Tag: Aaron Young

Rutgers football: Aaron Young enters transfer portal

Rutgers football running back Aaron Young has entered the transfer portal.

After five years as a Scarlet Knight, Aaron Young is looking for a change of scenery. The Pennsylvania native entered the transfer portal on Sunday, announcing his decision on social media. Young will be looking to be a bigger part of the offense at his next stop.

Since making his collegiate debut in 2019, Young has appeared in 47 games for Rutgers. In that span, he has recorded 586 rushing yards on 161 attempts. He has also been a threat in the red zone at times, with seven rushing touchdowns.

While Young has been a productive piece, the product of Pennsylvania has seen his playing time dwindle over the last two seasons. He only received 16 carries during the 2023 campaign, the second-lowest total of his career.

 

 

Despite his lack of opportunities, he took the time on Sunday to thank his teammates. In a post on X (the social media platform formerly known at Twitter), Young said, ” To my coaches, athletic training staff, and Rutgers I can’t thank you enough for the support and love you’ve given me over. Rutgers will always hold a special place in my heart.”

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Additionally, during his time at Rutgers, Young shined in the classroom. He was named to the Academic All-Big Ten list four times while being a valued member of the offense.

Watch: On Senior Day, Aaron Young gets a touchdown for Rutgers football

Rutgers football senior Aaron Young got a big touchdown in the second quarter.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Aaron Young brought SHI Stadium back to life, scoring a touchdown for Rutgers football in a first half that was controlled by Maryland Taulia Tagovailoa.

(Not a dig on Maryland, just that Tagovailoa is that good).

Down 28-3, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt found Young on a flat route. The running back, who was honored on Senior Day, ran 10 yards into the end zone with 6:43 left in the second quarter.

Young took an excellent angle on the run to get the second touchdown of the season. Both of Young’s touchdowns have been receptions.

In the first half, Young also had two carries for four yards.

 

Rutgers came into the game 6-5 (3-5 Big Ten). It was the first time since 2014 that the Scarlet Knights have been outright bowl-eligible. They are chasing their first winning season since 2014, which was their first year in the Big Ten.

Rutgers is looking for their offense to bounce back against a tremendous Penn State defense

Rutgers football faces a big test on Saturday against an outstanding Penn State defense.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — An offense that had been clicking in the first month of the season has suddenly hit a tough patch. Now with two games left in the season, Rutgers football is hoping that the offense can turn a corner this weekend at Penn State.

It certainly won’t be easy on Saturday as Penn State is fourth in the nation in points allowed per drive.

Over the last four games, the Rutgers offense has certainly gotten off track, with the offense increasingly finding difficulty in moving the ball. While there was a glimmer of hope in how they moved the ball against Ohio State (with four scoring drives in that game), a lot of that went away on the road this past Saturday at Iowa.

Senior running back Aaron Young believes that the offense can turn it around this weekend at Penn State.

“I’m very confident,” Young said on Wednesday following practice.

“I think that’s what we trained for all offseason just to be able to bounce back from the negatives and I think just taking it one play at a time, one step at a time versus hurrying to overcome maybe the past game and (instead) just grow as an offense.”

On the season, Young has 13 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown.

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Young could see an expanded role on Saturday, given recent comments made by head coach Greg Schiano. It will be a big test for Rutgers and Young to get something going against Penn State.

Keeping it simple and focusing on themselves, Young said, is the key to getting the offense viable and moving again.

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“Definitely a great team, but I think (if) we do our job and keep it where we know, we manage what we do best thing – that’s the one way we can look at it,” Young said.

Rutgers football: Why didn’t Samuel Brown V and Aaron Young play in the season opener?

Rutgers football held out Samuel Brown V and Aaron Young on Sunday.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Samuel Brown V and Aaron Young did not play for Rutgers football on Sunday in a 24-7 win over Northwestern. Head coach Greg Schiano said after the game that both players are expected to contribute to the team soon.

Brown, who practiced this week, was ready to go if needed but the sophomore running back wasn’t called upon in what was a borderline dominant game from Rutgers.

Named the starting running back at the midpoint of last season, Brown suffered a foot injury in a win over Indiana where he ran for 101 rushing yards (on 28 carries).

He was announced as questionable on Sunday morning in a report from Pete Thamel.

“Sam and Aaron are both going to be okay but they just weren’t ready. Sam probably in a pinch could have gone, but he hasn’t practiced very much,” Schiano said after their game.

