PISCATAWAY, N.J. — There is a sense among the Rutgers football that things are building and growing. That’s the message from two veteran players on the roster, both of whom have been here for the entirety of head coach Greg Schiano’s rebuild of the program.
And as Schiano enters his fourth season back with Rutgers, it is a crucial year for the head coach and his team. If Rutgers is going to make a move within the Big Ten’s pecking order, then this season they will need to show significant growth and development.
For tight end Johnny Langan, set to enter his fourth year at Rutgers and his sixth in college football, this locker room is showing signs that he hadn’t seen before in the past. He said that things have been “a little bit different” this spring in terms of the team buying into the rebuild.
“The locker room is great. We’re really just like a well-oiled machine,” Langan said on Tuesday following practice.
“Everyone falls in line. The leadership of the team is some of the best I’ve been around. And, you know, we’re kind of just like on a very linear alignment throughout the organization and we’ve got a chance to really do some special.”
The rebuild’s crucial juncture is an important time for Schiano and his staff to show some growth within the program. The 2022 recruiting class, featuring six recruits ranked as four-stars, was a top 30 national class. They are expected to take a big jump this season in terms of development and growth.
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That young, emerging group of talent is met with a strong senior class that is experienced.
They are experienced, and tired of losing. Rutgers hasn’t had a winning season since 2014.
Not even Langan has been around that long.
“We’re turnt up, this is the most turnt team at Rutgers I’ve been on. There’s nothing wrong with the teams before but I gel with these guys much, much better. It’s going to carry over to the field when it’s supposed to,” defensive back Max Melton said last week.
“Like I said before, nothing against the teams we had previously when Schiano came back but like, we’re all on one page. We’re all having leadership meetings, like letting the team know what type of time we’re on this year, like not just going with the flow, or we come out here run plays, we put our daily deposit in football (then) about to go do whatever. Now, we (are) making sure from top – from player one to player 132 – however many players you’re allowed to have on team – like we’re all on the same page. I think that is gonna help us when it comes fourth quarter versus whatever.”
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