Rutgers football fans know that radio color analyst Ray Lucas is never at a loss for words. However, as the former standout quarterback nears induction into the Rutgers Hall of Fame this weekend, he struggled to describe what the honor means as someone who truly bleeds scarlet.
 
"I don't know if I can put it into words, you know what I'm saying?" Lucas said in a recent interview. "It's such a big honor. I mean, how do you put that into words? It's amazing. I mean seriously, I have no clue, I don't know what to say. It's overwhelming is what it is. Pretty much overwhelming."
 
A four-year letterwinner for the Scarlet Knights from 1992-95, Lucas ranks fourth in RU history in touchdowns (43), fifth in completions (514) and sixth in passing yards (5,896). He is the only player in program history to throw more than 40 touchdown passes and rush for 15 scores. While posting those noteworthy statistics, the numbers do not tell the full story.
 
The pride of Harrison, New Jersey, a small town in Hudson County, Lucas was heavily recruited as an all-state pick who passed for 960 yards and ran for 545 yards to account for 98 of the team's 128 points as a senior. Also a standout on the basketball court, then Rutgers head coach Doug Graber and his staff prioritized keeping Lucas home.
 
"We recruited him really, really hard and wanted him in the worst way," Graber said recently. "In fact, every year we picked out who we wanted the worst, and on Thanksgiving, I would go to their game. We knew Raymond was going to be a heck of a quarterback.
 
"When we made the home visit, and I'll never forget this for as long as I live, Raymond comes from a great family. He sat on the couch with his mother and they held hands the whole visit. I cannot tell you how meaningful that was to me. I think it tells a great deal about Ray and his family."
 
When it came time to officially become a Scarlet Knight in 1991, Lucas took on the challenge of adjusting to the campus in addition to learning the quarterback position at the collegiate level.
 
"When I got to Rutgers, it was so big, I'm from a one-square mile town," Lucas recalled. "And it's like, you go to Rutgers, I'm still home. I'm Jersey, so I'm doing it for all the right reasons. I remember going to class one day and I was like 'wow, there's a lot of people in this class.' I used to have 19 people in my class.
 
"But, training camp was awesome. Just the speed change from high school to college was an adjustment for me to catch up, and, playing quarterback there was so much to learn and so much to know. I knew once I came on campus I made the right decision."
 
Graber redshirted Lucas that first season, but brought him on all the road trips to allow the rookie to hold the clipboard, hear the play calls and experience what college football was all about. Then in 1992, Bryan Fortay transferred in from Miami (Fla.), but Lucas embraced the situation.
 
"I called Ray during the spring and said we have another quarterback that wants to transfer and I wanted to tell you first," Graber said. "Those guys split playing time the first year until Raymond eventually beat him out. When I told him Bryan Fortay was going to transfer in, he said, 'coach, that's great for the team, we need to take him.' Others not as mature may have been really upset, but he looked me right in the eye and said 'great, that will make us both better.' He was always a team-first guy."
 
The Scarlet Knights finished 1992 with a 7-4 record, with Lucas playing in 10 games with four starts. One of the more memorable outings was the win over West Virginia at Rutgers Stadium, where he went 15-for-29 for 191 yards and a touchdown.
 
"We beat them 13-9," Lucas said of the victory over the Mountaineers. "As a redshirt freshman, you look up in the stands and my family was there, my boys were there supporting, and the older guys on the team were taking care of me. To have West Virginia come here, and my first real start to beat them, it was something I'll never forget."
 
From there, Lucas continued to grow and the seized the starting job. He threw for 1,011 yards on 109 completions as a sophomore before tying the school record at the time the following season with 16 touchdown passes. Then as a senior, Lucas led the Big East in total offense with 223.3 yards per game, leaving as the Rutgers all-time leader in passing touchdowns (43).
 
"At the beginning, it wasn't all the passing you have in college today, we were running the football," Lucas said. "We were smash-mouth football. We were in the Big East playing Virginia Tech, Miami, Boston College, you name it. We played against the best that there was to offer. Towards the end of my career we were throwing it. We had an All-America tight end named Marco Battaglia that could catch it. Had 69 passes caught in his senior year, that's ridiculous. The game slowed down for me, though. It's 90 percent mental, playing quarterback, and 10 percent physical. I was always blessed with the physical aspect, I really had to work at the mental. I remember going back after my first year at Rutgers and watching a high school game and I was like 'there's no way I played that.' I could see everything happening before it was happening.
 
Despite not being drafted, Lucas would go on to the NFL and enjoy an eight-year career with the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens. He appeared in Super Bowl XXXI with the Patriots.
 
"Here at Rutgers, nothing was handed to you," Lucas said of being prepared after college. "You always had to work for it. I never really thought about playing in the NFL to be honest with you. My whole thing was get the diploma. My dad said 'you're going to go and use your athletic ability and get this education because it's given to you for free.' Like my transition from working hard and studying the game of football, before when I was a high schooler, I just played. Studying then when I got to the NFL, like nobody was giving me a chance to play a down. But I was willing to outwork everybody. I kind of learned that at home and I learned that here at Rutgers. And it really helped me up there when I got to the NFL."
 
Lucas saw time at quarterback, but also played wide receiver and on special teams.
 
"If they said 'Ray, after practice you're going to shine 87 helmets,' they were going to be some good-looking helmets," Lucas said. "If that's what I had to do to make the squad, I was willing to do anything."
 
Following his playing days, Lucas came back home as the color analyst on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, and also appears on Big Ten Network, SNY and other programming.
 
"I came back to call Rutgers games because I love my school," Lucas said. "This program is about Jersey guys staying home and representing our state. We had something to do with it too. I love Rutgers and I love Rutgers football. That's never going to change, and what better way to come and watch a game when you're doing the game."
 
"Ray is a neat story," Graber, who will be at the ceremony, said. "To me, this is what Rutgers should be all about. Staying home at the State University of New Jersey and making a name for himself with a successful career. He was a clutch performer and you could count on him in a clutch situation. He was a great competitor and a great person."
 
To go even further, Lucas says he literally shows off the Block R every day.
 
"I'm Rutgers everywhere I go. I'm a walking advertisement. The ink on my arm? That's never ever coming off. People say, 'what's Ray's commitment?' I wear it. Not on my t-shirt, on my skin."