Category: Rutgers football

Rutgers football: Tyler Needham’s injury status remains up in the air

Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano gives an update on right tackle Tyler Needham

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The status of Tyler Needham remains very much up in the air as the Rutgers starting right tackle was taken into the locker room following an injury suffered during Week 2’s win over Temple.

Needham left Saturday night’s game in the second quarter and did not return. On the same play, left tackle Hollin Pierce was also injured. Needham was solid in his first two appearances this season, both starts.

Pierce did return and finished out the game. Needham did not.

The injury to Needham hurts as he had settled in nicely during spring practice and then during preseason training camp. In the season opener against Northwestern, he did a tremendous job as Rutgers rolled to a 24-7 win.

On Monday, Schiano addressed Needham’s injury:

“I’m gonna I’m going to stick to the strategy of if it’ sa season-ending injury I’ll let you guys know from not sure if it is or it isn’t then I’ll just refer to the report on Saturday. Just so we have consistency,” Schiano said.

“But yeah, Tyler had a rough, rough deal on Saturday night.”

Junior Kamar Missouri came in for Needham on Saturday night. Much like on the severity of the injury, Schiano wasn’t ready to commit to who could potentially replace Needham.

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“We’re talking about as a staff right now what’s the best? Again, it’s always to get the best five and then get the sixth and the seventh. So we’re spending time on that right today as we gameplan,” Schiano said before being asked about the performance of Missouri.

“Some good things – did some things that we can’t do at a critical position because when I talked about their line, I think their edge guys are dangerous. And they have they can roll  – that’s one thing that I look at them I see they roll eight guys so they’re going to be fresh up front too,” Schiano said.

“So we’re really going to have to be on point with our offensive line because not only are they rolling but they roll good players. Stout inside, really athletic outside. Probably the best edge players we faced so far – not probably they’re the best edge players we’ve faced.”

 

 

Temple vs. Rutgers: The five takeaways from Rutgers’ Week 2 victory

Rutgers defeated Temple, 36-7, to move to 2-0 for the 3rd consecutive season under Schiano. Here are the 5 takeaways from Rutgers’ victory.

On Saturday night, Rutgers football (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) defeated the Temple Owls (1-1), 36-7, to move to 2-0 for the third consecutive season under head coach Greg Schiano.

Rutgers’ win was the second consecutive game in which the Scarlet Knights’ defense allowed just seven points. The Rutgers’ defense allowed 298 yards and forced one fumble and two interceptions in their second impressive performance.

On offense, Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt had his second solid performance with no turnovers. Wimsatt completed ten passes for 198 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, junior running back Kyle Monangai led the way for the Scarlet Knights, rushing for a career-high 165 yards on 28 carries with a touchdown.

Scroll below to find the five takeaways from Rutgers’ 36-7 victory over the Temple Owls.

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After 2-0 start, is Rutgers football favored by the ESPN Matchup Predictor against Virginia Tech?

Rutgers football is a slight favorite against Virginia Tech.

Following wins in their first two games, Rutgers football has an important Week 3 match-up against Virginia Tech. According to ESPN, Rutgers is currently the favorite in what will be a meeting between two former Big East rivals.

If Rutgers is going to be bowl-eligible this year, then winning on Saturday afternoon is going to be a near must.

According to the ESPN Matchup Predictor, Rutgers is favored at 68.6 percent. The Hokies look improved from last year when they finished 3-8. They lost seven of their final eight games in the 2022 season.

Heading into Week 3, Virginia Tech is 1-1 following Saturday’s disappointing home loss to Purdue.

It is a program that gave head coach Greg Schiano fits back when both schools were in the old Big East. The last time these two teams played was in 2003 when Virginia Tech beat Rutgers 48-22 at what is now SHI Stadium.

Virginia Tech left the Big East for the ACC in 2004.

Rutgers has had a solid start to the season, showing a 2-0 record for the third time in as many years. They opened the season with a Big Ten win over Northwestern and followed it up on Saturday night with a four-quarter surge to beat Temple.

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Why is the Virginia Tech game so big? Three wins to start the year would be beneficial to the program heading into a Week 4 game at Michigan. The Wolverines won the Big Ten a year ago and made the College Football Playoff.

Michigan is off to a 2-0 start, having most recently beaten UNLV on Saturday.

Rutgers football: Greg Schiano singles out the student section for showing in the blackout game

Rutgers football got a big lift from the student section in Saturday night’s win.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Rutgers football improved to 2-0 on Saturday night with a wild and at times turbulent win over Temple. A frothy and loud crowd at SHI Stadium certainly created a home-field advantage for Rutgers.

