One by one, Rutgers players stayed down on the field after a play.
They were hurting whether it was Christian Izien, Naijee Jones, Olakunle Fatukasi, Julius Turner, Michael Dwumfour, Noah Vedral, and more on Saturday during the Scarlet Knights’ 27-24 win at Maryland.
“When you're down there it's a war zone. I was just so proud of the way our guys just kept swinging. I don't know if I've ever been out on the field as many times I was today for kids that were down. But they'd go down, they'd come back,” head Scarlet Knights football coach Greg Schiano said. “The trainer's telling us where we are - he's this, he's that -- and then all of a sudden he's back playing and he being several guys. So I'm just really proud of our guys that fought through a lot of things today. And this whole week has been, I think, ends up being a really good life lesson for our entire football team.”
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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Ten season was originally cancelled back in August, then it was brought back and action kicked off in October. Rutgers has played eight straight, gurling conference contests, which its never done before.
There were no bye weeks put into the schedule and because Rutgers has done a good job keeping the coronavirus away from the program, the fine line has been the players’ bodies are worn down and beat up.
“I think we're fortunate to be where we are after eight straight weeks in the Big Ten Conference. I tip my hat to coach (Jay) Butler and his staff and David McCune and his staff and our doctors. They've done an incredible job getting them prepared for this and then keeping them going throughout the season,” Schiano said. “You look at our (huge) roster and they all have ailments. It's a physical game, not only on gameday but in practice, so like I said, I'm really proud of our guys. I'm proud of our guys back home that didn't get to travel. They got us ready for this game. I told them that before we left Friday. During the game I was so hopeful that we could win it, because I just felt like our guys deserved it. I just felt what they've been through this week, I was hoping that they could win the game so I'm really happy for them.
“When you look at Joe Lusardi, a freshman walk-on was out there playing safety and he did a heck of a job at the end. I mean that to me is what you call a family. Just guys sucking it up for each other, so I am really proud of them.”
After the game, Schiano mentioned it was an even tougher week as three players lost relatives to COVID-19, and overall, they and their families have sacrificed a ton to be able to play this year and there is one more to go on Friday with one day less of rest and recuperation.
“It's been really difficult,” Schiano said. “Our kids have made tremendous sacrifices and our players' families have made tremendous sacrifices. I tip my hat to our parents because certainly they want to see their kids. After a home game when I'm done talking to the team they go back down the tunnel, and then they visit with their parents and their parents are up in the stands and they're down behind bike racks talking to them. The parents are so good and they understand we want our kids to have this opportunity. They've really been extremely cooperative. And look, as I've said many times, we've had our troubles. In the summer we really had our issues, but these guys made a decision to sacrifice for one another. That's the lesson.”
After the clock hit 0:00, Schiano cameras caught Schiano in tears of joy.
“It's been a tough week for all these kids and they really came out and just did exactly what we asked them to do: just keep fighting. What an incredible job.”
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
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