10/13/2022 football Edit

QB Noah Vedral discusses Rutgers' offensive coordinator changes

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

It hasn’t been the final season of college for Noah Vedral that he hoped as the Rutgers Football quarterback has dealt with a hand injury. Now, he’s adjusting to the firing of offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson and having Nunzio Campanile shift from tight ends coach to OC and QBs coach.

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“Coach Gleeson was a really good man and a talented coach,” Vedral said. “I appreciate everything he did for me and what he taught me during our time together. I wish him the best and he has a bright future.

“Our team loved coach Gleeson. He’s a good man. He worked his tail off for us. There was some sadness for his departure. We made sure we reached out and thanked him for all the stuff he did for us. But then there’s this work approach where we have this new challenge in front of us. That’s been the attitude of the team. We dove in head first. Maybe in a bye week you take things lighter, but with change comes work and I’ve been proud of the guys. Our guys have been smart in learning this the best we could.”

Coaching changes happen a lot, but it’s not particularly common for them to take place in the middle of the season, something Vedral doesn’t have experience with. Nonetheless, he’s taking it in stride and looking forward to finishing the season strong.

“It’s definitely different and it’s a new thing for me. I’m embracing the change,” Vedral said. “I’m excited to work with coach Nunz. He’s a talented coach. He knows a lot and has worked with a lot of great quarterbacks over the years as a coach. Excited to learn everything from him now.”

The offense has had its share of struggles for a long time really dating back to around 2014, but Gleeson was in charge of that side of the ball since the 2020 campaign.

“You can probably look at any two-year stretch, even good offenses and find some struggles,” Vedral said. “I leave that for coach Schiano to liberate and decide on. My job is to make whatever they put in front of us work, and I did that to the best of my abilities and all of us will continue to do that.”

Vedral had a great connection with Gleeson while he was here and he was a major factor in him transferring from Nebraska over to Rutgers. The quarterback also mentioned he has a good relationship with Campanile.

“Coach Nunz, he’s obviously been here for my whole time here. He’s awesome,” Vedral said. “It’s been fun to have lunch with him. He’s a New Jersey high school football legend, so there’s some fun, amazing stories about the players he’s coached and interacted with. He’s a great guy with a great demeanor. He’s positive and has a teach you why mentality. I’m excited to work with him.”

This will be the first time that Campanile has directly coached Vedral and his position group, and he’s been excited to learn from Campanile how he coaches quarterbacks.

“We’ve done some things more tailored to what he believes in and has worked for him in the past,” Vedral said. “It’s been cool to get a new perspective. I love the game of football and I’m not stubborn where I want to do things one way or the other. It’s been fun to start learning from him. It’s starting to unfold.”

Vedral, though, didn’t reveal any specifics on how the offense will look come Oct. 22 when the Scarlet Knights host Indiana at noon.

“I’m not going to get into good detail about that. Coach is smart and has a great plan for us,” Vedral said. “We’ve been working on it and we will continue to work on it next week.”

Vedral completed six passes for 133 yards in the last game against Nebraska, but he was not out there for the team’s final drive late in the fourth quarter despite Evan Simon already throwing two interceptions in the game. Simon went on to throw his third and essentially ending the game.

Schiano said Vedral has had some grip issues as he works his strength back with his hand.

“It’s a process,” Vedral said. “Just like I told you guys last week, it’s week to week and day to day. Everything is monitored and planned out. It’s about sticking to the routine.”