Category: Rutgers football

What fun can be expected this Saturday at the Rutgers football spring game?

Rutgers football is set to host the annual spring game.

The much anticipated Rutgers football spring game is this Saturday, with the Scarlet Knights looking to build on what was a very solid 2023 season.

For Rutgers football fans eager for the 2024 season to start, this game marks that football season is getting closer. But it is also an important developmental moment for many of the younger players on the roster.

While the on-field action starts at 3 p.m there will be plenty of pre-game festivities. Starting a hour before the game fans will have the opportunity to enjoy free games and rides, including the Ferris wheel at SHI Stadium. The Marching Scarlet Knights and Rutgers Spirit Team will also be in attendance.

However, the fun doesn’t stop there. Halftime is set to feature the annual team spring awards and a punt-catching contest with Rutgers celebrities. Between the third and fourth quarters, Rutgers Hall of Famer [autotag]Eric LeGrand[/autotag] will make a big announcement.

Final scrimmage in the books.

See you next Saturday, Rutgers Nation! pic.twitter.com/ST8uNYCeBd

— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) April 20, 2024

 

As Rutgers prepares for the 2024 campaign, it will be looking to build on its success. Rutgers ended last season with a 31-24 victory over Miami to capture the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl championship. It also recorded the program’s first winning season since 2014.

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With a roster full of familiar faces, repeating last season’s success is possible. The Scarlet Knights will start that journey on Saturday.

Max Melton taken in the NFL draft! Rutgers defensive back is an Arizona Cardinal

Max Melton goes No. 32 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

Max Melton went in the second round of the NFL draft, landing with the Arizona Cardinals at No. 43. The former Rutgers standout landed with a team where he will have the chance to make an immediate impact and fill a very pressing need at cornerback.

The talented defensive back is coming off a strong offseason where he solidified a resume that saw him develop into one of the Big Ten’s top defensive players at Rutgers. The Cardinals, in need of help at cornerback, are getting an aggressive defensive presence in the NFL draft who is comfortable playing press coverage.

Melton has good length and is an aggressive, sure tackler. He is also a committed presence in the run defense.

During his four years at Rutgers, Melton was a multi-time All-Big Ten selection. The lead up to his Friday night selection was a tremendous build-up for Melton, starting with his running a 4.39 time in the 40 at the NFL combine.

Across his four years at Rutgers, Melton finished with 113 total tackles, eight interceptions, 20 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and four fumble recoveries in 43 games.

 

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The NFL bloodlines that Melton brings to the Cardinals have brought a competitive edge to his game. He is the younger brother of Bo Melton, a wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers.

 

Rutgers football got the Funke – four-star edge Dominic Funke takes a Thursday visit

Dominic Funke took a visit to Rutgers football.

Dominic Funke took an unofficial visit on Thursday to Rutgers football, continuing his relationship with the Big Ten program’s coaching staff.

Funke, a three-star defensive end from St. Sebastian’s Country Day (Needham, Massachusetts), is a class of 2026 prospect. He has been a regular visitor to Rutgers football over the past season.

He holds offers from Boston College, Syracuse, Temple and Wisconsin. Last weekend, he took an unofficial visit to Wisconsin. He has no other visits planned anywhere in the near future.

Funke is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound presence off the edge. The unofficial visit on Thursday was another important step for Rutgers to continue their relationship with one of the top edge rushers in the nation.

“The visit was great. Loved watching practice and seeing the culture that the staff brings and the intensity that team plays with. Also had some great conversations with the coaches,” Funke told Rutgers Wire.

“I enjoyed getting to know coach Campenni (defensive ends coach Julian Campenni) and coach Harasymiak (defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak) better on this trip. Their detailed and passionate coaching style stood out to me.”

Rivals ranks Funke as the No. 13 defensive end in the class of 2026.

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Campenni was hired by Rutgers in January and this was Funke’s second time meeting with him the defensive ends coach. Fuke said the relationship took a step forward this week as he “Enjoyed building that relationship more today and seeing him in action at practice.”

“I’ve gotten to know Rutgers very well and feel very comfortable there,” Funke said. “It’s always been high on my list.”

