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As I gather from various radio stations and websites, Penn State’s athletic coaches began a nine-day, 18-stop caravan in Philadelphia. Not a bad idea, but here is what burns me. Included on this tour is new football coach Bill O’Brien, as an alum of Rutgers, I am curious as to how WE plan to counter this move. What move? The move signifies an attack on the recruits (in all sports) inside the state of New Jersey. Penn State’s caravan stops in Woodbridge, New Jersey (13 miles from New Brunswick) May 9 for lunch.

This has “The Wire” written all over it. New man in town (Marlo) O’Brien makes a move on certain corners that belonged to Greg Schiano (Avon) once Schiano moved on (like when Avon was in jail).

I could see if Joe Pa and those bland uniforms with no names on the back was still there waving the WE ARE PENN STATE flag, but a newbie stepping in like this is insane. Rutgers Coach Kyle Flood can’t let this happen after all the work (inroads) Schiano (not one of my favorite coaches) put in just to get top New Jersey recruits to consider Rutgers.

Schiano did such a good job that the current (2012) Penn State roster listed only seven players on their roster. Penn State has commitments from three 4-star New Jersey (only 11 in the state) recruits and still in play with seven more for the 2013 season. In total Penn State extended offers to 13 players from New Jersey. Even though Coach Schiano is now in the NFL, these are still OUR corners.

I am watching this as it develops, remembering when Penn State used New Jersey high schools as their minor league circuit and cringing by the day.

As college football conferences align and realign (hopefully, leading to a football playoff) my alma mater, Rutgers actually finds itself with choices as to what to do with their athletic programs. Presently, with the departures of Pittsburgh and Syracuse, the Big East stands as follows:

Louisville, Cincinatti, West Virginia, Connecticut, South Florida, Texas Christian (next year), and Rutgers in both football and basketball and Depaul, St. John’s, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Providence, Marquette, Villanova, and Notre Dame in basketball only.

On the basketball court, Rutgers would leave one conference where they were an afterthought and go to another. In this scenario Duke, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Connecticut are perennial national powers on the hardwood, with Maryland, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Wake Forest fielding strong teams from time to time leaving Rutgers battling to stay out of the basement in the strongest basketball conference in the nation. In my eyes, this move is a push at best for Rutgers football and a total loss on the hardwood.The word on the street is that the ACC is not opposed to further expansion (to 16 teams) by extending offers to both Connecticut and Rutgers. On the football field, the Scarlet Knights should remain as competitive as they have been in the Big East that is not saying much given that Rutgers has yet to win a Big East title, but the teams in the ACC are not a step above what Rutgers faces on a weekly basis. Since the football dollars are driving the realignment actions, I have trouble figuring out what makes Rutgers so attractive. The New York market argument is dead in my eyes for the simple fact that the Big East has not capitalized on the market and if that was the big reason, would not the Big 10 and ACC invited Rutgers to their respective conferences years ago?

I refuse to acknowledge the Big 10 as a destination, as they flirted with us (Rutgers) a few years ago only to determine that we did not bring enough to the table.

A better scenario for both basketball and football hinges on the decisions of Oklahoma and Texas in reference to the powerful duo joining the Pac 12. Common knowledge suggests Texas Tech and Oklahoma State follows the pair forming a PAC 16, leaving in their wake Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri. The seven football schools already on board led by a rising USF, TCU, and an always consistent West Virginia (a must keep for Big East football) fit perfectly with the left behind Big 12 teams (Texas A&M already slated to join the SEC) for a decent 12-team conference that brings a conference title game into play.

Kansas, K-State and a rising Baylor program fills the void left by the departures of Pitt and the ‘cuse. Rutgers would still be behind, but their familiarity with the majority of the teams in the conference, and a possible lighter load by splitting into two divisions should help the Knights compete. Another plus will be playing in the Big East Tournament at the so-called Mecca of basketball Madison Square Garden.

More importantly, Rutgers cannot sit and wait the process out. This process is moving quickly, with teams showing no allegiance to league, tradition or rivalry, Rutgers has to choose the best path for Rutgers.

CAREER: Notre Dame's most experienced cornerback has started 21 of 32 career games played and has played both right and left cornerback ... a contributor since freshman season who is tied for ninth all-time at Notre Dame with 16 pass breakups and has two career interceptions ... totaled 63 tackles, three and a half tackles for loss and forced two fumbles with Irish ... has also been solid special-teams performer, making 143 appearances on special teams.

2009 (JUNIOR): Cornerback started eight games and appeared in all 12 contests ... did not start against Nevada, Boston College, Washington State or Navy ... totaled team-best six pass breakups and added one interception, 27 tackles and one tackle for loss ... recorded career-high seven tackles at Michigan, including one for a loss, while also adding pass breakup ... registered second career interception at Purdue on key, lnetitor.com/javascript/wysiwyg/tiny_mce/themes/advanced/langs/en.js">ate-game fourth-down stop ... tallied four tackles and one pass breakup against USC ... matched career high in pass breakups against Pittsburgh with two and added two solo tackles ... wrapped up season with five tackles and a pass breakup at Stanford ... logged 241:31 of playing and made 51 special-teams appearances.

2008 (JUNIOR): Was not enrolled in University during fall semester due to personal reasons.

