Tyreem Powell projects to be an influential part of the Rutgers defense this season as the sophomore linebacker looks to build on an impressive freshman season with the Scarlet Knights.
With the news this week that Drew Singleton’s waiver for another year of NCAA eligibility has been denied, it is likely that Powell’s role with the linebacker corps has grown in significance. He is a member of the 2020 recruiting class who was a redshirt his freshman season.
Powell enjoyed a very strong 2021 season at Rutgers, playing in 13 games with three starts. He had 18 total tackles and also had an interception in Rutgers’ blowout win at Indiana.
“I think Tyreem continues to get better every practice. He really works hard at it. He’s physically gifted, and he really wants to be great,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano told reporters this week.
“So that combination usually works as long as you work hard. And he’s doing that so just a matter of time, but you know, he doesn’t have a ton of experience just like our whole linebacker crew. So that’ll be the key, right? Getting experience and hopefully minimizing the mistakes we make.”
As a recruit, Powell was originally committed to Virginia Tech, Shortly after the hiring of Schiano as head coach in December of 2019, Powell de-committed and joined Rutgers.
Powell also played in the Gator Bowl when Rutgers stepped up on short notice to fill the void left by Texas A&M. He had two tackles against the No. 17 Demon Deacons.
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That postseason experience, even on incredibly short notice, was big for players like Powell who are still growing and learning.
“With a number of guys that either couldn’t play because of COVID or chose not to play because (of) the NFL draft we did – we were forced to play more young players that hadn’t really seen a lot of action,” Schiano said.
“I thought it was great, right? They got their first or, you know, their first real chunk of plays in a big-time environment in a bowl game against a really good Wake Forest team. There’s no substitute for that experience. So that was special.”
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