8/3/2023 football Edit

The latest news / notes from Rutgers Football Training Camp

Richie O'Leary • TheKnightReport

Publisher

Rutgers Football training camp has officially kicked off today as the team prepares for the upcoming season opener against Northwestern on Sunday, September 3rd.

With that being said, here's a quick look at what head coach Greg Schiano said, along with the practice notes and a few notable changes to the roster.

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THE 2023 RFOOTBALL ROSTER (SORT OF)....

Rutgers Football released their roster today and there aren't too many notable changes on there, but I did notice two position switches.

— Q’yaeir Price has been moved back to tight end. He originally came in as a defensive lineman, but played FB/TE in year one and then moved back to DL this past spring. However now he is listed as a TE once again.

— Dariel Djabome has been moved from linebacker to defensive lineman, spent the 2022 season at linebacker and appeared in all 12 games.

**Full roster with heights / weights should be made available next week**

SCHIANO'S FIRST PRESSER OF CAMP....

As always, Rutgers Football's first day of training camp is followed by a press conference from head coach Greg Schiano and he had a couple of interesting things to say.....

On day one of training camp....

"I think the guys did a really good job and they came out ready to practice. The rules have changed a bit because back in the old days, you haven't seen them all summer and you weren't allowed to, but now you're allowed to work with them a little bit. They hit the ground running and I think they did a good job, I was pleased."

On Gavin Wimsatt....

"Being a leader number one. Then taking command of the offense and making it his offense, knowing it inside and out and being able to problem solve. I remember Kirk (Ciarrocca) saying it in the beginning, when we go to play a game I want him to be the coach on the field. Learning those expertise and what he's doing and obviously the physical skills will takeover."

On the Wide Receiver position battle....

"It's a great battle right now, we have a combination of youth and experience with the two fellas we brought in from the transfer portal in Naseim (Brantley) and JaQuae (Jackson), they are working well. I think Isaiah Washington, a sixth year senior who's been here a long time is hitting his stride. Chris Long and a whole slew of others who are really good, young players that just need to play. So we need to make sure provide enough repetitions and we two-spot a lot of drills so everyone is getting reps and then we have a lot of tape to watch between now and meetings this afternoon. It's a lot, but it's worth it, players learn by doing and the more they can do it, the better they are going to get."

On the offensive line group....

"We weren't trying to rotate the O-Line, that was out of necessity and not preference. I would love to have five guys that play together the whole time, that's the way you want it to be and then you have subs that are there incase people get dinged or have an equipment issue, but we just haven't done that. What we've done is try to mix it up, keep guys fresh and try to maximize their ability. I'm confident that we are going to have a starting five that are going to play together, I don't know who those five are going to be, but we made improvement there and we just have to continue this camp."

CHOP 4 CHANGE HOSTS CPR TRAINING FOR COACHES

Rutgers Football hosted CPR and AED training this past weekend and over 90+ youth football coaches from the New Jersey and New York area were in attendance.

“The critical role of emergency medical staff at athletic events was highlighted on the national stage in January when Damar Hamlin collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest during an NFL football game and received immediate life-saving Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) care,” said Lee Bender of Rutgers Emergency Services.

“Much closer to home, community-hosted sporting events are held throughout the year without the fanfare or resources as their professional or collegiate counterparts. Youth sports coaches and parents fill the critical roles of coach, mentor, supporter, manager, athletic trainer and emergency first aid provider. Taking a few hours to learn how to perform CPR and use an AED on someone experiencing sudden cardiac arrest while awaiting emergency medical personnel will make the difference in an outcome. This weekend, Rutgers Emergency Services, in partnership with Rutgers Athletics, was honored to provide participating coaches invaluable skills that they will share with their teams as they prepare for their seasons both on and off the field.”