Rutgers rode a big fourth quarter to a 36-7 win.

In his post-game press conference, head coach Greg Schiano talked about two topics before ending his session with the media. First, he singled out wide receiver JaQuae Jackson for having a strong game (four catches, 95 yards).

Then Schiano turned his attention to the 45,317 who were in attendance for the win. The annual Blackout game produced a great environment for Rutgers.

“I also want to talk about our student section. That was really cool. They got there early. They were cheering their classmates on early before any — while we were warming up,” Schiani said.

But it was more than just the optics and atmosphere created at SHI Stadium that impressed Schiano. He also said that the fans and the students helped create a crucial penalty.

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The loud environment at Rutgers, criminally under-rated around college football, helped Rutgers to their second win in as many games this season.

“When we got that delay of game, when Temple got the delay of game, that was totally home-field advantage. Our student section, I couldn’t hear a thing,” Schiano said.

“The guy was yelling in my ear and I couldn’t hear; that’s how loud it was. That’s huge for us. So I want to thank them. And they looked great, all dressed in black for the blackout. That’s college football right there. We’ve just got to keep doing it. Keep giving them a reason to come and they will do a great job for us, I know that, so I want to thank them.”

Temple had seven penalties for 51 yards in the loss at Rutgers.

JaQuae Jackson turned down big programs and came to Rutgers football for moments like Saturday night

JaQuae Jackson had a monster first half for Rutgers football.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — This time last year, JaQuae Jackson was playing for California University of Pennsylvania in Division II. On Saturday night, Jackson led Rutgers in receptions and receiving yards, helping the Big Ten program to their second win of the season.

Jackson finished with four catches for 95 yards as Rutgers pulled away late from Temple in a 36-7 win.

Rutgers had to fend off some strong competition including Texas A&M, Michigan State, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Miami, Pittsburgh and West Virginia to land Jackson.

The reason for all the Power Five offers was seen last season for Cal where he had 77 catches for 1,178 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is a good route runner and explosive in the open field.

Jackson picked Rutgers in part because of [autotag]Dave Brock[/autotag], hired by Rutgers this offseason as their wide receivers coach. A former assistant coach in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, Brock’s experience helped sell Jackson on Rutgers.

“I can’t say enough about coach Brock,” Jackson said.

“Coach Brock like is really taking my game and excelling my game every single day – help best prepare me just with everything

“Just a littlest detail, like the slightest littlest detail you know, helping me just grow every day as a player. I can’t thank him enough. And coach Perry (John Perry) too, as well as the receivers.”

In part, Jackson came to Rutgers for his final season of eligibility to test himself at the FBS level. On Saturday night under the lights, he certainly stepped up.

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Jackson looked dangerous every time he got the ball. He has created a good connection with quarterback Gavin Wimsat.

“It was a great environment. You notice it’s something I’ve been wanting to do, something I’ve been dreaming of since a kid you know,” Jackson said.

“So I’m just very blessed and humbled just to be here and be in this position.”

Last week in a win over Northwestern, Jackson had one catch for four yards. He certainly stepped up against Temple, including a big 61-yard connection in the second quarter.

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Following the game, head coach Greg Schiano singled out Jackson in his press conference. After taking his final question, which was not about Jackson, he began talking about the wide receiver’s impact.

“JaQuae Jackson, the performance that he had tonight, I’ve seen that coming but you guys have not been able to see that coming because he missed some of camp,” Schiano said.

“But I was really pleased with him. I think that that was something we needed. That was a shot in the arm we needed.”

 

Virginia Tech’s wide receiver Ali Jennings injured against Purdue

Virginia Tech’s receiver Ali Jennings suffered an ankle injury in a shortened game against Purdue. His status against Rutgers is unknown.

On Saturday, Virginia Tech’s wide receiver Ali Jennings suffered a left ankle injury in Saturday’s loss to Purdue. A transfer portal addition, the loss of Jennings is a big blow for Virginia Tech ahead of Saturday’s game against Rutgers.

Jennings was injured during the lone offensive series for the Hokies before play was suspended midway through the first quarter due to severe weather.

The 6-foot-2, 202-pound wide receiver was rolled up from behind when blocking on a pass play. He had to be helped off the field and carted to the locker room with his left ankle in a boot.

