PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Last season, Kwabena Asamoah pulled off something that doesn’t happen in college football let alone the Power Five. The Rutgers football guard not only played meaningful snaps as a true freshman but by the midpoint of the season, Asamoah was a starter.
Given the nuances of playing the offensive line coupled with the need to get caught up physically (i.e. size and strength) as well as understanding the complexities of the playbook, offensive linemen rarely see the field as true freshmen. If they do, it is in a reserve role or on special teams.
Last season, Asamoah finished the season with starts in the last three games for Rutgers and he goes into this season as the projected starter at right guard.
Asamoah wasn’t the most hyped of the offensive line prospects that made up the 2022 recruiting class, but he was the first from the group to see the field. He started midseason and then never looked back.
“I kind of took my freshman year just like a learning experience – just wanting to take it every day,” Asamoah told Rutgers Wire on Tuesday following practice.
“Just learn something new. So when the coaches told me that I’d be playing, even if it was just a little bit, I was really surprised but also extremely excited.”
A three-star offensive lineman from Ohio, Asamoah counted a handful of Power Five offers during his recruitment.
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His growth and development this offseason is being aided by a new offensive line coach, Pat Flaherty. The veteran coach comes to Rutgers with strong experience in the NFL that numbers over two decades.
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He won two Super Bowl titles with the New York Giants as their offensive line coach.
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“I try to take it every day, just the things he says and take little nuggets away from it. Because you know, he’s been around football for so long,” Asamoah said about Flaherty.
“He knows so much. He says he coaches us the same as he’s coached every other team before – he coaches always learning the same way. So I just try to take everything that he says and learn from that.
I mean, just knowing that you’re being coached by a guy that’s coached a lot of great football players like Chris Snee (former New York Giants standout offensive lineman) – like just knowing that he’s done that…you feel like kind of like had the confidence that he’s done it before. So I know what he’s telling me to do is the right way to do it.”
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