“He seemed to be good at the beginning, and then, you know, we had a little setback, but I think we are back on track now with him. Aaron had something just late in the week. He was all set to go,”

Neither running back was needed due to the yeoman-like effort of Kyle Monangai. He did a little bit of everything in the Rutgers win, including delivering a crunching block to set up a key third-down conversion.

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With 4:05 left in the third quarter, Monangai went left, bounced out to a hole on the right side, then made a juke to get himself into the open field for a 1-5 yard touchdown run.

His touchdown capped off a nine-play, 60-yard touchdown drive and put Rutgers up 24-0.

In 2022, Monangai had 445 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 109 carries. He also had six catches for 31 yards.

 

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Rutgers limited Northwestern to 201 yards of total offense in Sunday’s Big Ten win. In turn, they didn’t turn the ball over and held possession for 37:59.

Rutgers football: Veteran Aaron Young is proving himself again during training camp

Aaron Young continues to show his old self for Rutgers football during training camp.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The return of Aaron Young is important for the Rutgers football team, giving what head coach Greg Schiano considers some important veteran leadership to the offense.

Young was limited to four games last year after he was injured in 2021 during the Gator Bowl. He made his debut against Indiana and finished with 11 carries for 38 yards on the season.

As the elder statesman of the running backs room, Young is certainly a proven commodity who should provide some balance on offense. He is a good, committed blocker and is very capable as a pass-receiving threat out of the backfield.

On Saturday, Schiano talked of the importance of Young and what his return to health means for the Scarlet Knights.

“He’s getting back to his old self. Yeah, he’s done some good things. He’s a valuable player because he’s gotten a lot of Big Ten reps. He’s an experienced player,” Schiano said.

“So he’s going to I think he’s going to fill a lot of different roles as a running back. Third down back, special teams, myriad of those. But it’s good to have grown men.”

Young’s best season at Rutgers came in 2021 when he had 56 carries for 205 yards with five rushing touchdowns. He also had 75 receiving yards on 12 catches along with a touchdown.

Rutgers opens the season on Sunday, Sept. 3 on CBS. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.

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Rutgers football running backs coach Damiere Shaw believes in competition: ‘Iron sharpens iron’

Rutgers football running backs coach Damiere Shaw sees his room as competing hard this spring.

There may not be a position group on the Rutgers football roster that has the level of competition as the running backs. It is certainly an area of strength for Rutgers this spring.

Saturday’s annual spring game projects as a chance for Shaw’s group to be showcased heavily. The depth at running back might be the best of any position group on the roster.

And for Shaw, in his first year as the Rutgers running backs coach, it has been an important spring. Shaw was the wide receivers coach last year before moving to running backs.

Energetic and upbeat, Shaw has taken to this new role on the coaching staff and he has a depth chart that is athletic, versatile and with an intriguing blend of experience and youth.

As Samuel Brown works his way back from his season-ending injury suffered last fall, the likes of Kyle Monangai (109 carries for 445 yards wand two touchdowns) and Al-Shadee Salaam (57 carries for 210 yards, and two touchdowns) were the next man up to close out last season. Shaw believes in the room and that the talent will continue to develop.

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“You know, iron sharpens iron, and the cream will rise to the top but you got a ton of guys, you know (offensive coordinator) Kirk Ciarrocca, he’s gonna run the rock,” Shaw said on Tuesday.

“So we’ll find a role for everybody and guys continue to progress and develop and stay healthy and we’ll see what happens this coming season. But we got plenty of time and I’m just happy with the progress that they’re making.”

Also factoring into this is Aaron Young. The junior running back was limited to the season’s final four games due to injury, but his return to health this spring is a big boost for the running backs room.

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Young is a reliable ball carrier who is an asset in the passing game. Shaw has been impressed with what Young is doing on the field and in the locker room with the younger running backs.

“A ton of physicality, This guy is running like his hair’s on fire,” Shaw said.

“He’s playing finally, I talked about the guys helping each other out. He’s been a leader in the room; so off the field he’s taken a huge role in developing the younger guys. But he’s really really running hard right now.”

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Rutgers football: Aaron Young’s role set to increase

Aaron Young continues to get healthy and improve for Rutgers football.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Aaron Young continues to make progress this week, with the junior running back potentially in line for an expanded role with the offense.

