PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Isaiah Iton stepped up on Saturday for Rutgers football, putting together a solid performance in a loss to No. 1 Ohio State.
With Mayan Ahanotu out on Saturday against Ohio State with an injury, Iton stepped up and played significant snaps for Rutgers. The defensive tackle had five total tackles in the game, tying a season-high.
Iton joined Rutgers this offseason out of the transfer portal. Through nine games for the Big Ten program, he has 24 total tackles. This represents a pretty significant step forward in his development as in his previous two seasons at Ole Miss, Iton had 24 total tackles.
For head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag], the upswing in Iton’s performance comes at a good time. Iton is settling into a new system and his growing comfort is showing on the field.
“He came from Ole Miss – they play a little different style. They are more of a two-gap, 3-4 team most of the time, at least on early downs,” Schiano said on Monday during his weekly press conference.
“So it’s been a transition for Isaiah for sure. He keeps getting better, slowly, but he’s progressing. We play a lot of people in the front, as you know, and rotate. But playing single-gap control defense is a lot different than playing two-gap. He’s learning and getting better at it every week.”
He has certainly shown himself to be an emerging part of a Rutgers defense that is top half in the Big Ten and is playing well. In seven games this season, Iton has registered multiple tackles.
Scroll down and check out the best photos from Saturday’s game between No. 1 Ohio State at Rutgers football!