Big Ten Network says Rutgers football has momentum ahead of Saturday’s spring game

The Big Ten Network analyzed Rutgers football ahead of Saturday’s annual spring game.

Rutgers football appears to have generated some real buzz around the Big Ten, following last season’s bowl win and winning record. And according to the Big Ten Network, Rutgers could be ready to take the next step in their rebuild.

And ahead of Saturday’s annual spring game, Rutgers football has the Big Ten Network optimistic about what 2024 might look like for the Scarlet Knights. Analyst Jake Butt, in talking with host Rick Pizzo, sees plenty of upward trajectory for Rutgers football.

Last year, Rutgers finished the 2023 season 7-6 and with a win over Miami in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. The winning record and bowl win were the first that Rutgers has achieved since 2014.

In taking a significant step forward in their rebuild, Rutgers and head coach Greg Schiano clearly have caught attention throughout the rest of the Big Ten. Butt, a former tight end at Michigan, said that Rutgers is a team to watch heading towards the fall.

“They might have the largest momentum going into the Big Ten, into this season for everything you just mentioned in really,” Butt said on the Big Ten Network this week.

“They scared Ohio State – they were in that game last year! There was self-inflicted they could have easily won that game. They were in the game at Michigan before Mike Sainristil intercepted and went Four a touchdown) on the fourth down. play.

“So Schiano has taken this program and slowly built out the identity of who he wants this to be, which is: Let’s have a run first physical offense and let’s play great defense and you look at the contents of spring ball and say the pieces are in play for them to do that.”

Rutgers returns most of their pieces on both sides of the ball, giving them what arguably might be the most experienced roster in the Big Ten.

They key for Rutgers will be quarterback play, something that Butt and Pizzo touch on in their segment.

Film review of Rutgers football’s latest commitment, three-star Jyon Simon

Rutgers football landed a promising player last week in Florida defensive lineman Jyon Simon.

Last week, Rutgers football received a commitment from Jyon Simon. A three-star defensive lineman, Simon had a strong offer list and fills a very big need for Rutgers in the 2025 class.

Simon had some fun in his commitment, first pulling off a prank by saying he was going to USC before eventually committing to Rutgers.

He finished his junior season with 77 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and nine sacks. As a sophomore, Simon totaled 29 tackles (5.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, and an INT for Raines High School (Jacksonville, Florida).

According to 247Sports, Simon is ranked the No. 95 defensive lineman in his 2025 recruiting class and is the No. 129 ranked prospect in Florida.

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Film Review

In adding Simon, Rutgers adds a defensive lineman with some position versatility.

Despite being a big athlete, he has the ability to move around from tackle to end, Simon offers a ton of diversity to Defensive Coordinator Joe Harasymiak’s defense. He is able to do that because he is fast for a player of his size.

Simon’s quickness and toughness off the ball make him a menace for opposing linemen. He has excellent technique, using his hands to shed blocks and maintain gap discipline.

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Simon is not an up-the-field player, fitting nicely in Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak’s gap run defense. His relentless effort and pursuit make Simon a four-down defensive player.

Size and strength are the two important characteristics Simon should focus on as he develops into a Power Five defensive lineman.

 

What two Rutgers freshmen did Greg Schiano single out for praise during spring practice?

Two freshmen wide receivers are making plays this spring for Rutgers football.

Following the second scrimmage of spring, Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano highlighted the overall emerging depth of his team. In particular, some intriguing names popping up at wide receiver is good news for the offense.

The fact that both players are true freshmen and in their first spring at Rutgers is certainly encouraging for the continued growth and development of the program.

Last season under Kirk Ciarrocca, the Rutgers offense took a big step forward developmentally. Ciarrocca’s return to Rutgers helped elevate what was one of the Big Ten’s worst offenses into a respectable unit that finished middle of the Big Ten in total offense.

Rutgers was led by a ground game that was among the best in the nation. If Schiano’s offense can start making plays with their wide receivers, then the team’s rebuild can take yet another step forward.

Wide receiver has consistently been a struggle for Rutgers to land talent. But this incoming freshman class could prove to be an important cycle for the program’s ability to land multiple wide receivers with the ability to make plays at the Big Ten level.

