It took a little while for Evan Simon to get going during the Rutgers football's team's spring game last Thursday, but when he found a rhythm, the quarterback started to execute better.
Simon was rocky early as he was just 2-of-5, but he got things rolling after a big run that gave the offense a first down. Simon finished 9-for-16 for 113 yards passing and a touchdown and 24 yards rushing.
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"I thought it went really well," Simon said. "I thought a lot of players, especially the offensive line, performed very good tonight. Of course you got to give credit to them. Definitely the skill guys as well. They went out there and made plays. They make our job as a quarterback easy."
Simon's 23-yard touchdown was to wide receiver Shameen Jones on the right side.
"We got the look we wanted. Shameen, as we all know, he's a great athlete," Simon said. "He just went out made a play. He's a heck of an athlete and it's nice to throw to him."
Simon is currently in the running to be Noah Vedral's backup alongside Cole Snyder. And while Snyder put up more eye-popping numbers overall with three touchdowns, Simon is still in the race that won't likely end until the season begins.
"I thought all the quarterbacks played well. Cole certainly did. He threw the ball well and he ran well. I thought Evan did the same," head coach Greg Schiano said. "They almost have identical lines. The one thing that I was so impressed with watching tonight is the entire game Noah is coaching guys on the sideline, and I mean really coaching him on details. That was great to see. I was overall pleased, and I thought Johnny did some good things as well. I think everybody contributed and everybody had a chance to play which was good, and I thought they played well, which was even better."
Simon hasn't played in a game yet at Rutgers as he redshirted last season, but as a senior at Manheim Central in Pennsylvania, he completed 154 passes for 2,625 yards and 25 touchdowns and also ran for 930 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
Statistics aside, Simon said his best quality making his teammates better and getting them ready to go, and going forward, he wants to expand on his leadership even as a young player.
"My best attribute attribute would probably be just gathering the troops and herding the sheep and motivating them. Then of course you got to execute on your side, so that they follow," Simon said.
"Definitely something I was focused on was leadership, and just building relationships with not only guys in my class, but older guys. Down the path they're going to need to rely on me and I'm going to need to rely on them. That's just very important as you take the field that trust that they have with you."
Throughout his short time at Rutgers, Simon said he has already seen a transformation within himself.
"It's been really good process," Simon said. "Lots of development as a player and a person has gone on during the spring. It's just been a great experience through all my teammates, support from family and the coaching staff. It's been really great."
The redshirt freshman, with offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson back for another season, is continuing to get more comfortable with the playbook and the execution of the plays.
"We've had plenty of time to go over the offense," Simon said. "Lots of practices, meeting time, lots of help from other players. From last year to this point, I think a lot of big steps have been taken, not only by me but by the offensive line, the skill guys, all around. Just a lot of development has come about."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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