There was yelling, screaming, laughing, and even some fun regarding ice tubs that included ice being hurled from player to player and strength coach Jay Butler getting dunked. There were sighs of relief and  exhaustion, and plenty of anticipation for Sept. 1 at 4 p.m., when finally, Rutgers will tee it up against Fresno State. 

The Scarlet Knights concluded training camp today, bringing to a close three weeks of drills, scrimmages and plenty of conditioning. And fortunately for the Knights, they did it without any major casualties, leaving Greg Schiano upbeat as his team heads into its first day of game preparation tomorrow. 

"I thought we made progress," Schiano said. "We stayed relatively healthy, which is good. We're still a long ways off from being the team that I think we can be, but Sept. 1 is going to come, so we're just going to play the best we can and see where it stacks up against the team we're playing, and then we'll move on."

Schiano, to a much greater extent than he seemed a year ago, seemed genuinely pleased with -- and in many cases, proud of -- the Knights' work. 

Asked to name areas with which he was pleased, he started with the obvious -- the wide receivers and quarterback -- but then proceeded to name virtually every position group, even those that have progressed slower than others during camp. 

"I'm pleased with our skill guys; our passing game," he said. "I'm pleased with our secondary. I'm pleased with our linebackers. I think our defensive line, some guys have come back and really played really well this camp. The offensive line is progressing. Kevin (Haslam's) injury has allowed some guys to get some reps that they probably wouldn't have gotten. They're getting better, which will serves us well in the long run. I think the running backs, we still have a very intense competition." 

While a year ago, Schiano was frustrated with -- if not outright angry about -- the lack of quality tight end play, and concerned with the clear shakiness of the punting game, he didn't single out a single position group or facet of the game that desperately needs to improve in the next week. 

He said even the running game -- clearly the most visible weakness in both of the Knights' two scrimmages -- will straighten itself out. 

"There's not an area where I'd say there's a total mystery," he said. "Out of those running backs, we're going to be able to run the ball. It's just a matter of who." 

That "matter of who" will be decided at some point during the next week. The Knights will get an introduction to Fresno State tomorrow and Sunday and go into full-throttle prep mode on Monday, before taking Tuesday off and resuming work Wednesday. 

In addition to tailback -- it's unclear if Mason Robinson or Kordell Young will start, though both will definitely play -- the battle between Joe Lefeged and Highstown's Zaire Kitchen at strong safety is still up for grabs, and Schiano indicated he isn't 100 percent sure who'll start at either guard spot. 

He said he's convinced Caleb Ruch is "capable" at right guard, and that he thinks the redshirt freshman is the Knights' best option, but that he still has to talk it over with his assistants. It's still possible, though probably unlikely, that walk-on Howard Barbieri, who Schiano said is "pushing everybody," could take over the spot. It's also possible Barbieri could start at left guard if Kevin Haslam hasn't fully recovered from the ankle sprain he suffered earlier this week. 

"I think (Ruch) is a good player," Schiano said. "Am I comfortable that he's going to be able to do everything that we need him to do in the heat of the battle? I can't tell you that because I've never seen him do it. Is he capable? Yes."

Schiano said Shamar Graves is the No. 2 tight end, edging out Lawrenceville's Craig McGovern. Dennis Campbell and Tim Brown are likely to duke it out for the No. 3 wideout spot, though both will likely play, as will Julian Hayes. 

So over all, there are far more answers than there are questions.