Tag: Christian Izien

Watch: Former Rutgers standout Christian Izien makes another play, secures spot on the Buccaneers roster

Christian Izien makes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster.

Christian Izien was rock steady in preseason for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, helping the former Rutgers football defensive back to secure a spot on the NFL team’s 53-man roster.

Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent, Izien has made an impression in training camp as well as preseason for the Buccaneers. So much so that on Sunday morning, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles said that Izien is his team’s starting nickleback heading into Week 1 of the NFL regular season.

For each of his final three years at Rutgers, Izien was an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection. In 2022, he had 84 total tackles and four passes defended.

 

His performance over the week in preseason helped secure his roster spot.

 

Bowles is a familiar name to many in New Jersey. He grew up playing his high school football in the state at Elizabeth and then went on to play college football locally at Temple.

Bowles, like Izien, was an undrafted rookie free agent after his college career. He spent eight years in the NFL.

Izien’s strong performances this summer include an interception in his first game of preseason.

Rutgers in the NFL: Christian Izien has impressed Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay Buccaneers camp

Christian Izien is impressing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now we know the real reason Tom Brady retired this offseason: he didn’t want to face Christian Izien in training camp. The former Rutgers football defensive back is making a strong impression in camp so far, even so far as earning praise from head coach Todd Bowles.

Izien signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie free agent. He was a former standout at Rutgers, where he was a starter at safety over the last three years.

He had 84 total tackles a season ago and four passes defended. Izien also had five tackles for a loss.

Against Iowa, he had 15 tackles, a career-high.

On Saturday following his team’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Todd Bowles was asked how Izien performed in the role of nickleback. Bowles isn’t one to heap praise on a player unnecessarily.

“Izien was solid, he had one technical error but I thought he was solid,” Bowles told reporters on Saturday.

“He didn’t get a lot of action but he did a lot of right things. We knew what he can bring to the table. He’s the frontrunner right now.”

A product of Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Izien was a three-time All-Big Ten selection at Rutgers.

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Bowles was the former head coach of the New York Jets. Born in Elizabeth, N.J., he played his college football at Temple.

His son, Todd Bowles Jr., is a defensive back at Rutgers.

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Rutgers football taps the Erasmus Hall pipeline, offers Lyrick Samuel

Lyrick Samuel is offered by Rutgers football on Wednesday.

Lyrick Samuel is the latest New York standout to be offered by Rutgers football. The Brooklyn wide receiver pulled in an offer from the Big Ten program on Tuesday night.

The talented wide receiver is projected to be one of the top three athletes in New York’s 2025 recruiting class.

Samuel counts Rutgers as his fourth Power Five offer, having already been offered by Michigan State, Penn State and Syracuse.

A 6-foot-4, 175-pound wide receiver, Samuel played for a powerhouse Erasmus Hall team that finished last season 10-2.

In a social media post on Tuesday night, Samuel announced the offer, tagging Rutgers defensive line coach [autotag]Marquise Watson[/autotag] along with head coach Greg Schiano:

 

Rutgers football is no stranger to Erasmus Hall with alumni such as [autotag]Aron Cruickshank[/autotag], [autotag]Christian Izien[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Ryan[/autotag] among others having passed from Brooklyn to the banks of the Raritan.

Rutgers currently has the No. 22 recruiting class in the nation according to 247Sports and is No. 23 per Rivals.

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Rutgers football: Is Christian Izien a legitimate NFL draft prospect?

While every player had a chance to showcase their skill at Rutgers’ Pro Day, Christian Izien convinced the scouts he could play in the NFL.

This week, the 2023 NFL Draft will be underway, giving young prospects a chance to live out their dreams in the NFL. Among those players from Rutgers football with legitimate NFL ambitions is Christian Izien,  who last month performed at the Rutgers Pro Day.

Izien built on a strong senior season at Rutgers when he participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl. The Rutgers safety impressed scouts with his coverage skills. A little undersizes at the position (5-foot-9), Izien hung with the bigger receivers in coverage. He can cover man-to-man and has enough length to stay with all receivers (slots or wide-outs).

With no invite to the NFL Combine, Izien needed the Rutgers Pro Day to solidify himself as a draft selection. His numbers plus his strong tape from last year are likely enough to see Izien become a Day 3 pick in the NFL draft.

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Pro Day Results

Name: Height Weight Hand Arm Bench Vert Jump Broad Jump 1st 40 2nd 40 3 cone 20 shuffle
Izien, Christian 5ft. 08.6in. 199 9 2/8 30 7/8 20 41 1/2” 9ft. 11in. 4.41 4.42 6.81 4.15

Izien has excellent footwork to cover all types of receivers. His top-end speed helps him recover during man-to-man coverage, rallying to passes underneath. Also, his speed can help him cover ground in the secondary. Izien provides high effort on the field and is an excellent tackler. The Rutgers safety aggressively attacks receivers on the snap, disrupting their route. Based on his recent performances, Izien deserves an opportunity to make a 53-man NFL roster next season.