“I don’t know if they’re big time –  how will we know if they’re going to be big time until they do it, right? But there’s some really talented young guys: Ben Black jumps off is really doing some good things. You know, KJ Duff, I think is really doing some things and he doesn’t look like a freshman out there,” Schiano told reporters on Saturday.

“So that’s good. We have a couple guys as you know, that are bumped up so they’re getting more repetitions. And then we just need to get (to) play bigger and stronger at the position and I think we’re starting to learn how to do that, you know, in the Big Ten there’s big DBs and there’s big nickels and big cover down linebackers and you got to be able to play strong. And it’s something that we didn’t always do at times. So we’re really working on doing that.”

From North Carolina, Black was ranked a three-star and the No. 26 recruit in North Carolina in the class of 2024. At the time he committed to Rutgers, Black had offers from Duke, Georgia Tech and UConn among others.

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Duff was a marquee recruit for Rutgers after being a dominant force in Long Island his final two seasons in high school.

He was a four-star recruit according to Rivals and On3 with  offers from Miami, North Carolina, Syracuse and Tennessee among others.

Julian Campenni sees upside and ability in Rutgers football’s Jordan Thompson

Jordan Thompson is continuing to grow this spring for Rutgers football.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — A name to watch this spring for Rutgers football is defensive lineman Jordan Thompson.

His career at Rutgers has seen steady growth, a solid example of the ‘developmental program’ mantra so often preached by head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag]. A former Morris County football standout, Thompson is poised to take another developmental step ahead of what is a very important fall in his career.

After a redshirt season in 2021, Thompson worked his way into seeing consistent reps the next season. By 2023, he was beginning to make an impact.

Last year saw Thompson with 24 total tackles, with multiple tackles record in eight of his 11 regular season games played.

Asked on Tuesday about Thompson’s growth, defensive ends coach Julian Campenni pointed towards the player’s pathway

“I think the answer is in the question: just be consistent,” Campenni said.

“Again, it’s, there’s no secret sauce. It’s just doing the little things consistently every single time and again, I think the results will take care of itself. And I think he’s been doing that.”

Coming out of Parsippany Hills High School (Parsippany, New Jersey), Thompson was a raw recruit brimming with potential. He was a three-star recruit who was a top-10 player in New Jersey’s class of 2021.

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Campenni is in his first year with Rutgers, having joined the Big Ten program this offseason. Previously, Campenni worked at Bowling Green for five seasons.

‘I ended up trying to run here!’ How Julian Campenni joined Rutgers football

Julian Campenni said he was ready to run for this opportunity with Rutgers football.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Julian Campenni comes to Rutgers football this offseason with plenty of experience and upside. But when the opportunity to join the Big Ten program came along, there was no hesitation on the part of the now Rutgers defensive end coach’s mind to take the job.

Campenni joins defensive line coach Colin Ferrel as the new additions to the Rutgers football staff this offseason. Both hires by head coach Greg Schiano saw Rutgers dip into the MAC to find energetic, enthusiastic coaches brimming with potential.

The duo replaces [autotag]Marquise Watson[/autotag], who was sidelined last year for personal reasons.

Campenni comes to Rutgers following five years at Bowling Green, a program that is very solid defensively in the MAC. He has ties to the area having played his high school football in Pennsylvania and then in college at UConn where he was an All-American Athletic Conference selection.

The opportunity to work on Schiano’s staff stood out to Campenni as an important next step in his career.

“What happened with coach ‘Quise last year was very sad – and I didn’t know coach ‘Quise…I met him when I got here a couple of times but just hearing from everybody in the building about the type of dude he is – he’s a great person and someone obviously we’re still thinking about and praying for,” Campenni said on Tuesday.

“When I heard about this opportunity – to me it was a no brainer. To come back closer to home…to be in my opinion in the best conference in college football and work for a guy like coach Schiano and coach Harasymiak (defensive coordinator Joe Hrasymiak) and this staff. I ended up trying to run here as fast as I could. So it’s been great. I’m fortunate enough to be able to get an opportunity to be here and work with these kids and the staff.”

As he settles into life at Rutgers and in the Big Ten, Campenni said that he has taken note of Harasymiak.