Rutgers (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) will play at Minnesota (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon and, given the look of the Scarlet Knights’ offense last week, there should be a heavy reliance on the running game. Young saw some snaps for Rutgers on Saturday in a win over Indiana, with head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano [/autotag]saying that he envisions the running back’s opportunities will continue to grow.

Young had offseason knee surgery and Saturday’s appearance was his first of the season.

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“I think his role will continue to grow. You know, he just hasn’t been healthy. This is the first week and I dare to say it right? Because now it’s two days in a row,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said on Wednesday.

“When you have a knee surgery like he had, it’s tricky. You know, you can be good enough to do certain things but the day-in and day-out pounding maybe you’re not ready yet. So we’ve been really playing that seesaw game.

“And I’m hopeful that we can see more of them this week because like I think people forget what a good football player he is. He is just an all-around good player. He can catch passes. He can line up a wideout at running back special teams. He’s one of our really better well-versed players.”

Last season, Young played behind Isiah Pacheco, now in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. Young had 205 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 56 carries. He also had 12 receptions for 75 yards with a touchdown.

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Rutgers football: Aaron Young and Matt Alaimo OUT vs. Boston College

Aaron Young and Matt Alaimo are out for Saturday’s season opener against Boston College.

Rutgers football will be living the “next man up” mentality in Week 1 and the game hasn’t even kicked off yet. Running back Aaron Young, expected to be at the top of the backfield rotation, and tight end Matt Alaimo, second on the depth chart, have both been ruled OUT for today’s season opened against Boston College.

Saturday morning has been a busy one for the USA TODAY Network – New Jersey’s Chris Iseman. He already reported that returning starting quarterback and captain Noah Vedral will be missing the season opener. Now, his sources have confirmed that Young and Alaimo will also miss Game 1 on the Scarlet Knight schedule. Head coach Greg Schiano noted to the media that Young was questionable earlier in the week, but the Alaimo injury came as a surprise. All three players are listed as day-to-day with undisclosed injuries.

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Schiano already planned to have a rotation at the running back position. Expect Kyle Monangai to see the lion’s share of the snaps with young backs in sophomore Al Shadee-Salaam and incoming freshman Samuel Brown likely to see more snaps than previously expected.

Young was the backup to now Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco last season. He finished with 205 yards on 56 carries (3.7 ypc) and five touchdowns. In very limited field time, Alaimo caught five passes for 50 yards in 2021.

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A lot of players who were expected to learn this season and become the future of the program are going to have a trial by fire today. Rutgers fans should be excited to see flashes of what the future of the program will look like.

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Watch: Aaron Young stretches a run for a touchdown

Rutgers Avery Young runs a long three yards for a touchdown.

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Rutgers offense found life in the second half, scoring touchdown drives on each of their drives after halftime. Aaron Young’s third quarter touchdown run gave Rutgers some short-lived hope for a comeback.

Down 26-9 midway through the third quarter, the Scarlet Knights quickly moved down the field, going 34 yards on five plays to get down to the goal line.

With the ball on the 3-yard line, out of the shotgun, quarterback Evan Simon took a high snap and handed it off to Young. The sophomore running back stretched things right, outpacing two Maryland defenders to run a very long three yards for his fourth touchdown of the season.

It was the closest Rutgers would get in the game as Maryland just began to physically wear down the home team.

 

Rutgers came into the game needing a win to get bowl eligibility. The Scarlet Knights haven’t made a bowl game since 2014.

Watch: Noah Vedral throws a beautiful touchdown pass to Aaron Young

Rutgers football got a third quarter touchdown off a beautiful pass from Noah Vedral to Aaron Young.

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Rutgers made it a game in the third quarter, a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Noah Vedral to running back Aaron Young giving the Scarlet Knights some much-needed momentum. The drive stunned No. 19 Michigan, who had run rampant over the visitors till that point.

The touchdown pass from Vedral to Young came at 6:30 in the third quarter, making it a 20-10 lead for Michigan. Rutgers marched 12 plays, rolling 91 yards, and used 5:31 of the clock. It was an impressive response from the Scarlet Knights as they took the first possession after halftime after a rough first half.

Rutgers would then force Michigan into a three-and-out and then took their next possession 58 yards o 12 plays, capped off by a 25-yard field goal by Valentino Ambrosio.

 

While the focus of the second half was the response of the Rutgers offense, it was the Scarlet Knights defense that quietly carried the momentum their way. They forced Michigan into three-and-outs on the Wolverines first four possessions of the second half.