PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Gavin Wimsatt is coming off an important spring season in his development. It might just be, for the Rutgers football quarterback, his most crucial offseason yet in college football.
Last season as a redshirt freshman, Wimsatt showed both the peaks and valleys of his development. In a year where he was limited due to injuries, Wimsatt threw for 757 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He had a couple of strong performances, including orchestrating a comeback win at Boston College to start the season. There also was a very strong game in a narrow loss at Michigan State (Wimsatt finished that game 20-of-34 for 234 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers).
There also were some rough patches, including three interceptions in a loss to Michigan. But the overall sense from last year is that Wimsatt took a step forward in his development after playing in four games in 2021 as a true freshman.
“I would say definitely makes it easier having that season where I’ve played more,” Wimsatt said following Saturday’s annual ‘Scarlet-White Game’ to close out spring practice. “So just going into the offseason, I’d say I’m more prepared.”
This is an offseason of transition for Rutgers on offense. With a new offensive coordinator (Kirk Ciarrocca) and new coaches on the offensive line (Pat Flaherty) and at wide receiver (Dave Brock), Wimsatt has some seasoned coaches on the staff.
He said that in terms of this offseason, his greatest growth has come away from the practice field.
“I would say just leadership-wise, and not even with just me, but my teammates helped me with that -pushing each other to speak out,” Wimsatt said. “And make sure we’re leading and holding each other accountable, really.”
On Saturday, Wimsatt was 10-of-18 for 124 yards with a touchdown. Played in a torrential downpour, it was difficult to take anything away from the game.
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But Wimsatt’s performance was still overall encouraging as he heads into the summer as the presumptive favorite to start the season against Northwestern.
“I think that was very, very important for the offense,” Wimsatt said of playing in a game setting on Saturday. “I think after today, we’re going to see what we can get better at and just focus on those things going into the summer.”
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