After a lengthy delay, we’re back in our Rutgers football spring position previews, this time with the defensive line.

Last season, six different lineman received starts for the program and four of those defensive lineman return in 2021 for the Scarlet Knights including both of their likely starting defensive ends. In 2020, the defensive line showed some signs of improvement such as being a big part of a defense that had the sixth most tackles for a loss in the country but overall it was still a struggle. Opposing offenses rushed for over 200-yards per game which ranked 99th in the country and the defensive line struggled to get to the quarterback with their 21 sacks ranking 56th in the country, a solid but not great number.

That being said, as mentioned above, four different lineman who received at least one start last season return in 2021 which is only good news for the defense. With an experienced group leading the way on the defensive line, there will be no excuse for the position group as a whole not to take a step forward this spring, summer, and most importantly, this upcoming fall.

Let’s take a quick look at those four players returning in 2021 who made starts last season.

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