Greg Schiano returns home to Rutgers

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Greg Schiano was formally introduced as Rutgers football’s next coach on Wednesday morning and it was a monumental day for the university and the athletics department.

Schiano, a Wyckoff, N.J. native, spent 11 seasons in Piscataway as the leader of the Scarlet Knights from 2001-2011, and now he’s back.

“Well, it’s great to be home,” Schiano said. “It really is.”

The chance that Schiano was coming back was all but dead on Nov. 24, but AD Patt Hobbs and those involved in the negotiating process all came back to the table worked out a deal with many thanks to Rutgers fans.

“I want to thank our fans. The incredible show of support; the show of our passion, that was awesome, that's what New Jersey is about,” Schiano said. “That's what's going to allow us to do the things we're going to do.”

After his thank-yous, Schiano gave a pump-up, pregame locker room-like speech and Rutgers is committed to building the program into a contender.

“What just transpired was an incredible effort by our university,” the 53-year-old said. “You can't say any more that Rutgers is not all in. Rutgers is all-in. Now it's our turn. Starts with me, our players. Our fans. Our boosters. Everybody's got to go all in, because here is the problem, we entered the Big Ten Conference a few years ago and the teams that we're looking up at right now, they are not waiting for Rutgers: Hey, come on guys, catch it, not even happening. They are moving.”

The task to rebuild the team will be a challenge considering the Scarlet Knights are in one of the toughest leagues in the country and toughest division with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State.

“I used to say we are chasing a moving target. Now I'm going to say it this way: We got to pass a moving target, and those are big targets, and it's going to take every single person, everyone,” Schiano said. “Again, we're chasing some big dudes. No, we're passing, that's what we've got to do. We ain't chasing. We're passing and that's got to happen, and it's going to take every single one of us to do it. But the real beauty of this thing, people in New Jersey know how to work. They are not afraid of work. Not afraid to get after it. But we collectively showed what can happen. That's got to be our leaping-off point. We can't do this because it's just starting. Here we go.”

In order to make it happen, he’s calling Rutgers fans everywhere to chip in.

“So yeah if you got a lot of money, we need your money, make no mistake about it. But if you don't have a lot of money, we need you on the Scarlet Walk. We need that packed. We need you in that stadium. We need that stadium packed because those kids lay it on the line, and we don't need it -- with all due respect, we don't need it when we're seventh in the country, fifth in the country, first in the country. We need it right now. Not the beginning of the season. We need it right now.

“When you're around the water cooler, you're around the coffee machine at work, we need you promoting Rutgers Football. Those block arm magnets, they have to be on your car. We have to create the importance, every single one of us. That has to happen.”

Schiano also mentioned that if Rutgers is going to be successful, the entire Garden State has to come together and be one.

“It's really important now that we all come together,” Schiano said. “Collectively, here on campus; collectively in the State of New Jersey. New Jersey has always been a place, and I said this 19 years ago, it's always been a place, north Jersey, south Jersey. You know what, we really had it cranking here. There was no division. There was no division in high school football and there was no division on what there was. New Jersey, look, they have got the Giants and the Jets, you've got the Eagles, right -- I get it. You have two major cities that border our state. There's one thing that's all about just us, and that's Rutgers, and it's Rutgers University, Rutgers athletics and Rutgers Football.

“So we have a great opportunity to join everybody together, and that's what we need to do.

One of the main mantras Schiano instilled in his first go-around with the Scarlet Knights was “Keep choppin’”. After former coach Chris Ash did away with it, Schiano has bought it back.

“When we got good and it got exciting here, everybody did this (chop hand motion), and I'm not sure everybody knows what this means. As an assistant coach, I sat in a meeting room, and there was a sports psychologist by the name of Kevin Elko. We were 3-3 at the University of Miami, and we thought we might get fired and that's before the great run occurred there, and we were going up to play Boston College and he said: You guys, you're in the middle of the woods and it's pitch dark and it's cold, and you've got two choices: You can curl up and die or in essence get fired, or you can pick up an axe, pick one tree, look at the spot on that tree, and grab that axe as tight as you can and haul off and hit that spot,” Schiano said on how the chop came to be.

“But it's not going to do much. You've got to look at that spot with great focus and great concentration and do it again and do it again, and do it again, and eventually, 400, 500 strokes later, you're going to start to hear something -- poof. That's when you take a rest, pat yourself on the back, and then pick a new tree and start on that, and pretty soon that dark forest, a little light starts to show. You keep doing it, before you know it, you're where you want to be. That's the way it's going to work, and I'm going to make no mistake about it because I've never done anything in my life, anything, other than be to be the very best.”

Schiano went 68-67 during his first stint at Rutgers including 59-28 in his final six years. He guided the Scarlet Knights to five bowl game victories in six tries in his last seven years. He took over a team that had just 11 wins in five seasons under Terry Shea. He took over the doormat of college football so to speak, yet he was able to make something of it.

Schiano wants a National Championship, and maybe it’ll happen one day, there are numerous steps that need to be taken beforehand.

“When I stood up here 19 years ago, and I said, "Rutgers Football will be national champions," I got a lot of laughs, a lot of smirks, a lot of people said, "Oh, yeah, yeah." We got to No. 7. We couldn't do it. A lot of water under the bridge since then,” Schiano said. “ I'm not saying it's going to be overnight. We know that. It's going to take a lot of hard work, a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players. We have university support.

“But I would never ask a player to sit in one of these seats, go down in that weight room, go down on that field, if it wasn't to be the very best. That is our goal and it will never change: To hoist a National Championship trophy and be No. 1 in the country, to be the best.”

In order to get it done, he again called upon the fans and New Jersey to keep chopping.

“So that's what it's going to take,” he said. “It's going to take everybody in this state, everybody who cares about Rutgers and who cares about New Jersey, to pick up the axe, look at the spot, and just start chopping and don't worry about what happens next. Just look at the spot and keep hitting it until that tree falls. I'm thrilled to be back. Can't wait to get this done.”

Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.

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