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

PISCATAWAY — Jamal Merrell says he's up to 230 pounds, the most he's carried in his career, in an attempt to show NFL scouts he can add bulk while moving in coverage.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

NEWTOWN, Pa. — Quron Pratt is a week away from Rutgers' March 12 pro day, where the 6-foot receiver from Palmyra can significantly improve his draft stock with a solid performance.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

After entering the season with thoughts of being a third-down pass rusher, Jamal Merrell's role has changed exponentially in 2013.

The senior linebacker says he's been asked to play in space about 90 percent more this season because of Rutgers' spread-heavy opponents.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Tejay Johnson sounds like a football purist Tuesday after Rutgers' practice inside its team bubble. The sophomore safety almost sounds like he's lamenting the changing tides of the college football landscape toward spread offense.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Head coach Kyle Flood said Monday that playing against Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, one of the nation's most efficient quarterbacks, won't alter Rutgers' plan to force the No. 8 Cardinals into passing situations.
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SMU head coach June Jones, who has also coached in the NFL and USFL, says the Mustangs' matchup with Rutgers features two noticeably different systems. (AP Photo)

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

Rutgers' first conference game in the American couldn't be more appropriate: an opponent with so few ties to the Northeast its last result against a team from the region was in 1989.
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A kidney injury kept Jamal Merrell, right, from attending Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan. Twin brother Jamil Merrell talked to him Sunday night. (AP Photo)

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

A mysterious kidney injury sidelined Jamal Merrell in Rutgers' game Saturday against Eastern Michigan, but twin brother Jamil Merrell said Monday his condition is improving.
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Linebacker Jamal Merrell says the pass-coverage role he played at Fresno State will remain throughout the season. (AP Photo)

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

Jamal Merrell says the pass-coverage role he adopted Aug. 29 at Fresno State is here to stay.

The fifth-year senior often lined up outside the far hash mark, serving as a de-facto nickel cornerback. While most teams will not stretch the line of scrimmage as much as Fresno State, Merrell expects a similar game plan from coordinator Dave Cohen.
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Jamal Merrell said he expected to take on a pass-rushing role in 2013, but coordinator Dave Cohen might rely on his base defense against pass-heavy offenses. (Tyler Barto)

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

The busiest man on the field Thursday in Fresno, Calif.? That'd be Jamal Merrell, the 6-foot-4 linebacker Rutgers often asked to play along the perimeter.

Merrell finished with eight tackles, second on the team, but no defender endured more responsibility in coordinator Dave Cohen's first outing. 
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — With two of Rutgers' top-six receivers out with injury, redshirt freshman Ruhann Peele has emerged with the first-team offense.

We have more on Peele in an extended feature here, but here's what Peele said Wednesday that didn't make the cut:
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — Expect Jamal Merrell to inherit Steve Beauharnais' role as an edge rusher on third downs this season.

The fifth-year senior is gearing up as a pass rusher after primarily serving in pass coverage the last two seasons. 
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — Brandon Coleman, Jamal and Jamil Merrell and Gary Nova are team captains.
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Western Michigan transfer Lewis Toler recorded seven tackles and one for a loss Sept. 3, 2011, at Michigan, one of eight career games he's played against power-conference opponents. (AP Photo)

By Tyler Barto
Twitter: Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

From Piscataway to Kalamazoo, Mich. (literally), more than 700 miles separate Lewis Toler from his old home to a new one, but the fifth-year senior corner knows at least two faces. 

It is one a few reasons Rutgers is betting on Toler to integrate quickly into a re-shaped defense.
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Fifth-year senior Jamal Merrell joined the program in 2009 at 200 pounds and without a position. Now he's on pace to become Rutgers' best all-around player under a familiar playcaller. (AP Photo)

By Tyler Barto
Twitter: Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — Jamal Merrell was listed generously at 200 pounds when former head coach Greg Schiano announced his 2009 recruiting class.

That's about all Rutgers' coaching staff knew to do with Merrell, who bounced between three different positions in less than two seasons.
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