2007 (SOPHOMORE): Recorded the fourth-most playing time on the defense as only Tom Zbikowski, David Bruton and Trevor Laws saw more time on the field ... established career highs in every statistical category ... finished year with 32 tackles (23 solos), 2.5 tackles for a loss, nine passes broken up, one interception and two forced fumbles ... led the team with 10 passes defensed ... appeared in all 12 games and started every game except UCLA ... started for the third time in his career when he opened the season as the starting left cornerback vs. Georgia Tech ... recorded two solo tackles while helping to limit the Yellow Jackets to 45.8 percent pass completion percentage ... lifted the Notre Dame sidelines after returning an interception 73 yards for a touchdown at Penn State ... touchdown was the first of the season for Notre Dame ... in fourth career start recorded two tackles (solo; assist) for the Irish at Michigan (9/15) ... made three tackles (two solo, one assist) vs. Purdue ... recorded two solo tackles and two broken up passes vs. Boston College ... made five tackles (four solo) and had one pass break-up vs. USC ... recorded three tackles, including two for a loss of 17 yards and a forced fumble against Navy ... forced a fumble and broke up a pass vs. Air Force ... made six tackles (two solo; four assists) and a broken up pass vs. Duke ... tallied four tackles and two passes broken up at Stanford ... logged 330:26 of playing time with 68 special-team appearances.

2006 (FRESHMAN): Exciting, young player who was used as both a cornerback and kick returner ... played in eight games during first year and made four tackles on defense ... returned five kickoffs for 84 yards with a long return of 28 yards ... covered All-American Calvin Johnson at Georgia Tech and helped limit him to two receptions for 16 yards in the second half ... returned two kickoffs for 44 yards with a long return of 28 yards against Purdue ... gained 40 yards on three kickoff returns vs. Stanford ... made 24 special-teams appearances and collected 61:16 of playing time.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Graduated from Woodland Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. ... second-team defensive back on USA Today prep All-America squad for 2005 ... rated 32nd on list of top 100 prep players nationally by USA Today ... rated 29th on list of top 100 players nationally by Chicago Sun-Times ... first-team All-America defensive back by CSTV ... rated 51st on list of top 100 players in the nation by Dallas Morning News ... rated 25th on list of top 150 players nationally by CollegeFootballNews.com ... made 22 tackles, 14 of them solo, and one interception as senior in `05 ... rushed 29 times for 235 yards and four TDs in 2005 ... four-year letter-winner who finished with 124 career tackles, 80 of them solo, and 16 interceptions ... helped Woodland Hills Senior High School team in Pittsburgh, Pa., to `05 WPIAL Class 4A state title game where it lost 19-7 to McKeesport ... selected for U.S. Army All-American Bowl prep all-star game ... second-team pick as defensive back on Associated Press Pennsylvania all-state team ... picked to All-Class 4A team as defensive back by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ... named to Tribune-Review Terrific 25 team ... rated 45th on `05 preseason list of top players nationally (and fifth among defensive backs) by The Sporting News ... one of seven cornerbacks on `05 national preseason top 100 list by CBS SportsLine.com ... made 53 tackles and six interceptions and also broke up 30 passes as junior in 2004, while also rushing for 550 yards and 11 TDs, and catching six passes for 230 yards and three TDs ... helped Woodland Hills to WPIAL title as freshman in 2002 ... from same high school that produced Jason Taylor (Miami Dolphin all-pro) ... father Darrin Sr. played basketball at Waynesburg College where he's the school's all-time leading scorer ... born June 20, 1988 ... high school coach was George Novak ... enrolled in College of Arts and Letters, double-majoring in sociology and psychology.

Walls' Career Statistics

On the air I gave my picks off the top of my head as to the records of everyone team in the NFL. After sitting down and looking over the schedules I had to revise my picks. Team by team, I ran the numbers and came up with the following standings.

The Patriots edge the Jets for the division crown, but both teams realize they have to win at least one road game during the playoffs.

Pittsburgh and Baltimore battle it out for the conference title while feasting on NFC West teams, the Ravens pull it out for home field throughout the playoffs, but they are not my AFC Super Bowl pick.

Once again, the Texans underachieve as they have strong seasons from Andre Johnson, Arian Foster and the media made top quarterback Matt Schuab but find a way to lose enough games to allow RoboQB Peyton Manning and his one-dimensional team into the playoffs.

This is the year the Chargers shake two things, the slow start, and the playoff letdown. Phillip Rivers leads his band of no-names to the Super Bowl despite the puzzling decisions of Norv Turner.

Injuries to Tony Romo or Michael Vick will change the overall outlook of this division. The Cowboys benefit from the nightmare that was last season by beating up on inferior teams on their relatively weak schedule.

With 15 players on injured reserve last season (not counting the playoff injury to Charles Woodson) the Packers still returned the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay. With all hands on deck, the Packers are my choice to repeat. I figure the losses to free agency happen after the second Super Bowl.

As much as my heart wants Raheem Morris’ Buccaneers to win the division, they just are not ready…yet. The Saints, finally with a legit running threat in Mark Ingram, are primed to take the division before falling short against the Packers in the NFC Championship game (no defense). As for the Falcons, Matty Ice is overrated

Almost by default, the Cardinals earn this division. The only worry I have is (surprisingly, for as much of a bust I think Kevin Kolb will be) the running back position. Can Beanie Wells give us a full season without an ankle injury? If so, the Cardinals will win this putrid division easily. The Rams benefitted from the schedule last season, this year will be rougher on the young gunner Sam Bradford.