Rutgers Football HC Greg Schiano talks injuries, offseason at Golf Outing
Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano spoke with the media on Monday afternoon following his Charity Golf Outing in which The Knight Report foursome finished in second place coming in at nine under par at Fiddler's Elbow on Monday.
Now the outing comes on the heels of yet another busy weekend on the recruiting trail for his squad as coach Schiano talked about a variety of topics, including additions for 2023 and 2024.
“I’m excited about the class we’re putting together here, the ’24 class,” Schiano said. “It’s got some really good players, some tremendous people, guys that fit who we are. As I’ve told you guys all along, we’re looking for a very specific kind of player and person. We’re going to go wherever we have to go to find that. But it is not just what they can do on the field, it’s not the athleticism, it’s the complete guy. We look for players who love football. Like it guys, it’s not a great fit at our place. But guys who love it and are guys that have the character and the things we’re looking for to fit our culture."
Of the four 2024 commits from over the weekend, none of them hail from New Jersey. Schiano, however, has made it clear his “State of Rutgers” extends far past the Garden State.
"We’ve been more aggressively targeting areas." Schiano noted on expanding his recruiting territory. “Obviously, the Midwest, where we play many of our games in the Big Ten, which we didn’t the first time. And then, I always thought North Carolina and the Atlanta, Georgia, area, those can be areas that are easy for us, commuting between Charlotte and Atlanta, and there’s good football in those areas."
The Scarlet Knights also made an addition to its 2023 squad on Sunday, landing transfer tight end Shawn Bowman from Maine. Schiano talked about his coaching staff’s relationship with Bowman and how he projects to fit in Piscataway.
“That’s what we do best in the transfer portal,” he said. Whether that’s a connection with one of our coaches, just somehow, someway, we know them, we know their character, we know what they are about. I can watch a tape and can tell a kid can play like that”.
“When you take a guy in the portal, he better be a cultural fit,” Schiano added. “You’re taking him because he can make plays, but if he’s not a cultural fit, he can lead your team in the wrong direction if you’re not careful. Again, I think Shawn’s a tremendous fit, I think he’s going to fit in the offense but I also think he’s going to fit in the locker room and the tight end room. That’s what excites me the most."
Bowman’s addition will benefit quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, who enters a pivotal third season on the Banks. Schiano believes the work Wimsatt has put in with new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca makes the two a great fit together.
“They’re working hard together,” he said. “Look, I’m excited. I think all of our quarterbacks are getting better, but I think Gavin is really on a good trajectory right now. He’s got to keep building it. There’s no magic pill that it happens. He’s just got to do it, day-in-and-day-out, and get better”.
On the injury front, Rutgers projects to be mostly healthy heading into summer camp. That includes sophomore running back Sam Brown, who suffered a season-ending injury in the win over Indiana last season.
Sophomore wide receiver Fitzroy Ledgister will likely be down due to an Achilles injury.
As Schiano noted with his surgery, “it’s all about how fast you come back”, and couldn’t give a timetable on his return.
Sophomore offensive tackle Jacob Allen had “a little procedure done” on his knee, but Schiano thinks he will return this season.
This figures to be an extremely important season for Schiano and his staff and the Scarlet Knights have made strides to improve their roster for the present and future as they look to compete with the Big Ten’s elite.
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