offense and the team. Look for more on Natale’s leadership during Saturday’s scrimmage.

Some very encouraging news from the practice fields today.

• Ryan D’Imperio (leg), Blair Bines (ankle), Jonathan Freeny (ankle) and Tim Brown (ankle) all appear to be OK and practiced today to varying degrees
• Other good news…Scott Vallone and Justin Francis both appeared to pass the doing more then adequate jobs filling in for Bines and Freeny
• Some bad news…..Kordell Young just can’t seem to shake this knee thing. Has a few good days followed by a few bad ones. Hope to see that he can be more then just a roll player during the season. Only rest will tell.
• Rutgers is close to inking a deal to play a 2010 home gain against Army in the new Meadlands. The potential matchup would be the first college game at the new complex and could net Rutgers $2.7 million in the process.