During his first stint with Rutgers football, head coach Greg Schiano put an emphasis on his special teams unit. With a team that was lacking talent on offense and defense, Schiano saw special teams as a way to help his team stay competitive.
Blocked kicks. Blocked punts. Clutch kicking. Big returns. Rutgers football was known for having dominant special teams play. And it helped give a significant boost to a team that had some early struggles in the old Big East.
And now, Schiano is trying to get his team back to that level and special teams is once again leading the way.
Last week at the Big Ten’s annual football media days, Schiano was asked about his special teams and the impact of having an All-American punter in Adam Korsak. Schiano underscored the importance of the unit as he enters his third season of a rebuild of Rutgers football.
“I think it makes a big difference in any league. I think special teams are critical right now. I don’t subscribe to the theory — you hear a lot of people say it’s a third, a third, and a third. That’s not true. Special teams plays cover about 22 percent of the game, but the fact of the matter is they cover the most real estate of any play in the game when you add them all up. So I think they’re critically important,” Schiano told reporters at the Big Ten media day.
“I think we put a great deal of importance on it in our program. Anywhere I’ve ever been, that’s probably the biggest thing is we spend a lot of time on it. We’re willing to play our starters, our best players on it, and I do think that certainly teams — I don’t think all the special teams are created equal either. I think certain teams are a little more important than others, and you’ll see guys, starting linebackers, starting tight ends, starting running backs on those teams.”
Last season, Rutgers football ranked No. 54 in the nation as a special teams unit.
Rutgers has two of the best at their respective positions in the nation on their special teams unit. Wide receiver Aron Cruickshank was an electric returner before an injury shelved him for the second half of the season.
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Punter Adam Korsak, set to enter his sixth season at Rutgers, was a Second-Team All-American selection by the Associated Press.
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