PISCATAWAY — Here's some early reaction to Rutgers' second-to-last practice before leaving for Seattle on Tuesday: 

Kyle Flood has given Gary Nova and Chris Laviano more freedom to make checks at the line of scrimmage under new coordinator Ralph Friedgen. He said the process began when Friedgen arrived in the spring. "The benefit is you should minimize the dead plays you run," Flood said. "You don't want to spend the whole game checking at the line of scrimmage so we're not going to do that. I think it does give you a higher percentage chance to be a good play." ...

Flood addressed the notion that Rutgers' offense became more tight end-friendly last season under Ron Prince. Tyler Kroft caught a team-high 43 passes for 573 yards and four touchdowns. "When you have Brandon Coleman and Leonte Carroo on the outside, you're going to get some one-on-one matchups because maybe Tyler wasn't as well known," Flood said. "He took advantage of it. Now he'll be a little more well known." ... 

Flood said his defensive line must disrupt timing, especially on Washington State's few drawn-out plays. "There's a certain percentage of plays they run every game where the pass rush is not going to be a factor because they get rid of it too quickly," he said. ...

The third-year head coach isn't too concerned about Washington State's specific receiving personnel because of its numbers game at the position. "I think you have to defend them as a system," Flood said. "They have some talented players all over the field. You really have to defend the way they run their offense."

— Tyler Barto