Dismissal of Rutgers players overshadows opening day

A 63-13 win by the Scarlet Knights didn’t overshadow what happened prior to Saturday’s game against Norfolk state. Five players were dismissed from the team following their arrests earlier this week on assault and home invasion charges.

The Rutgers University football team kicked off a new season on Saturday. It’s a new opportunity to make a splash in the Big 10 conference. But play on the field at the start of the 2015 campaign, has been overshadowed lately by big problems off of it.

Some alumni like alumni Gail Burneyko say they're already disappointed.
"I’m hoping we can recover from the debacle of this past week” he said. "I think it's an embarrassment to the alumni and to the 100 or so players doing the right thing.”

The school announced just minutes before game time against Norfolk state  that the five football players suspended earlier this week following their arrests are now officially off the team.

Nadir Barnwell, Dre Boggs, Razohnn Gross, Ruhann Peele and Delon Stephenson face charges including an alleged assault and home invasion of another student
The dismissals are the latest in a series of problems this preseason.

Head coach Kyle Flood remains under investigation in an academic impropriety case involving one of the arrested players.
Graduate Tom Howell, like many we spoke to, says he has faith in the program and its overall direction.

“It’s just a bump in the road to success. When you look at the academic success which is very important - we continue to rank in the top 20, year after year after year.”