Rutgers Football Head Coach Greg Schiano talks with the media to recap the loss to Illinois and preview the upcoming game against Michigan State on Saturday afternoon.
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GREG SCHIANO: Appreciate you coming out, covering us. Certainly a painful loss on Saturday. But we had a good day of meetings yesterday. Learned from it. And we've moved on.
We've got a great opportunity Saturday out in East Lansing against Michigan State. Really good football team. They have played -- they have lost six games, all of them to ranked opponents, and they are I think a really well-balanced complementary team.
Offensively, the quarterback, 2, Chiles; a tremendous athlete. Really, a quarterback that you can see is just getting better and better each week. We recruited him. We're very familiar with him. We really wanted him. He ended up going to Oregon State and now he's at Michigan State but somebody that we really thought was an excellent player.
Their running backs. Both of them, Carter and Lynch-Adams, who we know him very well. He was here when we first arrived. Then the receivers, 3, Foster and the true freshman, Marsh, 6, I mean, they are really good players. So have our hands full there. Offensive line is big. Bruising group. Big Ten group.
D-Line, you flip over to the other side, very big, stout group. Very good against the run. Then last week, they got after the passer. Number 2, the rush, Bogle, is -- can really be disruptive in his pass rush stuff.
The two linebackers are really good players. Haladay, 27, he seems like he's been there forever. Throw back guy. I love the way -- no gloves, no tape, no nothing. Just goes out and plays ball.
Then Turner, the kid from Wisconsin, has really found a home there and is doing well.
The back end, they have had some injuries. But Coach Rossi, who we all know well, is in our tree, is an excellent football coach, and you can see that he's got them playing this defense really well. Which is a testament to him in his first year to be able to get that done.
And then in the kicking game, their kicker and punter are both, you know, top in the country.
So I think it's a huge challenge going on the road, playing a team that's certainly motivated with Bowl aspirations but I don't worry about the other team. I learn about the other team. We use it to educate ourselves but our team has overcome adversity all season and they will overcome it again. That's how we're going to approach the week, get ready to go out there and play a great Big Ten football game.
Q. Going off what we just said about overcoming adversity, what have you seen from them all season, the way that they have handled this, and how do you feel it's prepared them to handle this right now, turning the page quickly on a loss like what happened the other day?
GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, I think that's what the chop is all about. I don't want you to think it's some kind of slogan. It's not. It's a way of life. To be able to keep hitting that spot over and over again, no matter if it's good or bad, and we've had a lot with the injuries and all those things. We've had a lot of things that can test your will, test your focus, and I think our guys have done a very good job. Here is another opportunity.
The injury situation, you know I do that on the availability report, but it is what is it. Nothing you can do about it.
Q. What was your self-evaluation like after the game and your decisions at the end of the game specifically calling a timeout on the kick? Did you address any of that on self-reflection?
GREG SCHIANO: Nothing's changed since last time we talked. Literally with the team and myself, we've moving on -- not moving forward -- we have moved on actually. Not moving forward on. Have a huge challenge from us, but yeah, since I last saw.
Q. It seems like the last two weeks you've seen an uptick in the defensive backfield penalties. Anything in particular you can point to as something you're trying to remedy that or is it like the wide receivers you faced or anything you noticed?
GREG SCHIANO: I think it's a great question. It has a combination of all those things. I think situationally, the receivers we've played, those are two elite groups of receivers that we faced but we are going to be facing another group this week. We've gotten a little handsy, which you can't do. We've got to remedy it for sure. It was factor for sure.
Q. With all the injuries, especially on the defensive side of the ball, how difficult is it to do what you want to do always and how many adjustments do you have to make in the moment or throughout the week to supplement or augment that?
GREG SCHIANO: Yeah, it is difficult. I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's not but that's why you're a coach. That's our job is to figure it out. Coach Harasymiak, myself, the defensive staff, we have to figure it out and as the game goes, sometimes you lose players in the game. Sometimes you lose a lot of players in the game and when it's at the same position, that's a struggle.
And you've got to really think hard, okay, how are we going to do this. Now, we plan all that in advance. We go through and we have depth charts, things how you're going to sub. But just because you have the names on list doesn't mean that they are at the same preparation level that the guys that were one or two spots ahead of them, otherwise they would have been at that spot. But that's what team football is about, and when the guy gets his chance, we do everything to make sure they are prepared to go do it. It's hard.
Q. As Kyle goes into his last regular season game, how do you put his time in perspective? What has meant for this program over these last couple of years?
GREG SCHIANO: I'm going to save the big, big picture stuff for the end next week. But Kyle has just been a tremendous player for us over and over and over again. You talk about answering the bell. But that's what we all see, the fans see, you guys see.
What people don't see is how he prepares each and every day in this building and what a great example he is, not only in the running back room, but to our team. And you know, I'm excited that we get two more chances to do it together. This one, we're going to need him big time, right. We are going into a 3:30 kick. Right now the temperature is going to be high of 27. It's nice, no wind, ever out there East Lansing, right? It will be Big Ten football at its best and two teams that have got a lot on the line. I'm excited about it.
Q. With the way your offense is now operating at a high level, do you feel that you are playing the type of complementary football that you've expected from this program?
GREG SCHIANO: We have, I think the offense is improving -- to take off on the first part of your question. Complementary football is really hard to play. I didn't think we did a great job on special teams this week. We have at other times this year. This week was not one of those. We have to be better in our special teams, and that is the bridge between the O and the D. When that doesn't work, then complementary football, it's very hard to play complementary football.
I thought our specialist did a good job. I didn't think our special teams did a good job. But that's something that we've dealt with and we've moved on and we'll be better this week.
Q. Touching on Kyle, the final drive, he didn't have a single carry, which is unusual for the offense but he had several key blocks picking up on the blitzes. Can you talk about him and his pass protection and what he brings?
GREG SCHIANO: He's a very good pass protector, not only the physical act of pass protecting but understanding the schemes, understanding the defenses, the blitzes, the coverages. He's a very, very -- like I said, you don't get to see it but the way he prepares is a great example for our whole team, all the way through the event, Friday nights at the hotel, Saturdays during the game. He really is a profession until this way.
Q. Rogers looked like he was in pain at the end of the game. Do you foresee him playing this week?
GREG SCHIANO: As you know, the availability report is what I go to.
He's okay. So for the fans that are concerned, he's okay. But we'll get into the availability when it happens on Saturday.
Q. Like you mentioned, a guy like Kay'ron Lynch-Adams, you only had him for one year, wasn't the starter, in that one year, did you see that potential of him being a potential lead back in that one year?
GREG SCHIANO: I did. I was disappointed when he left. I liked the young man, and I also really liked the football player. And I can remember exactly where I was when he called me to tell me he was leaving. I was truly disappointed, and really tried to keep him.
But I got it. I understood why. You know, you had this guy by the name of Pacheco in front of him, and he's a pretty good player, too. But you know, it's not like I have stayed in touch with him but I have a little bit. I really respect him. He's a hard-working kid. He's a really tough football and I love the way he played. I loved what he did. He was a team guy. I was disappointed when we lost him, and I'm not surprised that he's having success, and that he's having success now.
He's someone that we have to stop now for sure.
Thanks, guys, appreciate it.
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