Q&A with Rutgers Football cornerback Robert Longerbeam
Rutgers Football cornerback Robert Longerbeam enters his final season on the banks and he is planning on making it a big one, as he's now a veteran amongst the cornerback group.
Longerbeam spoke with the media this week about his final year, training camp and much more.
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Q: After the first couple days of camp, how are you guys feeling? What’s the mood like around here?
Robert Longerbeam: It’s been good, fun being back out there with the guys running around. It’s just been a good thing seeing everybody back out there running.
Q: You’ve been through quite a few camps, is there anything different about this one?
RL: [In] this camp, I’m really in a leadership role. We’ve got a lot of older guys, it’s an older group, a more mature group, so we know what to expect and we know how to lead now.
Q: You mentioned it’s not only a veteran-led defense, but you’re also returning the same defensive coordinator for the third year in a row, how important is that?
RL: It’s really important because of how good of a coach Coach [Joe] Harasymiak is, he makes it more about a team effort, the whole dark side is one person. He’s a great leader and it’s great having him at home base because he teaches uf how to lead and makes us want to play better for each other.
Q: You told a great story on your podcast with [Greg] Schiano re-recruiting you back to Rutgers. What was it like seeing that guy on your couch when you walked in the house?
RL: It was crazy, I was shocked, but that just shows you the kind of guy Coach [Schiano] is. He loves his guys and he’ll do anything for them and that shows the sacrifice he’ll make and I’m so thankful he did that and that I’m still here and able to play for him.
Q: There are a lot of people saying a lot of good things about Rutgers football these days in the national media, a lot of expectations, how do you guys deal with that internally?
RL: We don’t pay attention to it, right now it’s just about getting better during training camp, all focus is on training camp, getting better. We have a lot of the same guys [returning] so getting better, growing together, gelling together, that’s what it’s about right now.
Q: What’s it like having to play without Max [Melton] back there?
RL: Max is such a great player, he’ll be missed, but we have a lot of guys ready to step up. But Max was a guy that you wish you could play with again, but I’m happy to see him at the next level.
Q: You mentioned before that it’s year three under [Coach] Harasymiak, Coach [Kirk] Ciarrocca on the other side always says it takes three to four years to master an offense. Do you think you’ve mastered defense by now?
RL: Personally, I think I’m at the best of my understanding with this defense. I feel like I’m at a peak level. As a defense, yes, we’ve got a lot of older guys teaching the younger guys the defense. Our coach says you don’t really know it until you can teach it, so that shows we’re learning it so it’s good to see the older guys help the young guys and everybody’s getting to the level of knowing the defense of where we need to be to be able to play fast.
Q: What would you say your goal for the secondary is and for yourself this season?
RL: We just have to get the ball more, whatever that takes, find a way to get the ball back to our offense.
Q: Coach Schiano mentioned wide receivers, a position that’s had a lot of position battles, a lot of competition there. You’re obviously on the other side, in the early days of camp, are there any guys that are standing out or any interesting young guys?
RL: A lot of guys are showing a lot of flashes. I like the whole group, honestly. Adding Dymere [Miller] from Monmouth, he was a big pickup, I like the whole receiver room, they look good.
Q: Coach Schiano says Dymere moves a little different, do you see that when you’re going up against him in practice?
RL: Yes sir, he’s a very smooth runner, and then his cuts, he’s fast.
Q: Last year, you said you wanted to put on some more size in the offseason, how did that go?
RL: Good, Coach JB [Jay Butler] got us way stronger, the whole team. I think we’re in a great position. I’ve started to bench press some more, my max went up, so there’s a lot of good things.
Q: What have you seen from Bo Mascoe over the offseason in his development and training?
RL: He’s playing football now, so he’s able to be with the team this year. He’s getting more comfortable at the position, you see a lot of great things from him. He’s a young guy who has a lot of leadership qualities in our room, so he’s more vocal nowadays. He knows the defense because he was able to practice, he knows the understanding of the defense, and now he’s able to play fast and he looks good out there.
Q: Your mom’s a track coach, I’m curious what it’s like being her son and if you have any good track memories with the Olympics coming up.
RL: My mom went to TC Williams [now Alexandria City High School] where Noah Lyles and Josephus Lyles ran, so when I first got there, we watched them run. It was just different, Noah’s so fast, just seeing him run. In my first few years, my mom would try to get me to run track, but I was so involved in football because my dad was a coach. It wasn’t important to me, but then she got me to run. I was on the 4x1 with them, and we won, but it was really cool just to see her smile because that’s her passion.
Q: You guys have debated on your podcast about who the fastest guy on the team is, where do you rank in that hierarchy?
RL: There’s a lot of guys who can run on this team. Seeing us this summer, I think a lot of guys got faster. Since that podcast, there’s more guys that you can now add into that conversation. I think the only way to solve it is we have to line up and race one day.
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