Tom Savage faked the handoff, turned and fired the ball downfield, then trotted toward senior receiver Tim Brown in the end zone.
No jumping, no shouting — just a simple congratulation after a 68-yard touchdown for which the freshman quarterback was equally responsible.
After his first Rutgers football career start — and second appearance — one thing is clear about Savage: the kid is cool.
“Tom’s pretty relaxed; that’s his personality,” head coach Greg Schiano said. “He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low — that will serve him well.”
Savage, rated the No. 10 quarterback in the country out of high school by ESPN.com, is part of a quarterback class that has already began to make its mark on the college landscape.
University of Southern California’s Matt Barkley and Michigan’s Tate Forcier led game-winning drives against Ohio State and Notre Dame on Saturday, respectively.
Savage led the Scarlet Knights past Howard.
The RU victory may not have had the same impact on the national scale, but the Knights’ prized quarterback displayed the same composure, beyond his years, that Barkley and Forcier showcased.
“I saw the highlights; that quarterback reminded me of Tom — he looks just like him,” Brown said of Barkley. “He’s got the poise and Tom’s got the poise too; they’re both great quarterbacks.”
Although Savage is familiar with Barkley through recruiting camps, Schiano is not concerned with the other freshmen gunslingers.
“I don’t know about other people’s situations,” Schiano said. “I know about ours … we have a guy in Tom [Savage] who we think gives us the best chance to win.”
Savage did that against Howard, completing 8 of 13 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
In the process, he became the fifth quarterback in school history to start a game as a true freshman and just the second to win his first start.
“He came in and it was 0-0,” Schiano said of the differences between Savage’s Cincinnati debut and Howard start. “I think that … he started a game and did the things he needed to do to put the ball downfield and into the end zone — that’s probably the biggest thing.”
Savage admitted having pre-game nerves.
With the offense in his hands, he also admitted that he had to go against his naturally quiet and reserved disposition.
The need to take charge was something that senior center and captain Ryan Blaszczyk emphasized to Savage before kickoff.
“In the pre-game I told him, ‘The offense is only going to go as far as our quarterback leads us, so when we get on the field be confident, be loud, be vocal, and it will instill confidence in everyone else,’” Blaszczyk said. “I saw that a lot.”In fact, it was Blaszczyk’s words that instilled confidence in Savage.
“That gave me chills a little bit, to have a senior offensive lineman talk to me like that,” Savage said. “But it definitely gave me a lot of confidence, knowing they’re behind me.”
One start into his RU career, Savage is starting to realize it’s not just Blaszczyk and his teammates that are behind him, but an entire University.
“I was out on College Avenue and I saw a picture of myself in the paper and I was just looking at it, but my friends made it worse,” the 19-year-old said. “I was trying to keep it calm, but my friends got all excited. It’s fun though.”
Always keeping a straight face on the field, it is hard to tell Savage is having fun.
According to the always-excitable Brown, that is not a problem.
“I’ll do the celebrating,” Brown said. “I don’t expect Tom to be hopping around after he throws a touchdown. That’s what he expects to do — just throw touchdowns.”