(AP photo)

By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — Leonte Carroo almost added prophet to his growing résumé Saturday against Tulane.

Before the game, Carroo posted a picture of the Big Ten's receiving yardage leaders (he was fourth) and captioned, "@c4rroonation: I'm sorry I promise after this weekend it will say #1 i will/we will #choptulane".

Carroo's seven-catch, 140-yard performance with three touchdowns only moved him to No. 3 (475 yards), but he's only 27 yards off the leader's pace. As it turns out, his post had more to do with Tulane's scheme than reading the future.

"They play a lot of man-to-man coverage," Carroo said after the game. "We saw that on film all week. It was a great opportunity for the receivers to make big plays downfield."

Carroo is quickly becoming one of the most targeted receivers in the Big Ten. Quarterback Gary Nova, meanwhile, has only attempted the ninth-most passes in the conference.

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By comparison, Penn State's Christian Hackenberg has attempted 84 more throws (league-high 195), most of them to the Big Ten's yardage leaders, DaeSean Hamilton (502) and Geno Lewis (495).

That hasn't affected Carroo's numbers. He saw 10 of Nova's 21 pass attempts Saturday, and that doesn't factor in the plays where Carroo was designed as the No. 1 read.

Carroo now has 40 targets in five games, by far Rutgers' lead.

"When you trust your technique and do what your coaches say," he said, "the game slows down for you and it eventually does come easy."