Rutgers starting quarterback decision to be made at halftime

Three Big Ten teams are going down to the wire to name their starting quarterback, and one of them is waiting until the first game is halfway done.

Urban Meyer said Ohio State will wait until the first snap to decide on either J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones. Although it's not public knowledge, Jim Harbaugh said he, as well as Shane Morris and Jake Rudock, know who's going to start for Michigan.

At Rutgers, head coach Kyle Flood will wait until halftime to make that decision, according to NJ.com's Keith Sargeant.

"Hayden Rettig is the starting quarterback,'' Flood said of Saturday's opener against Norfolk State. "We're going to evaluate the first half and we'll make a decision at halftime as to how we're going to proceed.''

The move comes as quarterback Chris Laviano serves a team-issued first-half suspension for missing curfew.

That doesn't necessarily mean Laviano will take the snaps in the second half. Flood said if Rettig performs well in the first half, he'll likely play the remainder of the game. If he falters, the second half could belong to Laviano.

Flood added that the long-term plan for the starting quarterback job isn't a priority right now. Instead, the team is focused on starting the season with a victory.

"We're going to evaluate the first half of this game and then make our decisions going forward based on that,'' Flood said. "To look beyond that, I think, would be very difficult.''

Last season, Laviano backed up then-starter Gary Nova, completing 11 passes for 107 yards and one interception. Rettig, a redshirt sophomore, didn't play his true freshman season at LSU.

Upon transferring to Rutgers last season, he sat out due to NCAA transfer regulations.