Carroo Sets Receiving Touchdown Record At Rutgers

Wide receiver Leonte Carroo (4) – Juan Martinez, Double G Sports

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights were victorious in their season opener defeating the Norfolk State Spartans 63-13 in front of 47,453 at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway. Rutgers (1-0) dominated all facets of the game racking up 539 yards of total offense, holding the Spartans to minus three rushing, and returning a kickoff for a touchdown.

The Scarlet Knights started Hayden Rettig at quarterback and performed well, going 9-for-11 for 110 and a touchdown to tight end Flanagan. He also added a touchdown on the ground as well.

However, Rettig will take a back seat to Chris Laviano as he was tapped as the starter Monday by head coach Kyle Flood after months of competition. Despite missing the first half due to suspension from a missed curfew and use of a fake ID, Laviano entered in the third quarter and made an immediate impact.

Laviano threw only four passes in his almost two quarters of action, but completed all four of them, including three to senior star wide receiver Leonte Carroo for three touchdowns, who also missed the first half.

“In the locker room at halftime when Chris and I were warming up, he looked at me and I looked at him and we said `let’s go make plays,'” Carroo said post game. “That’s what we did.”

Carroo’s three catches, all scores, vaulted him to the top the school’s records books for most reception touchdowns with 22 and counting. The Don Bosco Prep product passed Tim Brown and Brandon Coleman who each had 20.

Carroo’s 129 yards on the day bumped him into a tie with nine career 100-yard receiving yard games, good for third in program history with Brown. He also owns eight career multiple-touchdown games and three with three scores. No other playing in Rutgers history has two games with three touchdowns.

It doesn’t stop there.

In his 24 games he has played receiver “On the Banks”, he has a catch in the last 21 consecutive games. He also has a knack for scoring early and often.

Carroo has scored a touchdown on his first reception of the year for the third consecutive season, totaling 14 catches for 415 yards and seven touchdowns in the last three season openers.

“It’s a pretty weird thing,” the wide out said regarding his first game and first catch for touchdown success. “I don’t know why I have a knack for that, but I just love getting going early regardless of what the play is, what the catch is, I just love making plays as soon as I touch the ball. You know, I’m a guy as soon as I get one catch I’m gonna get a bunch of catches after that.”

The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder corralled 55 passes a year ago for 1,086 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named an All-Big Ten first-team selection by the media a year ago for his efforts and returned this season as the leading receiver in the conference after testing NFL waters.

Going into the 2016 NFL Draft, the sure handed, tough wide out is ranked as the 11^th best wide receiver according to cbssports.com. Highly regarded recruiting website 247sports.com ranks the Edison, N.J. native as the third best receiver in the Big Ten.

He also doesn’t lack confidence, and believes he should be number one.

“Yes, I am,” Carroo said at Big Ten Media Day when asked if he is the best receiver in the Big Ten. “Yes, I’m the best receiver in the Big Ten. I say that confidently, I say that proudly.”

Carroo, a team captain, will surly leave Rutgers as one of the best wide receivers to ever where scarlet and white. He will be mentioned in the same sentence, the same breath as Kenny Britt, Mohamed Sanu, Tres Moses, Tiquan Underwood, and tight end Marco Battaglia.

Watch Carroo’s three touchdowns performance from this past weekend below:

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