PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The challenge is certainly a big one for Dave Brock, this as the Rutgers football wide receivers coach is working his way through his first spring practice back with the program.
At Rutgers, Brock is faced with the task of rebuilding a wide receivers room that lost its top three statistical producers last season. And while there is some talent among the group, it is largely unproven, at least at the Big Ten level.
Brock, who served as the Rutgers offensive coordinator in 2012 under then head coach [autotag]Kyle Flood[/autotag], joins a revamped offensive staff under head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag]. His friendship with offensive coordinator [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag] predates their time here at Rutgers when they were both on staff at Western Connecticut State nearly three decades ago.
“I think I have a unique relationship with Kirk Ciarrocca and he and I worked together too long ago to probably say and then you know, we had had a conversation really a couple of years ago and man, wouldn’t it be a really cool situation to have an opportunity to work together again?” Brock said on Tuesday.
“And then, you know, again, this opportunity came up, and I jumped at it. You know, I was really excited. I have an incredible amount of respect for coach Schiano. I’ve known him for a long time, kind of through other people, coached against him a bunch which is challenging, and, you know, the opportunity to be here and work under him with Kirk. You know, just an opportunity too good to pass up.”
Since his time at Western Connecticut State, Brock has certainly gained some impressive experience on his resume. After his season with Rutgers where he was their offensive coordinator, Brock spent four years at Delaware as their head coach.
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He then moved to the NFL for five years with the Atlanta Falcons, spending the 2019 season as a running backs coach. Midway through that season, he moved to wide receivers coach which is the post he held until 2021.
Now, he is back with the Scarlet Knights and a program that is very different than the one he left over a decade ago.
In his 11 years away from Rutgers, the program has changed plenty, from now playing in the Big Ten to vastly improved facilities. But Brock has changed as well.
His time as a college head coach and then his five years in the NFL with the Falcons helped him develop and grow as a coach.
“I hope experience and kind of the opportunity to share those experiences,” Brock said of what he learned during his five years in the NFL as an assistant coach. “You know, I think one of the things that players enjoy hearing is, ‘Hey, this is exactly how X, Y or Z did something. This is what it will look like if you’re able to do it this way’.”
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