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Rutgers interim coach has oddball press conference, demands respect for Flood

Notable – The Nittany Lions open their 23rd season of Big Ten play against the Scarlet Knights, who will be without their head coach.

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Wilson, head coach at Columbia from 2006-11, was asked in the post-game press conferenced why Rettig didn’t play, especially in light of Laviano’s struggles. Wilson acknowledged after the game that he spoke with Flood twice about the quarterback position in the days leading up to the Penn State matchup. Head coach Kyle Flood was slapped with a three-game suspension by university president Robert Barchi last Wednesday for violating university policy regarding contact with a professor, and he was not on the sideline for the loss in Happy Valley.

That’s “Coach Flood” to you.

Rutgers interim coach Norries Wilson is new to the whole postgame press conference thing, and he made it clear late Saturday night. “I’m not trying to diminish the fact that he wasn’t there, but his not being there I don’t think distracted them from going out and competing”. It’ll be interesting to see how Wilson handles his next press conference as the Scarlet Knights return home to Piscataway to take on the Kansas Jayhawks.

Wilson said he wasn’t shocked when he learned of Flood’s suspension because “it had been spoken of in hushed tones from a lot of people”. “I immediately felt that, OK, this is going to be business as usual except for Saturdays, which was different but very welcome”.

“Do I pick a person, or do they just pull lottery tickets, or what do they got?”

Wilson left open the door for a possible starting quarterback change when asked if Chris Laviano, who has led just two touchdowns in the last two games, will start against Kansas. “We’re not gonna do that”, Wilson said, as he proceeded to call on media members like a teacher would a student.

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My favorite part? That was this: “The gentlemen leaning in with the glasses, behind the guy with the checkered shirt”.

Interim Rutgers coach Norries Wilson will not speak about Kyle Flood's suspension and the off-field incidents surrounding the team