10/25/2020 football Edit

QB Noah Vedral gives the Rutgers offense a jolt, finds a home

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

Noah Vedral became the seventh different starting quarterback to start the last seven season openers for Rutgers football including the third graduate transfer in a a row on Saturday in the Scarlet Knights' 38-27 win over Michigan State.

Vedral, a fourth-year junior from Nebraska, earned the trust from head coach Greg Schiano and offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson and he proved to provide a jolt to an offense that was abysmal the last couple of years.

Vedral completed 18-of-29 passes for a touchdown and an interception and ran nine times for a net of 24 yards. He also had a 24-yard touchdown run that put Rutgers ahead 21-7 in the second quarter.

“I made my mistakes so I will have stuff to clean up on. We will get that worked out this week. But I feel comfortable,” Vedral said after the game. “Coach Gleeson did a really good job getting myself and all the quarterbacks ready to run this stuff. He does a really good job of looking at what he has and building stuff around what he has and keeping his identity as a play-caller; developing a fast, physical team that we hope to continue to be."

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Vedral didn't take too many deep shots, and he doesn't have the strongest arm in the world, but he was able to extend plays with his legs and throw on the run.

He did enough, and then some.

"I just think that overall he won the competition. Noah certainly had a productive game and gave us a chance," head coach Greg Schiano said. "Some of his mobility allowed him to escape and make some plays. That was critical."

Vedral's first score as a Scarlet Knight was his rush on a 2nd-and-11 play and he talked about it as well.

“It was kind of an RPO setup play,” Vedral said. “The defense kind of gave us what we wanted and that was my job, keep the ball and get what I can.”

The Wahoo, NE. native wasn't the only signal caller to get playing time however as redshirt sophomore Johnny Langan saw time in goal line, running packages. Langan scored Rutgers' second touchdown on a 1-yard keeper, and that's nothing new for Schiano, who has in the past played two quarterbacks in a game, and for Gleeson, who has used multiple quarterbacks even on one play before.

"Sean did that two years ago with Princeton with multiple quarterbacks so he has experience with doing stuff like that. Again, I don't think we have begun to scratch the surface of our packages because you can only do a little bit at a time as you're building a program," Schiano said. "I think Johnny is a very unique talent and we need to find ways to involve him in the game. I think Sean is the right guy to do that, so I'm going to see where he takes the position, whatever that might be."

Next week, Vedral and the Scarlet Knights get their first home game of 2020 against an Indiana team that just upset the No. 8-ranked team in the country, Penn State, in overtime. That game is on Halloween at 3:30 p.m. in Piscataway.

Last season with the Cornhuskers, Vedral completed 14-of-16 passes for 201 yards with two rushing scores and a reception against the Hoosiers.

Vedral noted that he wanted to find a home, he feels at home, and he'll be at home inside the confines of SHI Stadium on Oct. 31. He'll look to keep momentum going against Indiana.

"This place feels like home," Vedral said. "I’ve been looking for a home, and these guys welcomed me and I’m glad we were able to bring home a ‘W.’ ''