BY PAUL FRANKLIN
GANNETT NEW JERSEY
Anthony Davis was up at 5:30 a.m. yesterday to begin his 45-minute workout on the treadmill.
On his first day as a college football player, that would prove to be the easy part.
Rutgers University began summer workouts on the stadium turf yesterday afternoon, sweating through two-and-a-half hours in temperatures approaching 115 degrees.
As he peeled tape off a large splint on his left thumb (broken a few weeks ago when he dropped 330 pounds on it during squats), the puddles of perspiration on his face said it all.
Of course, the affable 17-year-old high school All-American said it even better.
"This was all my hardest high school workouts put together," the Piscataway High graduate said, breaking into a smile, "plus every game on every Saturday. It was fast-paced. As soon as you get tired you got somebody the same size as you going full speed. It's tough, but I can get used to it."
Most freshmen do, even though the early days seem like a constant spinning top. All-American or All-State, the transition can be as shocking as ice tub baths after practice.
As a freshman two years ago, quarterback Jabu Lovelace compared the adjustment to early summer camp thusly: "It's like drinking from a garden hose and then suddenly trying to drink from a fire hose."
No one would have complained about being sprayed with a fire hose yesterday afternoon if there was any time.
"Compared to this, high school practice was like walking," said Somerville High grad Mason Robinson, an All-State back and state 100-meter champion. "It was hot, but I really didn't take the time to think about it; it was going so fast."
The pace is always the major difference for freshmen. Players run to each station, plays are run quicker and no one is allowed to remove their helmet or take a knee.
Despite the demands, coach Greg Schiano was pleased with his new group.
"It was fun to see them (work together) for the first time. They run well. It's a fast class, an athletic class. Even the big guys are athletic," he offered. "I'm sure in their minds it's been, "you're so great, you're so great, you're so great,' and then today it's "whoa!'
"But they'll get used to it. They're a good group," he said about this special class. "They did a good job academically this summer. And that's a good sign, a responsibility to take care of business."
Among the talents is Joe Martinek. He was last year's Gatorade New Jersey State Player of the Year, and set state scoring records for career yards and touchdowns while playing at Hopatcong High School.
Like his football classmates, who had worked out all summer on campus, he looked like he could go another two hours.
"I felt pretty good," he said. "I think I can speak for all the freshmen. We have to get accustomed to the fast pace, because being among the top teams in the nation it's totally different from high school.
"It is so much faster and so much more in-depth and so much more attention to detail. My goal since I was younger was to be a college football player. Now I'm here, and I have to work hard, learn and keep improving until we get to our main goal to be No. 1. My role," he added, "is basically to help the team any way I can."
That is the prevailing attitude about this bunch. They know they are good, but they are realistic. Most important is that they are willing to do whatever it takes to make the team and season as good as possible.
And now for the first time in program history, Rutgers has a freshmen class that is part of a team ranked in the preseason Top 20 (16th in the USA Today Coaches Poll).
"I'm so happy," said Robinson about the historic ranking. "It's an honor to bring football back to New Jersey. It's a great feeling to finally get recognized and be on the map."
This class will certainly do their part to keep that going. Whether it means getting up 5:30 a.m., playing in pain or sweating in temperatures near 115 degrees.
Besides, for these teenagers it can only get easier.