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Now in his third year at Rutgers, Harasymiak is one of the top defensive coordinators in the nation. Known for his attention to detail, Harasymiak has left a definite impression on the defensive ends coach.

“He’s elite. He’s elite at what he does. Everything he does is the best so I kind of just match him,” Campenni said.

“He sets the tone defensively as a defensive staff of the expectations and he makes it really easy to just fall in line and, and do that, so he’s awesome. I mean, he brings it every day and he makes it easy for us.”

Rutgers football announces homecoming game opponent and date

UCLA football is the homecoming opponent for Rutgers football.

Rutgers football has locked in their annual homecoming game, and it will be against a team that they’ve never played against in the Big Ten.

The annual homecoming game for Rutgers football will be on Oct. 19 against UCLA. This fall, the Big Ten is adding four teams from the Pac-12 in UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon.

UCLA is coming off a season where they went 8-5 (4-5 in the Pac-12) and took home the LA Bowl with a win over Boise State. They went through an offseason of transition with head coach Chip Kelly, who left to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

First-year head coach DeShaun Foster, a former standout running back at UCLA who spent seven years in the NFL, will lead the Bruins this season. Foster has spent the last seven years on the UCLA staff as their running backs coach.

Rutgers finished last year 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten) and won the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl against Miami. It was the first time since 2014 that Rutgers was outright bowl-eligible.

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Rutgers has seven home games in 2024. Games in bold are against Big Ten opponents:

  • Aug. 31 vs. Howard (season opener)
  • Sept. 7 vs. Akron
  • Sept. 28 vs. Washington
  • Oct. 12 vs. Wisconsin
  • Oct. 19 vs. UCLA (announced on Tuesday as the homecoming game)
  • Nov. 9 vs. Minnesota
  • Nov. 23 vs. Illinois

A quarterback competition for Rutgers football? It is a matter of progress says Greg Schiano

Rutgers football has a quarterback competition and signs of progress.

There is a quarterback competition for Rutgers football, with Saturday’s scrimmage the latest chance for Gavin Wimsatt and Athan Kaliakmanis both showing flashes.

The incumbent starter, Wimsatt took a developmental step forward last year, his first season as the starting quarterback at Rutgers. In a season where he led Rutgers to an impressive bowl victory over Miami, Wimsatt still has plenty of room to improve and take a step forward.

He threw for a career-high yards last year and also marked an improvement in completion percentage. Wimsatt also put up some staggering numbers running the ball and threw more touchdowns than interceptions – all very strong signs of development.

But the completion percentage is still low by Power Five standards and has to improve if Rutgers is going to continue its rebuild.

With the arrival of Kalaiakmanis in the transfer portal from Minnesota, Rutgers now has two quarterbacks with significant Big Ten experience. And unlike last year, there is a true quarterback competition for the Scarlet Knights.

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Saturday’s scrimmage was what head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag] saw as the next step in that process of not just evaluating the quarterbacks but also developing them. It is a process that Schiano says goes back further than just spring practice.

“I think it’s not only the spring, I think they’ve made progress from when we got back in January all the way through,” Schiano told reporters last Saturday in talking about the quarterbacks.

“I’m pleased with their progression. Still plenty to go. But as long as you keep taking those baby steps, a little bit every week. We’ll get there eventually.”

It wasn’t a flawless performance from either quarterback, but there is a real genuine competition between Wimsatt and Kaliakmanis.

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Despite transferring in from Minnesota, Kaliakmanis knows this system well. Two years ago as a freshman at Minnesota, his offensive coordinator was Kirk Ciarrocca.

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And it was Ciarrocca, now in his second year at Rutgers, who recruited Kaliakmanis to transfer within the Big Ten this offseason.

“The quarterbacks – I think they all did good stuff. We had some good completions, made some mistakes,” Schiano said.

“Had two interceptions today. Look, here’s some stuff to learn from the tape. Plenty of plays to learn from and watch. Everybody can watch themselves which is important. I think they did well, it’s starting to take shape”

This past season showed some of the potential that Kaliakmanis brings to Rutgers. As a sophomore at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis completed 53.1 percent of his passes for 1,831 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Saturday’s scrimmage was the second of spring practice for Rutgers. The final spring scrimmage is the Scarlet-White Game this Saturday.