Hello and welcome to The Trentonian's Rutgers football blog!

From now through the Scarlet Knights' last game (which we assume will be a bowl game on or after New Year's Day), I'll update you on all things Rutgers, from what's taking place on the practice field to what's said at the press conferences and which high school players you can expect to see wearing red and white in the near future.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with me -- and since I just started at The Trentonian in early June I'm sure that's most readers -- my name is Ben Doody, and I'll be the RU football beat writer for the upcoming season.

Before coming to The Trentonian, I was a student at Fairfield University, where I was sports editor and then editor in chief of The Mirror, the university's student newspaper. I covered Fairfield basketball as an intern for The Hartford Courant, and as a stringer for The Stamford Advocate in southern Connecticut. I've also written for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Conn., and The Republican in Springfield, Mass.

I grew up in South Hadley, Mass., where I followed the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Whalers (when they existed.) I got hooked on the Big East as a third grader watching UConn basketball, and hopefully all those hours spent pouring over box scores and reading game stories will help me out now that I'm covering the Big East full time.

To get you started on some Rutgers reading, here are two stories that I wrote in this week's Trentonian -- one about Scarlet Knights' running back Ray Rice's Heisman Trophy campaign web site, and the other about wide receiver Tim Wright, who will join the Scarlet Knights as a freshman in the 2008 season.

You can expect more Rutgers coverage both at this blog and in The Trentonian in the near future, and in mid-August, be sure to check out The Trentonian for a special section previewing the Scarlet Knights and the rest of the Big East.

All feedback, questions and your own analysis of what's going on in Piscataway are more than welcome, so type away!

- Ben