(AP)

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

PISCATAWAY — On Friday, I reviewed the most pressing issues facing Rutgers' offense this spring and into its Big Ten encore. Now let's look at some defensive questions.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — After giving the pregame speech, Kiy Hester sat in the High Point Solution Stadium stands Dec. 6, watching the high school program he helped build win another sectional title.

In a few months, he can step onto the same field with meaning.
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(AP photo)

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

PISCATAWAY — Five sacks. Sixty-four rush yards. One sinking feeling.

That's what Rutgers' defense left with in a 13-10 loss Saturday to Penn State in its Big Ten opener.
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(Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics Communications)

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

PISCATAWAY — Two extra days of game preparation have given Rutgers flexibility in molding and teaching its game plan for Washington State, head coach Kyle Flood and players say.

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(AP photo)

Rutgers' injury report is out: Nick Arcidiacono (upper body), Bryan Leoni (lower body) and Andre Patton are out Thursday against Washington State. Here's what you missed this weekend:
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(Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics Communications)

Another day of training camp, another prognosis for Kyle Flood to report. This time it was freshman corner Dre Boggs, whom Flood expects to miss "a little bit." Running back Justin Goodwin has moved over in his stead.
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(Courtesy of Rutgers Athletics Communications)

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

Nearly half of the NFL's 32 teams are running some semblance of a 3-4 defense, with three defensive linemen. It's unclear whether the trend has impacted the college ranks or vice versa.

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

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'll be using this space every Tuesday to get to fans' questions about the team and other aspects of the game that you don't get to see on the Internet or in print. You can tweet in your questions each week to @Tyler_Barto or by emailing me at tbarto@trentonian.com.

Thanks to those that provided questions for our first Rutgers football mailbag! Let's get started.
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(AP photo)

By Tyler Barto

Twitter: @Tyler_Barto

tbarto@trentonian.com

Delon Stephenson isn't listed on Rutgers' preseason depth chart. But will there be times when he lines up in the slot?

The coaching staff has already entertained it.

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

Less than a week remains until the start of Rutgers training camp. This top-25 countdown will run infrequently, documenting who's got the most to prove in 2014.

No. 7 — DE Quanzell Lambert (6-foot-1, 255 pounds)
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(AP photo)

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

Less than two weeks remain until the start of Rutgers training camp. This top-25 countdown will run infrequently, documenting who's got the most to prove in 2014.

No. 14 — CB Anthony Cioffi (6-foot, 180 pounds)
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(AP photo)

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

Less than two weeks remain until the start of Rutgers training camp. This top-25 countdown will run infrequently, documenting who's got the most to prove in 2014.

No. 15 — DB Delon Stephenson (5-foot-11, 190 pounds)
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Keith Lumpkin has to be exhausted. 

Rutgers' 6-foot-8, 315-pound left tackle has spent 12 spring practices — a month's worth of time — going up against new defensive coordinator Joe Rossi's exotic pressures.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Sophomore Quanzell Lambert was 18 years old the last time his playing weight topped 250 pounds.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

Wearing a black non-contact jersey Friday in his second practice since suffering a lower-body injury, Anthony Cioffi isn't looking at the ball.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

New defensive coordinator Joe Rossi hasn't wasted much time in offering subtle tweaks to Rutgers' defensive philosophy.
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By Tyler Barto
Twitter: @Tyler_Barto
tbarto@trentonian.com

PISCATAWAY — Rutgers' Steve Longa and Kevin Snyder officially swapped positions Tuesday, but the differences are minimal in the team's defensive framework.
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Head coach Kyle Flood formally introduced Joe Rossi as defensive coordinator Tuesday after a nearly two-month search. (AP photo)

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

Joe Rossi was introduced Tuesday as Rutgers' third defensive coordinator in the post-Greg Schiano era on the premise that he would keep the team's defensive system intact.

The third-year assistant, who spoke along with head coach Kyle Flood, Ralph Friedgen and Bob Fraser, expressed as much on Tuesday's teleconference.
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Ralph Friedgen, left, shown Dec. 30 with Duke's David Cutliffe, will become Rutgers' next offensive coordinator. (AP file photo)

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

Head coach Kyle Flood, new coordinators Ralph Friedgen and Joe Rossi and special teams and linebackers coach Bob Fraser spoke for the first time together Tuesday on a conference call.

We'll have a story for print posted here, but below are some highlights:
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By Tyler Barto

Twitter: @Tyler_Barto

tbarto@trentonian.com

HAMILTON — The initial purpose of Joe Rossi's visit to Nottingham High School may not have led him to  Saquan Hampton, but the 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback earned an offer at his head coach's prompting.

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