Two Rutgers cornerbacks taken into police custody, immediately suspended

It sounds like Rutgers will be down two cornerbacks for their tilt against Michigan on Saturday.

Chris Long and Max Melton have both been suspended by the team after being arrested by university police.

“I was informed that Chris Long and Malachi Melton were taken into police custody early this morning as a result of an incident involving a paint ball gun,” head coach Greg Schiano said in a statement. “Both players have been suspended immediately.”

Per NJ.com, Melton and Long were charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose.

Long appeared in Rutgers first three games in a reserve role but didn’t compile any statistics. The loss of Melton will be a much bigger blow to an already thin Rutgers secondary. Melton was having a solid start to the year with two interceptions, four pass breakups, a blocked punt, a fumble recovery, and 8 tackles.

The loss of Melton could have a domino effect in the Rutgers secondary, and in turn it could alter Michigan’s plan of attack slightly heading into Saturday’s game. Michigan coaches are surely already looking at film and seeing what matchups they can exploit and give quarterback Cade McNamara a shot at having success vertically.

McNamara was 8-of-11 for 191 yards with 1 touchdown in Michigan’s 63-10 win versus Northern Illinois- his 87-yard touchdown pass to Cornelius Johnson was the third longest passing touchdown in Michigan history.