The Richmond, Virginia, native has proven to be a solid addition to Virginia Tech’s passing game after recording two touchdown receptions in week one against Old Dominion. In the season opener against Old Dominion, Jennings recorded five receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

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In 2022, Jennings totaled 54 receptions for 959 yards and nine touchdowns while playing for Old Dominion. While playing for the Monarchs (2021-22), he recorded 116 receptions for 2,025 yards and 14 touchdowns. Before Old Dominion, Jennings played at West Virginia for two seasons (2019-20), logging 26 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns.

After Saturday’s game, Virginia Tech didn’t provide an official injury update for their starting wide receiver, and his status is unknown for the Hokie’s Week 3 matchup against the Scarlet Knights. If he can’t suit up next Saturday, it would be a tough loss for the Hokies.

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Gavin Wimsatt’s greatest growth? Handling adversity: ‘He’s built to handle any situation’

Gavin Wimsatt put together another solid performance for Rutgers football in Saturday night’s win.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Gavin Wimsattt put together another solid performance for Rutgers football in Saturday night’s 36-7 win over Temple. But in what ended up being a lopsided score, Wimsatt had to dig deep at times in the second half just when it seemed like momentum might be slipping away from Rutgers.

And it was the kind of performance that showed how Wimsatt is developing, not just in running the offense but in his ability as a leader. When things didn’t go well on Saturday night, Wimsatt and the Rutgers offense didn’t fold.

After a strong start and a 13-0 Rutgers lead at halftime (Wimsatttt was 8-of-14 for 129 yards with a touchdown in the first half), the Rutgers quarterback missed on his first four targets in the third quarter. With 14:56 left in the fourth quarter, Rutgers found itself clinging to a 13-7 lead with Temple seemingly sniffing blood.

But the offense found its footing and would score the final 23 points of the game. Wimsatt finished 11-of-22 for 199 yards with a touchdown.

It was a nice bounceback from Wimsatt, who admitted that he might not have dug himself out of a hole last year like the one he faced on Saturday night in the third quarter.

“I would say it is just preparation. You know, we’ve been through practices where we go through similar situations and the thing (is) you just got to talk yourself through it…. one play at a time,” Wimsatt said after the game.

“You don’t really have to overthink it. And a lot of times I would say yeah, for sure last year I would maybe overemphasize it and instead of just taking it one play at a time. Thinking about the result instead of just taking it one play at a time.”

Wimsatt has not turned the ball over now in two games to start the season. He has 361 passing yards and two passing touchdowns as well as one rushing touchdown.

He has completed 54 percent of his passes on the year.

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It is a small sample size of just two games, but that is nearly 10 percentage points higher than the previous season. Marked improvement for sure in an offense that definitely seems well-suited to his strengths.

 

Yet, what was most noticeable was how Wimsatt responded to the adversity of three straight failed drives. He didn’t hang his head, he didn’t stumble. Instead, he came out in the fourth quarter and played complementary football as Rutgers improved to 2-0.

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“Man, Gavin is a competitor that’s one thing about him,” said wide receiver JaQuae Jackson.

“You know, he’s built to handle any situation that comes his way. He’s the leader of the offense, so he’s gonna make sure we ‘CHOP’ every moment and get the offense going every time.”

An addition out of the transfer portal, Jackson had one catch for four yards last week in the win over Northwestern. Against Temple, he had four catches for 95 yards.

He had a 61-yard catch in the second quarter on a go-route that he nearly broke for a touchdown.

The numbers from Wimsatt don’t jump off the page, but after a summer where he got more comfortable in the offense, he performed well against a Temple team that nearly beat Rutgers last year.

“I thought he managed the game, right? He played well,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said.

“He took some hits, which I hope he’s going to be okay tomorrow. I think he is. But he’s been sacked one time, which is a tribute to the line as well as him, knowing where to go with the football and getting it out of his hands. Overall, I think another step in the right direction.”

Greg Schiano took a leap of faith when he offered Kyle Monangai. For Rutgers football, that leap is now being rewarded

Rutgers foottball running back Kyle Monangai is showing plenty of character in the 2022 season.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Kyle Monangai not only led Rutgers football in rushing on Saturday night, but he also seemingly put the offense on his back for stretches in the second half. It was a show of character that head coach Greg Schiano says he first heard about Monangai dating back to when the running back was a senior in high school.

Monangai, who finished with a career-high 165 rushing yards on 28 carries, came up big for the Scarlet Knights at a time in the second half when it seemed like the game could potentially be slipping away.

With Rutgers holding a narrow 13-7 lead in the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Knights offense woke up from its doldrums. The prior three possessions all ended in punts. But after Temple scored a touchdown to cut the Rutgers lead to six points, the Scarlet Knights offense finally responded.

