8/13/2024 football Edit

Rutgers Football OL Bryan Felter looking to take next step this season

Craig Epstein • TheKnightReport

Staff Writer

It has been a long and winding journey for senior offensive lineman Bryan Felter who enters the season looking for a repeat performance from a unit that allowed the fewest sacks per game in the Big Ten (1.08).

"The message is simply just to get better every single day. Working with every guy every day on the o-line and being able to work against our d-line is a grind, but it's about getting better every single day," Felter said. "Coming in freshman year you have big eyes and are just trying to look around and see what to do, but now everything's a grind and you got to work every single day to improve and get better."

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Chemistry should not be too much of an issue for the Scarlet Knights' offensive line considering they return several key players, including Hollin Pierce, Gus Zilinskas, Reggie Sutton, and Kobe Asamoah. They will also get Tyler Needham back who started the first two games of last season at right tackle before suffering a season-ending injury.

Felter described the vibe between the group and the younger players' ability to fit right in.

"There's a lot of camaraderie, even with the young guys who came in," he said. " They came in and jumped right into the pack and really became a part of the group."

Along with giving up the fewest sacks per game in the league, Rutgers' offensive line also helped Kyle Monangai break out last season to the tune of 1,262 rushing yards to lead the Big Ten.

"Kyle's just been putting his head down and going to work every single day, he's trying to get better just like all of us," Felter said. "The rest of the running backs are doing the same, they're following his leadership and working on getting better every single day."

While Rutgers carries over several of the same players from last season, one of the biggest differences will be at signal caller when Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis takes over for Gavin Wimsatt. However, Felter has described the change as seamless and is excited to see what Kaliakmanis brings to the team on gamedays.

"Athan took over a big leadership role and he's doing well, he's doing really well of demanding excellence from everyone on offense," he said. "I don't know if I've noticed a difference yet, Gavin was a great player and Athan's also a great player so it's exciting to be here."

In addition, Felter discussed what it has been like for the team to receive some national recognition and how they have responded to the outside noise.

"Simply going back to day-by-day," he said. "Especially in camp, you want to get better every single day and grind with each other and push out that outside stuff and focus on the team and everyone else."

Felter also described the changes in mindset from last year's team heading into training camp versus his present squad.

"The biggest difference is probably just the guys working together and not looking to the future or looking back at the past," he said. "Just kind of staying in the present where we need to be."