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Rutgers football: Desmond Igbinosun continues to grow at safety

Safety Desmond Igbinosun is returning to Rutgers football for the 2023 season, looking to take the lead at the safety position.

Desmond Igbinosun returns to Rutgers football for the 2023 season, looking to take the lead at the Scarlet Knights safety position.

The junior safety appeared in ten games last season, recording nine starts, 55 total tackles, four pass breakups, and one forced fumble. Igbinosun appeared in 17 games and has 69 tackles for his Rutgers career. Can the New Jersey native (Union, N.J.) emerge as the number one safety for the Scarlet Knights?

The 2023 season will be Igbinosun’s third season with the Scarlet Knights. So far this spring, his progress has been noticed by safety coach Drew Lascari. Lascari spoke about Igbinosun’s development after Friday’s practice.

“I think Des is continuing to develop every day. Having that Big Ten experience this past year as a starter helped him tremendously,” Lascari told reporters.

“He got better as the season went on and we’re really excited. We think the sky’s the limit for Des and where he is going.”

Igbinosun came in this spring with a focus on his leadership skills. His goal is to emerge as a leader of the safety group and try to lead as an example on and off the football field.

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The safety group is different than last season, with the departure of former starters Christian Izien and Avery Young. The Scarlet Knights played a high percentage of three safety schemes in 2022 which could lead to even great opportunities for Igbinosun this fall.

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Penn State QB Sean Clifford was among Giants’ local pro day attendees

The New York Giants held their local pro day on Thursday and Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford was among the attendees.

The New York Giants held their local pro day on Thursday and Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford was among the attendees.

Clifford is projected to be a Day 3 selection in the 2023 NFL draft.

Clifford had a five-year career for the Nittany Lions with his first coming one year after Penn State legend Saquon Barkley departed.

Clifford had a relatively underwhelming college career with the hype surrounding him and his Penn State teams. Turnovers (31 career interceptions) and accuracy were huge problems for him as he was prone to making bad throws against the tough Big Ten defenses he faced.

However, Clifford did end up with over 10,000 yards passing, 1,000 yards rushing, and 101 total touchdowns in his collegiate career.

The Giants are in the market for a third-string quarterback for the offseason as they only have Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor under contract for the time being. Clifford could be a target for Big Blue in the sixth round to the undrafted free agent window.

Meanwhile, other local pro day attendees include Delaware linebacker Johnny Buchanan, Rutgers defensive back Christian Izien, Purdue long-snapper Nick Zecchino, Princeton tight end Carson Bobo and Temple defensive lineman Xach Gill, reports Art Stapleton of USA TODAY.

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Gallery: Check out these photos from the Rutgers football pro day!

A number of Rutgers football players had standout performances during their recent Pro Day.

The next wave of Rutgers football players heading to the NFL had a chance to make an impression this week during the program’s annual Pro Day.

On Tuesday, Rutgers football held its annual Pro Day, which was attended by 30 NFL teams. It was an opportunity for a number of Scarlet Knights to work out before NFL teams.

Here is the list of Rutgers football athletes who competed in the Pro Day:

Participants

DB Rani Abdulaziz
DB Christian Braswell
DB Jameer Campbell
WR Aron Cruickshank
RB Parker Day
OL J.D. DiRenzo
DB Christian Izien
WR Shameen Jones
P Adam Korsak
DL Ifeanyi Maijeh
DB Keenan Reid
LS Ed Rogowski
WR Sean Ryan
DB Avery Young
Scroll down and check out the best photos from the Rutgers football Pro Day!
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Players of the Game from Rutgers’ loss against Iowa

Let’s take a look at the players of the game for each phase from Rutgers’ first loss of the season

Rutgers football lost for the first time this season Saturday night against in front of a sold-out SHI Stadium. Some fans may be ready to overreact to the rough game after a 3-0 start, but one thing was confirmed – there is still a good amount of road ahead in the Scarlet Knight’s rebuild.

Head coach Greg Schiano‘s squad was able to clean up some of the penalties (5 penalties, 37 yards) that have plagued the team as of late, but there was still some sloppy play throughout. The offense had used a rotation at quarterback prior to Week 4, but Saturday saw Evan Simon running the show the whole evening as a result of injuries to Noah Vedral and Gavin Wimsatt. Simon is more of a passer but spent a lot of time staring down his first or second option and trying to force throws due to the strong Hawkeye defense on every level.

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Regardless of the result, there are always positives to highlight after every week in college football. Let’s take a look at the players of the game from each phase from Saturday night.

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