Asst. head coach AJ Blazek talks Week 1 showing, matchup against OSU
Rutgers heads into Saturday’s outing at Ohio State 1-0 following their 35-7 victory over Texas State in Piscataway.
The Knight Report spoke to Scarlet Knights offensive line coach A.J. Blazek who discussed the upcoming meeting with the Buckeyes as well as the performance from his linemen in Week 1.
Blazek was particularly impressed with the efforts from redshirt sophomores Nick Krimin and Michael Maietti who both earned their first collegiate starts.
“I thought Nick played well. Towards the end he kind of tailed off because of the heat, but the first half was really good,” he told TKR. “Mike is pretty new and you never want to revolve anything around one guy, but he is our staple guy. He knows everything inside and out.”
Ohio State edge rusher Nick Bosa presents an enormous obstacle for offensive lines as one of the top 2019 NFL Draft prospects. Blazek and his unit are bracing to have the kitchen sink thrown at them in the trenches.
“He’s an old-fashioned football player,” he said. “He’s going to play physical and put his hands on you. We know that he’s going to be a challenge, but hey, we have to match it.”
Blazek feels redshirt senior Tariq Cole is geared up for Saturday and the task of containing Bosa.
“He’s excited, he’s a guy who I think wants to see himself in that position,” he said. “The way to see where you’re at is to go test yourself and play against the best players.”
As usual, the storyline surrounding this weekend’s contest is how Rutgers’ offense will fare against ex-head coach Greg Schiano’s lunchpail defense. Blazek plans to give his men insight on what Schiano may dial up, although he hopes to stick to the game plan as much as possible.
“The good thing is that a lot of our guys over the past three years have built conceptual football knowledge,” he said. “There are rules and we have to stay within those rules, but I would say the hard thing is how much we will tell them.”
The Scarlet Knights took a 58-0 thrashing when they visited ‘The Horseshoe’ in 2016. Blazek believes his bunch is prepared mentally for what is considered to be one of the most hostile environments in college sports.
“Most of our guys have gotten the chance to play there,” he said. “We played down at Penn State last season and that’s of course a big crowd. When you play a road game in the Big 10, you’re likely going to face a tough environment.”
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