10/25/2022 football Edit

WR Sean Ryan comes up big with TD, hopes to contribute more

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

The Rutgers football team’s offense has been trying to find some semblance of a passing game all season long, and it finally got a jolt from wide receiver Sean Ryan this past week.

In the Scarlet Knights’ win over Indiana, Rutgers was already down by 14 points and needed to get going on offense. Quarterback Noah Vedral connected with Ryan on three receptions on a key drive that put Rutgers back in the game.

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First the two completed a pass near the sideline for 28 yards. Then they found each other for a 16-yard gain. Vedral then threw a 15-yard touchdown to Ryan in the back left corner of the end zone.

“Amazing moment for us. It was a huge game for us against a good football team,” Ryan said. “We needed that especially coming off the loss to Nebraska. Just needed to play hard as a team. I wanted to do my job and execute. Hats off to Indiana, but we came out victorious.”

Those happened to be Ryan’s only catches of the game. He finished with four targets, adding another later in the second quarter.

“I happened to get in a rhythm,” Ryan said. “Sometimes you can feel like you’re in a rhythm and you understand the play call when you’re going to get the ball. I go hard every time, but I had to make my plays that were for me. We needed it and I was grateful I was able to help the team.”

Ryan now has 223 receiving yards on the season and has scored in two of the last three games. Head coach Greg Schiano envisioned Ryan making big catches down the field Rutgers scooped him up from West Virginia.

“It is. He's a bigger guy. We don't really have very many of those guys,” Schiano said. “When you're talking about competing for a 50/50 ball, well, why does it have to be 50/50? If you give him a chance, the receiver clearly has the advantage. He's got really strong hands, he's got a good frame, and he can go up and get the football.

“He also has good hands when he's running routes inward, breaking routes, which you're going to get hit on. So I think he has a chance to really -- I think he's got a feel for what we're doing. I think we've learned what he's best at, so I think he's got a chance to do this here in the back half of the season.”

Depending on the game play, Ryan could be more of a focal point for the offense going forward. Either way, he just wants to make plays when his number is called.

“The coaches really just make the game play and our job is to execute that,” Ryan said. “We work hard, put our head down, and grind. We don’t look at the scoreboard or look at results (stats), we just want to get better. At the beginning of the season I struggled with that, but I want to be an impact player for this offense. That’s something I really honed on. The whole group.”

All three of Ryan’s grabs on Saturday were unbelievably difficult ones where he had defenders on him. Yet, he was still able to pluck the ball out of the air and get a foot down.

“Just my preparation during the week with the guys and our coaches,” Ryan said. “We spend a lot of time on the jugs machine, a lot of time catching extra balls after practice, or in the meeting room getting mental reps. Making these catches is part of my game and what I wanted to do when I came here. I want to win and do my job.”

Ryan and the rest of the wide receivers were happy to see Vedral back fully and play the whole game. He also noted the whole QB room is improving.

“Noah’s a great guy,” Ryan said. “He’s a veteran guy and a leader on this team. He weathers the storm, and I’ll do anything he asks me to do. He’s our big brother. We love that QB room. They work hard together. We all get on the same page. They fight for one another and push each other to get better. We want to make plays for whoever is out there. They go through a lot.”

Rutgers’ defense ranks high in many categories. Ryan knows the offense isn’t nearly at that level, but that side of the ball needs to do its job to keep everybody fresh so they can be as stout as they have been up to this point of the year.

“It’s about playing complementary football,” Ryan said. “We have to keep our defense off the field. Those guys play hard and when they keep going on the field, that’s when they get fatigued. We want to capitalize on the turnovers they may create and make big plays. We want to show we have each other’s back.”