Thanks to injury issues, the young depth in Rutgers’ backfield will get more than their share of reps and opportunities this spring.
With spring practice starting Tuesday, the Scarlet Knights confirmed that running backs Paul James and Savon Huggins are both dealing with shoulder issues. As a result, the former will be limited throughout the spring while the latter will not participate at all in the 15 sessions.
How and when the twin shoulder issues surfaced is unknown.
Last season, and despite missing four games due to injury unrelated to his current condition, James led RU with 881 yards and nine touchdowns. He was named first-team All-AAC in the Scarlet Knights final season in that conference before officially moving to the Big Ten July 1. Huggins, a former five-star recruit, finished third on the team with 286 yards as he too was hampered by injuries.
In addition to James and Huggins, first-team All-AAC tight end Tyler Kroft (shoulder) along with a pair of defensive starters -- defensive end Quanzell Lambert (shoulder) and linebacker Steve Longa (lower body) -- will be limited.
