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Now it's time to move on.

With Rutgers set to open the 2008 college football season with a nationally televised game against Fresno State on Sept. 1 at Rutgers Stadium, head coach Greg Schiano says it may take more than one tailback to replace Rice, now with the Baltimore Ravens.

"Certainly, you lose a guy of Ray's ability, it's a big loss," Schiano said Wednesday during a press conference at the SNY studios. "But then you put on top of that the kind of person he was and the things he did for our football team off the field, there's a big spot vacated.

"I think we have tremendously talented young guys that are battling to replace him, and it may not just be one guy. There may be a combination of guys that replace him."

Rice was an All-American who rushed for 280 yards in his final game and became the first player in Rutgers and Big East history -- and the 13th in NCAA history -- to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

Without him, the Scarlet Knights -- who are coming off an 8-5 season in which they finished 3-4 in the Big East but won the International Bowl -- will look to several fresh faces to fill the void.

After suffering an injury in the third game of the 2007 season against Norfolk State, redshirt sophomore Kordell Young returns and is the most experienced back on the roster. The native of West Deptford, N.J., has played in 14 career games. Before getting injured last season, he carried 18 times for 58 yards.

The other veteran tailback is sophomore Mason Robinson, who appeared in 10 games as a true freshman, gaining 202 yards on 36 carries. He also handled kick- and punt-return duties for a total of 304 yards.

Two redshirt freshmen, Joe Martinek and Jourdan Brooks, will also compete for time. The all-time leading rusher in New Jersey high school history, Martinek made the return to running back after spending much of his redshirt season as a defensive back.

"Joe's probably the guy you don't hear as much about," Schiano said. "All he did was lead the state of New Jersey in the history of football, he's the all-time leading rusher. I saw some things this spring that were really impressive about Joe."

At 6-foot-1, 245 pounds, Brooks is a bruising runner who can add size and strength in the backfield.

"It's really too early to tell," Schiano said. "Mason and Kordell and Jourdan Brooks and Joe, they're all good players. I think it's going to be a fun competition. It'll be fun to watch. We just have to make sure that as we get into that 10-day window before the first game, you kind of have a plan on where we're going.

"I don't think you want to have too many guys in the mix because then no one gets into a flow."

Schiano said it was possible the running-back situation could rotate from week to week, but said he'd like to settle on something more definitive as the season approaches.

"Certainly you'd like to go into the year knowing, but sometimes, even with Ray, he started his first game as a true freshman, but we didn't know where that was going to lead us and Ray just took the thing and went with it," he said. "Those things usually have a way of working themselves out as long as you're patient and observant."

Extra points: Schiano said he was extremely excited that the Big East has formed a partnership with SNY that makes the network the exclusive home of Rutgers football. "Rutgers football has an exclusive TV home in New York City," he said. "No one else has that. And when I say no one else, I mean no one else. And that's pretty special. It's not only the `Game of the Week,' which we may be on or may not be on. It's the coaches' show, it's the press conference. Our recruits, our fans, everybody now has that access into Rutgers football in the media capital of the world." ... Schiano declined comment on recent reports that there were secret aspects of his contract, deferring instead to Rutgers athletic director Bob Mulcahy. The Star-Ledger reported this week that Rutgers had agreed to pay Schiano an additional $250,000 a year in compensation through a vendor (Nelligan Sports), and had an arrangement with the coach enabling him to walk away from his contract if the Rutgers Stadium expansion project is not completed by 2009. "I don't worry about that stuff. What's important to me is my family and my football team. Thank God both of those groups are doing well," Schiano said. ... Asked if he would like to see a ninth football program added to the Big East, the coach said he would be in favor. "I think so, if it's the right fit." ... Rutgers plays a brutal road schedule this season: at defending league champ West Virginia (Oct. 4), at Cincinnati (Oct. 11), at Pittsburgh (Oct. 25) and at South Florida (Nov. 15). Those four teams finished a combined 35-16 a year ago, 16-12 in the conference.