The unit went seven plays and 75 yards to get a crucial touchdown. Monangai had 57 yards on the drive including a one-yard touchdown dive for the 19-7 lead (the two-point conversion failed).

“As the game goes on, you start to get a feel for the other team, definitely but we just kind of stuck to our keys,” Monangai said.

“We’re not going to to trick anybody, you know, tough was a great team. But, you know, at the end of the day, when you’re running plays, you’re running the ball. It’s kind of just about man on man and I’m moving the guy in front of you and I fell running back you know, obviously me finding the right holes and hitting i and I’m trying to make it a little bit played but yeah, I think it was just a matter of just, you know, feeling, get a feel for what they were doing and then once I got that was kind of kind of made it easier out there.”

Coming out of high school at Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey), Monangai was under-recruited. Following his senior year in the fall of 2020, he held several offers but only one was from a Power Five program (Cal Berkeley).

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Shortly after Schiano returned as head coach in December of 2020, he spent time on the phone with head coach Dan Sabella.

That’s when he heard about Monangai not just as a player but as a person.

“Well, I didn’t really know for sure, you never know for sure but I asked his high school coach,” Schiano said.

“He said, ‘I’m telling you, coach, I’ll stand on the table for this guy,’ and I trusted his opinion. We took him on that.

“Because a lot of people told me ‘Don’t – he’s too small; he can’t do it.’ When his own high school coach talked with the certainty that he did – I’ve known him for a long time, he’s a heck of a coach. So when he said it, I said, ‘OK. I’m going to trust you on this one’. He was right.”

Monangai became one of the first players Schiano offered upon his return.

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Perhaps what was most impressive about Monangai’s Saturday night performance wasn’t just his output but also his workload. For any running back at any level, 28 carries is a high amount of ouches.

For someone who runs as physically as Monangai does, it is grueling.

But seemingly, Monangai got stronger and stronger as the game wore on.

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“I like to prepare myself for any situation. If I got to go in a drive eight straight plays, eight straight runs you know that’s what I got to do,” Monangai said.

“You know, coach J.B. (Jay Butler, director of sports performance) gets us in the best shape we can be in in the summer. And then through training camp – building and trying to get stronger and faster, more explosive, being able to maintain those long drives and that’s what we’re built for. So I had preparation taking care of my body.”

It was a second straight big game for Monangai. Last week in a 24-7 win over Northwestern, Monangai had a beautiful 15-year touchdown run and produced a massive block.

Rutgers football: A pair of four-star commits visit for game against Temple

Rutgers football hosted several prominent recruits on Saturday night.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — There was a healthy turnout of recruits for Saturday night’s game against Temple, this despite massive and violent thunderstorms that struck the area two hours before the game.

Rutgers football currently has the No. 34 recruiting class in the nation. It features several four-star recruits, including defensive back Kaj Sanders and tight end K.J. Duff.

Sanders and Duff were in attendance on Saturday night.

Bold denotes a player committed to Rutgers. Below are the recruits who were att Rutgers football for the game:

Kory Brown

Eidan Buchanan

Renick Dorilas

[autotag]K.J. Duff[/autotag]

[autotag]Kaj Sanders[/autotag]

[autotag]A.J. Surace[/autotag]

[autotag]Gabriel Winowich[/autotag]

Last week, a huge contingent of players were at SHI Stadium for Rutgers to see the win over Northwestern. Miss the list last week? Here it is.

Interesting that Duff, Sanders, Surace and Winowich have been att both games this year.

Bold denotes a Rutgers football commit:

 

Watch: Gavin Wimsatt completes his career-long pass

JaQuae Jackson and quarterback Gavin Wimsatt made a deep connection.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Gavin Wimsatt has led Rutgers to scoring drives on three of their first four possessions in Saturday night’s game against Temple. In the process, the Scarlet Knights’ starting quarterback set a career-best for longest pass.

On second-and-20 from his own nine-yard, Wimsatt completed a deep pass pass to JaQuae Jackson on a go-route. And go he did, running 61 yards to the Temple 30-yard line.

Jai Patel would end the 10-play, 66-yard drive with a 43-yard field goal attempt. Earlier in the game, Patel made a 51-yard field goal, the seventh-longest in program history.

Rutgers landed Jackson, a coveted transfer out from the Division II level, had a quiet debut last week. In the Rutgers win over Temple, Jackson had one catch for four yards.

 

In the first half on Saturday night, Jackson was targeted five times. He led all Rutgers receivers with three catches for 77 yards.

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Rutgers went into halftime up 13-0 on Temple.