3/3/2021 football Edit

Rutgers Special Teams was a threat in 2020, aiming for record breaking 2021

Richie O'Leary • TheKnightReport

Publisher

The Rutgers Football special teams unit as a whole had a pretty big 2020 season under Special Team Coordinator Adam Scheier, as the unit combined for 11 field goals, two kick return touchdowns and one punt return touchdown.

However, despite the big year in 2020, coach Scheier and his players are expecting an even bigger year in 2021 and it starts with spring ball.

"Spring will be a great opportunity for us to really get back to some of the fundamentals," Scheier said in the video press conference. "You kind of miss out on that when you really just jump into the season and you have to get schemes installed. It will be a great opportunity for us to evaluate some younger players, some of the guys on campus right now and I'm excited to get them in the fold. Also the veterans who are returning and were with us last year, we have to get them more sound from a technical standpoint and better understand our schemes. Real excited to get those 15 extra practices to take the foundation that we laid and see if we can build on it."

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As mentioned before, the Scarlet Knights had some big special teams play last year led by dangerous return man Aron Cruickshank, who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Despite the big first season from Cruickshank, coach Scheier thinks his unit left a lot of yards on the field and can become even more explosive.

"I'm very excited, I think Aron had a great season. We knew what he was as a returner coming in and he stuck with the process and the plan. He took one pretty far in the Michigan State game, obviously had the two touchdowns late in the season. As you go back and watch the film. I must've watched the kickoff return cutups over and over again, probably around 75 times and you just see so many yards left on the field.

"As we take this next step in the next year or two and get a full spring ball and preseason camp, we have to get better on that unit. As explosive as it was, we have to get better and I think we will. We got good players on that unit, we are confident in the schemes and obviously when you have a returner like that and add a couple other returners like Josh Youngblood and Bo Melton, it's got to be an explosive offensive play for us. That's the mentality we take, we are the first play of the offensive series and if we don't take it to the end zone, we have to give our offense the shortest field to operate on."

Coach Scheier mentioned that along with Cruickshank, Rutgers also managed to add the Big 12 Special Teams player of the year to the team this offseason as former Kansas State WR/KR Joshua Youngblood joined the program.

"He (Josh) is another outstanding talent," said Scheier. "This is a very competitive situation and this program is competitive in everything that we do, whether it's February and March or September, October, November, December, January, we're here competing. We have a bunch of talented returners and it's our job as a staff to evaluate them, get the best players on the field and find ways to get the ball in their hands. Josh will factor in as a punt returner and factor in as a kick returner. It's going to be exciting with some of the things that we will be able to do with the return game."

The combo of Youngblood and Cruickshank has already proved to be deadly in the past as the duo have a combined seven career kick returns for touchdowns, but now that they are together they have some big goals for 2021.

"Josh and I were just working out downstairs," Cruickshank said. "He's a great guy, great dude and I love him already. We are creating that great bond cause he already knows that he is coming on that KOR team and we are trying to break that record. Yeah it's competition, but we are trying to push each other. When they kick it to him, I got to get his block and when they kick it to me vice versa. I just want to show him that I am there for him if he needs help and it's only up from here."

Stay tuned on The Knight Report for more on Rutgers Football Special Teams Coordinator Adam Scheier and Wide Receiver / Kick Returner Aron Cruickshank!