4/8/2024 football Edit

Rutgers Football WR Christian Dremel readies for final season on the Banks

Alec Crouthamel • TheKnightReport

Staff Writer

Beat writer for women's basketball here at TKR, as well as covering all other things Scarlet Knights. Also working as a broadcaster with WRSU student radio and hoping to do more in the future!

With spring practices fully underway for Rutgers Football, contributors like wide receiver Christian Dremel are looking to build off individual strong seasons as the Scarlet Knights look to return to a bowl game in 2024.

Dremel broke out as one of the top receiving options for Rutgers in 2023 with 36 receptions for 468 yards and three touchdowns, pacing the Scarlet Knights in all three categories. He quickly became one of Gavin Wimsatt's most reliable weapons, using his shiftiness and soft hands to find open spots within the defense. That skillset, plus his 5-foot-9, 185-pound frame puts him in the mold of a classic slot receiver.

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Dremel, a former walk-on put on scholarship in 2021, had an extra year of eligibility thanks to the COVID year and redshirting his freshman season in 2019. He chose to spurn the NFL to spend his sixth and final college football season as a Scarlet Knight.

"It wasn't too hard of a decision to come back," he said. "I kind of knew I was coming back after last season. So to be able to do that is super cool... Having that sixth year was cool. I'm definitely lucky to have that opportunity to have one more season here and go out the way we all want to go out."

Dremel may even have a new signal caller throwing him the ball as well. Wimsatt and Minnesota transfer Athan Kaliakmanis are battling for the starting quarterback job, but Dremel says the competition is bringing the best out of both of them.

"It just cool to see both competing and working with each other," he noted. "They're good friends, it's cool to see. But they definitely push each other, so it's awesome. They're out on the field, working with all the receivers and just competing so it's cool to see."

After his breakout senior campaign, the Don Bosco Prep product was named a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, awarded to the top college football player who began his career as a walk-on. Even if opposing defenses have a full year of film on him, Dremel is ready for the challenges that come with this upcoming season and bringing the Scarlet Knights to even further heights.

"I feel like it's the same mindset," he said. "I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help the team succeed. I'm not trying to think about too much what I did last year, but my expectations for myself are always going to be high. But whatever I can do to help the team win is what I'm going to do."

Though Dremel - and the Rutgers offense as a whole - did not produce many chunk plays in the passing game, he still had his share of highlights, including a 69-yard touchdown on the Scarlet Knights' opening drive against the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines at the Big House.

Despite the relatively conservative nature of the Scarlet Knights' offense, Dremel is ready for another year under offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca's tutelage. As one of the elder statesmen in the wide receiver room, Dremel takes pride in his role as a veteran for Rutgers.

"[Ciarrocca] obviously being here for another year now is cool because I know a lot now, a lot more than I did when I first got here", he said. "To try to learn an offense, now it's a lot of familiarity. So it's definitely been cool going through it a second time now. Trying to have that beginner's mentality and relearn it like I didn't know it, but now I do know it so it clicks a little bit faster, but it's been cool."

To add to the continuity within the offense, head coach Greg Schiano and his staff also brought reinforcements to the wide receiver room in the transfer portal. Starting alongside Dremel on the outside will likely be Dymere Miller from Monmouth and Naseim Brantley from Western Illinois. Brantley can finally play after missing the 2023 season due to a lengthy eligibility battle with the NCAA. Both bring speed and big play ability to the offense.

"It's definitely good to have him back," Dremel said of Brantley. "He's a big body, he has great hands, he's a good teammate. He has worked his butt off so it's good to have him back."

While Rutgers is likely to remain a run-first offense, improved options in the passing game and a potential for more consistency give the Scarlet Knights another dimension to attack teams with the ball in their hands, especially given the raised expectations for the 2024 season.

The most important mindset for Rutgers? Maintain the culture that Schiano and Co. have set in since day one, a culture that Dremel is very familiar with.

"The vibe is what it always has been. We all live by the culture here. We take it day-by-day and we try to stay in the moment. It's definitely exciting to have everyone back but we just keep going about our business."