7/11/2020 football Edit

DL coach Jim Panagos: 'Words can't express how happy I am to be back here'

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

When Jim Panagos met with TKR and other local reporters on a video conference call on Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t keep his smile back.

He couldn’t help but express in body language and words how happy he was to be back at Rutgers and now with head coach Greg Schiano.

“I tell him every day since I got hired that I celebrate every day,” Panagos said. “I've learned so much from coach Schiano the last seven months. I have become a better person, better man, a better father, and I'm growing every day. That's what I want in my life. I want to be challenged. I want to grow and I'm doing that every single day.

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"Since I met coach Schiano back In 2009 when I played in the bowl game against him when I was at UCF, I really wanted to work for him and this is my chance to come back and have that opportunity. It's been unbelievable so far, especially with the staff that he has put together on defense with coaches (Bob) Fraser, (Robb) Smith, both of whom are phenomenal coaches who I've worked with before. Also we added Fran Brown, who I've known since 2013 and he's done an amazing job on defense and then on offense I have an amazing relationship with Augie (Hoffmann), Nunzio (Campanile) and now Sean (Gleeson) and Andy (Aurich). It's just a staff that is aligned the right way. Now I also have the chance to work with Scott Vallone, Charlie Noonan and Jamaal Westerman, all of whom I'm really close with. It's been awesome and a great feeling for me. I'm just really happy to be back home and make New Jersey great again and just really excited to start the journey with coach Schiano and the rest of the guys."

In the past Panagos has crossed paths with Smith and Fraser, and he gets to work alongside them once again on the defensive side of the ball.

“Coach Smith and coach Fraser, unbelievable coaches, unbelievable people, and I think words can't express how happy I am to be back here. It's really gonna be a cool thing,” Panagos said. “We're all wired in a way where we have great leadership with coach Schiano and it all falls down to these coaches and that should fold down to the players. So to me it's really, really exciting. And I can't wait to be back in the field with everybody -- all the coaches, all the players. It's gonna be really a lot of fun. Coach Smith, great football coach. Coach Fraser is the Godfather of football. Every day I'm getting better. I'm getting challenged.”

Winning games in the Big Ten for Rutgers will be a work in progress, but knowing what to expect and having experience coaching in the league with Rutgers and Minnesota in 2019 can only help, though he says every year is unique. Schiano, Fraser, Smith, special teams coach Adam Scheier, and tight ends coach Ninzio Campanile all have Big Ten coaching experience, too.

“I think it's important, but every season is it's own season and every team is its own team,” Panagos said. “As long as you get everybody doing what they're supposed to do I think it all falls. I've been on teams where I thought we would have great seasons and we played really bad. I've been on teams where I thought hey we'd be really bad and we're really good. Every season is its own season.

“I tell the players all the time there is no scoreboard. We'll play 60 plays on defense and if you play really hard for 60 plays, the scoreboard takes care of itself.”